The case claims Microsoft violated Iowa's antitrust laws by illegally overcharging for its software and denying consumers free choice in software products.
If this is the extent of the charges (while I am sure they are quite technical) this should be (but probably won't be) a no-brainer.
How do you overcharge for software? Does the state, or anyone else know how much software is worth? Consumers surely do - after all purchasing a non-essential product proves that it was worth the cost doesn't it?
And trying to say that Microsoft doesn't offer consumers choice in software products is ridiculous. There are no restrictions in installing competitor's software on Windows. I ran Netscape and Word Perfect for years. Of course, Microsoft's products eventually outperformed the competitors and I switched - but that was a free choice.
Its unfortunate that these trumped up accusations of anti-trust behavior are still occuring. The money that Microsoft is having to spend on lawyers could go to much better uses - like making their products better.
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