Microsoft Ruling: Hometown Reaction

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) _ In Microsoft's hometown, people welcomed Thursday's appeals court ruling reversing the breakup of the software giant, but many predicted it's not over yet.

"I guess it's good news for Microsoft, but in a way it's still really uncertain," said Faye Mankowske, a consultant working at company headquarters.

Gary O'Neal, a 63-year-old retiree who lives near the Microsoft campus, had mixed feelings.

"As a stockholder, I think that's a good deal," he said. But, he added, "I think there should also be some changes in the way Microsoft does business."

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., upheld a lower court's conclusion that Microsoft violated federal antitrust laws. But in a 7-0 vote, it ordered that a new judge decide what penalty the company should face because U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson gave the appearance he was biased against Microsoft.

"I think the judge probably should've kept his mouth shut. It seems like he was pretty biased," said Lyndsay Austin of Alexandria, Va., a Microsoft stockholder visiting relatives here. "But it doesn't mean they're out of the woods."

In downtown Seattle, those interviewed expressed a sense that Microsoft would ultimately prevail _ if not in the courts, at least in the stock market.

"Actually, no matter what happens with the judges, Gates will either make two of the most powerful companies or one of the most powerful companies," said Steve Mansfield, 44, of Bellingham. "It wouldn't matter if they split the company 10 times. He's got the computer business all wrapped up."

Mansfield and others said the government's pursuit of the antitrust case is a waste of taxpayer money.

"I'm still paying for this lawsuit, and I don't like it," said Bonnie Mardis, 54, a retired San Francisco software developer who was walking in downtown Seattle. "I didn't mind paying the first year while they were sorting it out. But now I've become angry I'm paying for this."

Steve Raney, 58, a merchant seaman taking a smoke break outside the Pike Place Market senior center, agreed the government should lay off.

"I think this is America, and people like Bill Gates should have the opportunity to build these empires," Raney said. "Let him go. What happens when you break up big companies is, it costs us more money. If you deregulate Bill Gates and break him up, the price will go up on everything."