HIGH TECH CORNER: MICROSOFT, THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MARKET CRASH

If you believe the Microsoft case does not affect you just because you don't use a computer, then you had better not invest in the stock market.

District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruling that Microsoft abused its monopoly practices has affected us all. One out of three mutual funds are heavily invested in Microsoft. Have you checked out the value of your 401K since the ruling? The NASDAQ and the Dow have plummeted in value. The big worry is that it will only get worse before it gets better. This is the government gone ballistic trying to take down a company that has far greater financial value in the world economy than most countries.

The Justice Department and 19 states on Friday asked for a split-up of Microsoft into two companies. This split is based on Microsoft Windows as one company and all other Microsoft Products in the other. The two companies would not be allowed to merge back together for 10 years.

However, there is far more at stake than the world economy. If you feel that Windows or your applications hang too often or cause page faults that require you to reboot, then be very scared. Microsoft divisions all have access to each other and try to build a stable product. How bad will it get when they are different companies that will not have access to each other's code? My biggest fear is that it will get very ugly indeed, with the stability of our programs at stake.

The good news is that if the government does get its ruling approved by Judge Jackson on May 24, that Microsoft should be broken up, it will not happen overnight. In fact, it will take years because Microsoft will appeal every ruling against itself.

On the bad side, you can be assured that the market will take a further nosedive when the ruling happens. The only good thing about this is Microsoft stock will even be cheaper to purchase. It will be a buyer's dream come true because after the FUD factor (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) has passed, the stock value will defiantly go up.

The attack on the CNN Web site that caused the Feb. 8 denial of service was found out to be implemented by a Canadian teen. Since his arrest, he has since been released on bail with parole. The Montreal-area youth, who calls himself Mafiaboy, faces two counts of "mischief to data" for the attack on CNN. He was found out after bragging of the event to his friends. He used simple-to-find applications on the net like Tribal Flood Net and Trinoo, which can wreak havoc for your ISP. There are CNN execs that feel that his arrest was not in their best interest. They want to hire the kid to join their IT staff to beef up security. I guess that this follows the old saying, keep your friends close but you enemies even closer.

If you feel that ADSL with its 17,500-foot max cable length will never get to your area, then have no fear, DirectTV is here. Yes, DirectTV will offer in November a two-way Network Systems designed by Hughes. The service will use a modified DirecDuo dish for bi-directional use that will eliminate the need for a phone connection.

If performance is your concern, again have no fear, since the service will reach an upstream speed anywhere between 128Kbps and 256kbps, while the downstream is expected to reach speeds of more than 40Mbps. In my next article, I will tell you how to speed up your computer without spending any money. Stay tuned to a newspaper stand near you.

As always if you have any comments or questions please contact me at rich@digitallabs.com.