BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you own a personal computer or work with one, chances are pretty good that it runs on software made by Microsoft. Its ubiquitous Windows operating system is at the heart of the U.S. government's antitrust case against Microsoft. This weekend, talks aimed at settling that dispute collapsed, and now it is up to the presiding judge in the case to decide which laws Microsoft broke. Here's with more is CNN's Steve Young.</s>STEVE YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A source familiar with the thinking of prosecutors says the Microsoft settlement talks broke down in part the lawyers felt a key provision in the 20th and final draft would have been unenforceable. It allowed Microsoft to add new features it wanted in Windows, something the company said was critical. At the same time, it barred the company from tying new products to the Windows operating system. Said the source: "I don't think that would have worked because Microsoft's definition of `product' has been vague throughout the trial." Microsoft has blamed the states for the breakdown in talks, but the prosecution source says, "Differences between the Department of Justice and the states paled compared to the differences between the Department of Justice and Microsoft." Breaking up Microsoft was not part of the final settlement proposal, but that could come up again when Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson conducts the final remedy, or sentence, phase of the trial. (on camera): That will follow his issuance of so-called "conclusions of law," the equivalent of a verdict. It's widely expected to be extremely harsh. That could come as soon as tomorrow. Judge Jackson is believed to have already written his verdict, because the Government Printing Office has placed a $12 price on the document. Steve Young, CNN Financial News, New York.
Settlement Talks Between Microsoft and DOJ Collapse