How Would Microsoft Be Split?

The ruling in the Microsoft case Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson splits Microsoft into two parts of differing size:

Operating System Business: All Microsoft Windows operating systems, including: Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, the mobile operating system Pocket PC and upcoming operating systems Windows Millennium Edition, and Whistler, the code-name for an operating system that merges the consumer and business editions of Windows.

Applications Business: This is a catch-all term for everything else. All Microsoft applications are here, including Microsoft Office. It also includes Internet software, like the Internet Explorer browser and Outlook Express e-mail program. “Middleware,” the programs that run on networks like BackOffice, SQL Server and IIS are here as well. This is also the place for Microsoft's many other holdings, such as games, hardware (keyboards, mice, joysticks and others), the Microsoft Press book publisher, MSNBC, the Microsoft Network, Media Player, Slate, Expedia, and Hotmail.

The order also places certain conduct restrictions on Microsoft, such as barring it from entering exclusive deals with other companies and maintaining control of the Windows desktop's appearance when selling an operating system pre-installed through a hardware vendor.