When the Bush Administration was sworn in, in January 2001, Microsoft was in the position that we so often find James Bond in mid-way through a movie: strapped to a table and heading inexorably towards a huge carving machine or deadly laser. By November, the fix was in. Attorney General John Ashcroft had indicated that he had little interest in pursuing the case, and several Department of Justice Antitrust attorneys had already left, disillusioned. The result was a settlement neatly summarized by the financial analysts we cited at the time: "a major win; no substantive change in business model or R&D practices; maintain Buy."
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