Conservative group pushes Microsoft breakup

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is suggesting a modified alternative to the so-called "Baby Bill" approach to breaking up Microsoft.

A conservative Washington think tank, the group proposes that the company be split into separate OS and applications companies, with the OS side then split again into three independent companies - each of which would control Windows source code and have the power to strike its own deals with OEMs and software vendors.

The recommendation is unusual because conservative organizations and lawmakers have generally opposed such drastic remedies in the government's ongoing anti-trust case against Microsoft.

The full report is posted online at www.zdnn.com.