Microsoft, Trustbusters Inch Toward a Deal

So burdened with technicalities was Microsoft's Friday proposal to settle the government's case against it that a hoped-for weekend settlement was rendered all but impossible. Still, government lawyers, sifting through the complicated details, found several concessions that might allow CEO Steve Ballmer and Joel Klein, the government's chief antitrust officer, to meet and possibly put the matter to rest this week — before U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson rules in a case that was tried last year.

The key is the company's reported willingness to unbundle its Internet Explorer from Windows, the heart of the suit. Microsoft also appears willing to loosen licensing agreements to let PC makers customize their products. With the company willing to agree to change its conduct, the question now is whether Klein will give in on his demand for structural changes that might force a bust-up — a step Microsoft will fight.