Als gevolg van de nieuwe maatregelen aangekondigd door senator Charles Schumer is de introductiedatum van Windows XP mogelijk in gevaar. De Amerikaanse senaat ziet Windows XP als een ideaal platform voor Microsoft om haar monopoliepositie te verstevigen en roept verschillende partijen op juridische stappen te ondernemen, met als doel de lancering te vertragen:
On Wednesday, a privacy group said it plans to file a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over privacy concerns regarding Windows XP. During a Tuesday press conference, Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked federal and state trustbusters to consider taking action that would delay Windows XP's release.
[...] The Democratic senator also said he had encouraged state attorneys general to seek an injunction delaying Windows XP's release. "Last night, I spoke with New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, and I am calling on him, along with the other state attorneys general, to bring suit enjoining the release of Windows XP unless Microsoft agrees to make significant changes to XP either as part of a global settlement or on their own initiative," Schumer said. [break]Of het nieuwe besturingssysteem, dat mogelijk half augustus al de 'gold'-status bereikt, daadwerkelijk uitgesteld kan worden is nog maar de vraag. Het valt sterk te betwijfelen of de senaat op korte termijn zo'n drastische maatregel kan bewerkstelligen. Daarnaast wijst Microsoft op het feit dat haar partners en de PC-industrie juist veel te lijden zullen hebben van een vertraging, gezien de voorbereidingen die bedrijven al hebben getroffen voor de lancering van Windows XP:[/break] The government must decide within just a few weeks whether to request an injunction against Windows XP, said Dana Hayter, an attorney with Fenwick & West in Palo Alto, Calif. If the trustbusters wait too long, there wouldn't be time before the new operating system's release.
"The best shot at stopping XP is that the release of XP would somehow entrench the damage that has been already done by Microsoft," Hayter said. The government must show that XP's release "would cause irreparable harm to competitors," something Hayter isn't confident the trustbusters can pull off, even with the appeals court victory.
Jacobson said an injunction against the release of a new product was "if not unprecedented, highly unusual. I certainly cannot think of an instance.
[...] With PC makers already trimming inventories of existing models for Windows XP's anticipated launch, a delay could leave some manufacturers with periods of no stock on the shelves during the holidays.
"What could cause more harm than not having PCs in November and December?" Baker asked.
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