U.S. election may influence Micr U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is being per- trayed by much of the world’s media as the white anti-trust knight who is preparing to slay the Microsoft dragon. One should note, however, that Jackson isn’t the first such person to wear this particular set of armour and thar, in most previous cases, it has imploded. The computer industry is littered with the corporate bodies of business leaders that have declared themselves to be protector of the poor and downtrodden consumer, from Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs to former Borland International CEO Philippe Kahn, from Corel Corporation's Michael Cowpland to current outspo- ken Gates critics such as Oracle boss Larry Ellison and Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy. Many of them and others lost significant influence (and often their jobs) because they engaged in a long and drain- ing battle against Microsoft. With the exception of Steve Jobs, who publicly buried the hatchet with Microsoft at a joint press conference with Bill Gates several years ago (as part . ofa controversial deal to have Microsoft Internet Explorer become the default Web browser for the Apple .| dnvestment Sistures Macintosh), few executives have ever fully recovered from their battles with Microsoft. The U.S. government, however, has one huge advan- tage over these former oppo- nents. It doesn't have to com- pete against Microsoft. And it doesn’t have to play by Microsoft’s rules. Aclear example of just how powerful that fact will be in the coming months and weeks was demonstrated in Jackson’s remarks in a meeting between Microsoft and Department of Justice officials on the day fol- lowing his April 3, 2000 ruling that Microsoft was guilty of anti-trust violations. In widely- quoted official transcripts of the meeting, Judge Jackson makes it plain that he will block any attempts to slow down an expedited resolution of the case. “My transcendent objective is to get this thing before an appellate tribunal one way or another as quickly as possible because I don’t want to dis- rupt the economy or waste any more of yours or my time,” Jackson said in the transcript. Learn from the past '. From previous page office disallows your claim, you can still appeal the decision. What .” have you got to lose? :. 8 File on time: Even if you can’t afford to pay the tax you owe, _ file by the deadline to avoid the late filing penalty. Include a repay- _ ment proposal, ideally with post-dated cheques. ; @ Plan for next year: Check your completed tax return for tax breaks you couldn’ claim in 1999 — items you might be able to claim this year if you do some planning now. _ Mike Grenty is a columnist and independent personal financial adviser. His e-mail address is . Dally ° Open7 Pa sWeeldy Cars, frocks vane & Minivans L Has eMorithly Call for free pick-up F aweek WELCOEAE [a BUSINESS Industry commentators have raised the possibility that he will use his authority under the U.S. Antitrust Expediting Act to circumvent an appeal to the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals and send the whole thing straight to the Supreme Court for a speedier resolu- ton, Jackson faces additional challenges, however, in fight- ing his battle during an American election year. Leading Republican presi- dential candidate George W. Bush is being widely portrayed as sympathetic to Microsoft, while U.S. Vice President Al Gore is part of the administra- ASTRO PC @ Intel Celeron 400 MHz © 64 MB RAM © 4.3 GB hard drive e 40X CD-ROM tion that has so doggedly pur- sted the Microsoft case. Speculation is rife that Microsoft may be pursuing a strategy that will push any final decision on what remedies are to be assessed against Microsoft until after the elec tion, in the hope that a George W. Bush administra- tion would take a kinder, gen- der approach to Microsoft's anotrust violations. A number of polls pub- lished over the past several years has indicated that the general public isn": as con- cerned abuut Microsoft's monopoly as the U.S. govern- ment is and that Bill Gates WZ EeIAat £97.00 PRICE AFTER REBATE: e 56K modem ® Windows 98 © 15° monitor built-in 394259 BUSINESS PHONE: Wednesday, April 26. 2000 - North Shore News - 17 soft judgement and politicians. West Vancouver resident Geof Wheelwright is CEO at Investment.com. himself is something of a folk hero to many Americans. And how could a Republican presi- dent, whose party has flour- ished by celebrating the joys of an unfettered free market and has harshly criticized govern- ment red tape be a part of any judicial remedy that hampered one of America’s most success- fal companies? At least that’s how Microsoft hopes Bush will see his options. The morez quickly the case is resolved, the better it will be for the average investor. The market hates uncertainty and there is enough of that around at the moment without it being compounded by lawyers fees MERS woe 19 DOM cuey 4 tree pen custome. 3 v BCOS INK CARTRIDGE UL INSTABASE _MiEB READY: SOFTWAR (PLEASE PRINT)