News 

A US federal appeals court unanimously rejected Microsoft's bid to have the case re-examined over the issue of whether it illegally "commingled" IE with the Windows OS. This was one of the key points on which Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson found against Microsoft, but the move was widely seen as a delaying tactic ahead of the imminent release of Windows XP.

But not everything went the way of the Department of Justice (DoJ), which originally brought the case. The appeals court also unanimously decided to reject the DoJ's request to expedite the re-hearing. The DoJ had argued that the importance of the case meant it should be heard ahead of schedule. This will not now happen.

It means that a new district court judge will consider, no earlier than mid-August, Microsoft's fate for its violation of anti-trust laws.