Microsoft News Tracker

As expected, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly approved the two year extension of Microsoft antitrust oversight by the Department of Justice that had been requested by both parties. She wasn’t exactly a pushover though:

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly also pressed the Justice Department to defend its conclusion that Microsoft did not violate antitrust laws over the design of its upcoming Internet Explorer Web browser software.
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“I couldn’t quite figure out how it got resolved and why it wasn’t a problem,” the judge said. She appeared satisfied after a Justice Department lawyer, Renata Hesse, described how easy it was for consumers and computer makers to direct the browser software to use search technology other than Microsoft’s.
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Government lawyers said they were prepared to extend oversight of Microsoft’s business activities through 2012 if they deem it necessary. In court papers, they had described Microsoft’s efforts under parts of the settlement as “disappointing” and “not very encouraging,” but they also said Microsoft’s failures were neither willful nor systematic.
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Kollar-Kotelly expressed concerns that Microsoft will devote sufficient attention to its obligations under the U.S. antitrust settlement even as it faces related pressures from its court fight with the European Commission.

“We started earlier, and I’m not going to be stuck going to 2012 because the European Commission got something faster,” she said. “I want to be sure we have the resources to get this done.”