But don't count Microsoft, or the NASDAQ, or the high-tech industry, out just yet. While the government is now technically compelled to take action that will change Microsoft's business many think Jackson will seek to break the firm into a bunch of "Baby Bills" when he produces his "remedy" in August Bill Gates and his Redmond buddies are widely expected to appeal the decision, a process that could drag on for years. In the meantime, the whole nature of the computer-sofware-Internet business will have changed.
"The market prepared itself for the worst today," says TIME business editor William Saporito. "But in the long run, this may not have such a big impact. The longer the trial drags on, the less the market will need a remedy. We're moving from the PC age to the Internet age, and Microsoft is simply not a force on the Internet. Two years from now the market could very well have done the job that Justice set out to do making sure that Microsoft won't be dictating to anybody."