Historians famously scorn generals who prepare to fight the previous wars. But what would they say about regulators still struggling to set proper rules of engagement for the technology business?

Up until the mid-1990s, computer and software companies escaped close regulatory scrutiny. (IBM's 13-year battle with the United States Justice Department the notable exception.) But once IT grew into a multibillion dollar industry, the number of billion-dollar companies mushroomed and governments could no longer resist the temptation to have a bigger say--even if they were condemned to lag a step or two behind the times.

The latest example of this was last Monday's decision by Europe's Court of First Instance to uphold a previous antitrust ruling against Microsoft. Europe (old and new), which tends not to cut big monopolies much slack, hailed the decision as an important pro-consumer move. But the United States' antitrust chief, Thomas O. Barnett, countered that the ruling would do just the opposite, "chilling innovation and discouraging competition."