A federal judge will disclose Friday whether she has accepted a proposed settlement in Microsoft"s long-running antitrust case.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said she will release her widely-anticipated ruling at 1:30 p.m. PST on Nov. 1.
Kollar-Kotelly indicated she would rule on two matters that have been proceeding on parallel tracks: whether to approve a tentative deal that Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department inked last fall, and what remedies are appropriate in the separate case being pursued by state attorneys general.
The decision will be available at the district court"s Web site, https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov, after financial markets close.
Under a federal law called the Tunney Act, Kollar-Kotelly must determine whether the antitrust settlement "is in the public interest." She"s required to consider whether the deal will thwart any alleged wrongdoing, how it will affect competitors and how long it will remain in force.
Microsoft competitors including AOL Time Warner, SBC Communications, Sun Microsystems, Palm and Novell had complained in court filings that additional penalties are needed.