Mediator appointed in Microsoft case

A federal mediator has been appointed in the Microsoft antitrust case, an eleventh-hour move by the trial judge to force a settlement.

Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who has presided over the case, named a fellow jurist to the mediator position: Richard Posner, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.

Microsoft officials hailed Posner's appointment as a "very positive step."

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice said the DOJ is hopeful of reaching "a settlement that would promote competition, innovation, and consumer choice."

The story is posted at www.zdnn.com .