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Microsoft set for hearing
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April 20, 1998: 8:46 a.m. ET
Will Windows 98 make Tuesday's appellate court decision a moot point?
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Microsoft Corp. and the Justice Department will square off once again, this time in a federal appeals court in Washington on Tuesday.
But will the latest round of this battle turn out to be much ado about nothing?
A three-judge panel will decide whether to overturn a court order issued in December that ordered Microsoft to stop forcing PC makers to install its web browser on their computers.
But the injunction applies only to the Windows 95 operating system, and Microsoft is scheduled to ship its new Windows 98 operating system to PC makers in May. It will be available for consumers on June 25.
Whatever decision the appellate court reaches could be anticlimactic because Microsoft would be allowed to require PC manufacturers to install the Internet Explorer web browser on the new operating system - unless a court order is issued.
In fact, the Justice Department may already be looking to prevent Microsoft from requiring PC makers to install Internet Explorer on Windows 98. Michael Gordon, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said such action was "something we're looking at."
Microsoft officials could not be reached for immediate comment.
Although the upcoming release of Windows 98 would appear to make Tuesday's hearing a moot point, Tom Hensel, a technology analyst at Everen Securities, said the ruling will be important because it could open the gates for further action by the Justice Department.
"Everyone has figured out that there's a potential spillover to Windows 98," Hensel said. "Microsoft has to keep defending themselves at every stage. Otherwise, whatever they allow the Justice Department get away with could set a precedent for another stage."
The upcoming release of Windows 98 does not mean the 150 million Windows 95 users will suddenly switch operating systems, Hensel pointed out.
"Windows 3.1 hung around for a while after Windows 95 was released," he said. "There's a residual effect for a little while. People are assuming that whatever comes of this hearing will have an impact on Windows 98." 
-- by staff writer John Frederick Moore
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Microsoft Corp.
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