What will MS-DOJ mean to Mac?

In the lengthy findings published Friday, Judge Jackson concluded that Microsoft Corp. used its monopoly power in the computer industry to wipe out potential threats from competitors and that the company's tactics harmed consumers.

The findings include numerous references to Apple's and the Mac OS' roles as competitors to Microsoft and Windows. The document includes discussions of competition between QuickTime and Microsoft's own multimedia software, and a section entitled "Foreclosing Apple as a distribution channel for Navigator" sheds light on how Internet Explorer was selected two years ago as the default Web browser that continues to ship with the Mac OS.

Apple spokeswoman Rhona Hamilton said Monday the company has no comment at this time on the findings.

Wall Street, however, seems to be taking the news as auspicious for Apple and the Mac. Industry analyst Tim Bajarin of Campbell, Calif.-based Creative Strategies Inc. said the latest rise in Apple stock -- which closed Monday at an all-time high of 96 3/8 -- is due to what he called a "knee-jerk reaction among investors" to Jackson's findings.

"The assumption is that Apple will gain from Microsoft, and that's a fallacy," Bajarin said. While there is "no question Apple will sell more iMacs, that's because the company is doing the right thing, not because of any loss of Windows systems.

"The holidays will show the strongest hardware sales ever, with 92 percent of computer buyers choosing Windows systems," Bajarin said.

Regardless of Jackson's verdict, which is due next year, "it will be business as usual, with no change for at least six to 12 months," Bajarin said, adding that a final resolution in the Microsoft antitrust trial could take years.