The Primaries
The every-four-year three-ring-circus is now back in
town, and in full swing following the Iowa Caucuses.
New Hampshire
Sen. McCain and Vice President Al Gore won their
primaries.
On the Republican side of the aisle:
%of
Votes The vote * No longer running
McCain 115,490 49
Bush 72,262 31
Forbes 30,197 13
Keyes 15.196 6
Bauer 1,656 1
Hatch * 155 0
On the Democratic side:
Gore 76,681 52
Bradley 69,933 47
Bush and company had expected to lose and he called
his advisors together for a strategy session following the
outcome.
Gore was surprised by Bradley and his strong finish
and vowed to start getting tough.
This was followed by the almost ignored Delaware
primary where both of the front runners got the boost they
needed.
On the Democratic side:
Gore 52%
Bradley 47%
On the Republican side:
Bush 51%
McCain 25%
Forbes 20%
Keyes 4%
The Democratic primary is non-binding. The
delegates will be chosen next month in a caucus.
The Republicans have gone from a campaign of some
issues into all out war between McCain and Bush, each
blaming the other for firing the first shot. Both are
currently running 30 second ads on TV asking for voters to
vote against their opponent, accusing the other candidate
of lying.
Gore and Bradley both ignored Delaware, as the
primary was non-binding.
Microsofts Troubles Continue
WIRED MAGAZINE
Europe Widens MS Probe
Reuters
8:20 a.m. 10.Feb.2000 PST
BRUSSELS -- The European Commission said on Thursday it had further investigations pending involving Microsoft Corp., in addition to the one announced on Wednesday regarding the firm's new Windows 2000 operating system.
"We have other Microsoft-related cases pending which I cannot comment on in detail," spokesman Michael Tscherny told reporters.
Read ongoing US v. Microsoft coverage
Everybody's got issues in Politics
"We are investigating other cases, partly based on complaints, not concerning Windows 2000. I can't give you specifics on where we are," he added.
European Union antitrust chief Mario Monti told a news conference on Wednesday the EU's Executive Commission had sent Microsoft a formal request for information following allegations that its new Windows 2000 software breaks EU antitrust rules.
End users, small computer businesses, and competitors of Microsoft say the design of Windows 2000 allows it to extend its dominance in personal computer operating systems to server operating systems and ultimately electronic commerce, Monti said.
"Microsoft's competitors, which do not have access to the interfaces, would therefore ... be put at a significant competitive disadvantage," he said.
The Commission's latest probes add to the legal problems Microsoft faces in the United States, where a federal judge ruled last November that the world's largest software company wields monopoly power in computer operating systems.
But the Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, stressed the cases were separate.
"The issue of the U.S. proceedings and the allegations we have been confronted with are different," the commission said in a note explaining Wednesday's announcement.
Microsoft's director for European law and competition affairs John Frank was unable to confirm the nature of the new cases Tscherny was referring to.
"We routinely get requests for information, it's part of the ongoing process," Frank told Reuters. "Whether a file is open or not, I couldn't confirm, but it wouldn't surprise me at all."
"As a company we get a great deal of attention from regulators," he said, adding that Microsoft was aware of complaints to the Commission from Sun Microsystems.
The Commission has tussled several times with Microsoft. In 1998, it forced the company to alter contracts with European Internet service providers and it recently reopened an investigation into Microsoft's pricing policy in France.
This followed an EU court ruling that the Commission was wrong to have rejected a complaint from French software wholesaler Micro Leader Business which was trying to import cheaper products from Canada.
If the allegations announced on Wednesday against Microsoft are proven, the Commission could force the U.S. software giant to make changes to Windows 2000.
Under EU rules, if the company refused to come into line, it could face fines of up to 10 percent of its worldwide revenues, although such a large fine has never been levied.
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