The government today proposed a schedule for the remaining proceedings in the Microsoft antitrust case that by taking years to conclude could have limited effect on the company's new operating system.
Antitrust prosecutors, in papers filed in United States District Court here, asked that hearings to determine how to penalize Microsoft begin in February, more than three months after the introduction of the operating system, Windows XP. Microsoft has denied accusations by rivals and critics that Windows XP, by integrating many different computer applications, presents even more antitrust problems than the earlier versions of the operating system that were at issue in the lawsuit.
Lawyers said today that, assuming the case is not resolved by a settlement, the lawsuit, started three years ago, could drag on into 2003 and beyond, even under the generally quicker schedule proposed by the government.
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