The usual excellent analysis below.  It is clear that serious economic
danger threatens.  The so called high tech HAS given the economy a boost
(much as auto production did in the 20's) but there is merely now
more tunnel at the end of the tunnel.
The gov't hopes to band aid the system by increasing competition
through putting a bunger in the Microsoft works.  But it isn't nearly
enough.
wcm
>

> Microsoft and Bill Gates are not topics that I can become passionate about.
> I think the DoJ actions against Microsoft are about preventing market
> failure.  A band-aid on capitalism. Perhaps a convergence of factors as in
> the NATO bombing of Serbia.
> There may be several potential market failures with Microsoft as ground
> zero. Maybe Alan Greenspan simply was successful in whispering into
> someone's ear about letting some air out of Microsoft's stock price before
> it implodes and brings the whole NASDAQ down. The Microsoft situation is
> well understood in terms of market dynamics and hardly anyone other than
> impassioned ideologues will argue that its market position and actions are
> 'good'.
>