Micro$oft, caught completely off-guard by the dissenting states (sh’yeah, right), is begging for a four month delay in further hearings. Never mind that the next hearing is scheduled for mid-March, over two months from now. Nor that it’s been two or three weeks since the dissenting states came back with their proposals. No, they need another four months beyond that to prepare a defense.
Feh. For all the money M$ is spending on lawyers, if they can’t come up with a response to the proposals (all of which have been floating around previously, a number of which were in parts of the original federal settlement but got edited out at the last moment) they should fire their whole legal team — and still shouldn’t get a further break.
M$ benefits for every week that goes by without solutions being implemented. Their guilt has been established and confirmed by appeals courts. If defendents are guaranteed a speedy trial, then society should be guaranteed a speedy penalty phase.
Company spokesman Jim Desler said the non-settling states had launched what amounted to an entirely new case against Microsoft, even as it began implementing parts of the proposed settlement.
“Microsoft can hardly be accused of delay, we’re already implementing a tough settlement that goes beyond the liability found by the appeals court,” Desler said.
Excuse me? M$ claims that they are already implementing the proposed solutions, when they haven’t been actually settled — and they’re using that as an excuse to show they’re dealing in good faith?
Rather, it indicates to me that they really want that settlement, and are rushing to put it into place before the bottom line has been signed so as to present a fait accompli.