DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The legal maneuvers and pending ruling, as we just heard, could potentially mean a lot to Microsoft, but what will it mean to the millions of us who buy Microsoft's products, or those of its competitors? CNN's Katharine Barrett is outside the company headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Katharine, good morning, once again.</s>KATHARINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. Well, actually, the lack of a settlement, the lack of a deal between Microsoft and the government means that there will be no immediate change in Microsoft's software products or services. Sources tell CNN, as Steve Young just reported, that even in the final, 20th draft of a settlement proposal, Microsoft was still allowed to add whatever features it wanted to Windows. One reason, again as Steve reported, that that deal may have been scuttled. But even after this verdict, which is of course expected any time now, the remedy or penalty phase could certainly change the way Microsoft does business, its power, perhaps its flexibility, either by imposing severe financial penalties on the company or even going so far as to restructure or break it up. Of course, it is too soon to know what those penalties might be, but meantime some analysts do suggest that the glowering legal clout hanging over the company could impair the company's ability to forge partnerships in new business areas like the Internet -- Daryn. KAGAN; Katharine Barrett, reporting to us from Seattle, thank you. Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
Lack of Settlement in Microsoft Case to Have Little Impact on Consumers, for Now