Um, so? (Score 1)

So instead of horse-racing winners and losers, let's think about what really changes.

Tomorrow, MS will still control 95% of the desktop market.

Legal machinations are entertaining for us propeller-heads, but they don't put code in our editors or binaries on our users' desktops.

Even the worst remedies being talked about, such as breaking MS into baby-Bills, don't change any fundamentals. Each of the babies will still have real products on real desktops in obscene amounts compared to any competitor. Sure, the stock will be beat around, but unless you're an MS stockholder, it doesn't affect you.

What might effect you is if IT decision makers flee MS. But remember, others are invested in MS products. They're not about to toss hundreds of millions of their dollars in licenses, support, staff, and training to switch to companies whose only claims are fewer legal problems. The court loss won't make anyone switch.

Copycat lawsuits? So what? They don't write code. They don't install software.

MS/DOJ: Entertaining. But I've yet to hear of a measurable effect or an outcome that actually changes the industry.