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Wired's Microsoft Epic

By Chris Suellentrop and Jeremy Derfner
Updated Friday, Oct. 13, 2000, at 8:30 PM ET

Wired

Wired, November 2000

The 60-page cover story chronicles the entire history of Microsoft's troubles with the government and profiles the major players in the decade-long saga. Competing companies such as Sun, Apple, and Novell have long tried to convince the Justice Department to probe Microsoft's business practices, but the government was reluctant to challenge such a huge foe. Eventually Sun's team of experts explained to government lawyers exactly how they should try the case. Throughout the lawsuit, the Microsoft corporate culture clashed with what would have been the most prudent course of action. Bill Gates helped strengthen the government's resolve with an obnoxious and evasive performance in a 1997 Senate hearing. The company refused to settle and never seemed contrite. At trial the defense flailed, alleging a vast tech-sector conspiracy against Microsoft and maintaining that the company did not have monopoly power. Whether or not the government breaks up Microsoft, the company has already suffered greatly. Once the symbol of the computer age, it is now seen by the public as an anti-innovation bully.

Economist

Economist, Oct. 14

The cover story calls European telecoms' $300 billion investment in the wireless Internet "the biggest gamble in business history." They are staking their future on a service that people simply may not use. Companies expected 10 million frequent users for their first WAP (wireless application protocol) phones, but so far have only 2 million.

New Republic

New Republic, Oct. 23

The cover story explains how the Democrats became foreign-policy hawks and the Republicans became isolationists. Clinton jettisoned his party's Vietnam-era fear of foreign entanglements for political reasons, and Republicans responded by opposing Clinton's haphazard interventionism. Al Gore—and especially Joe Lieberman—promise to add philosophical coherence to Clinton's purely pragmatic internationalism. … A piece says the fall of Slobodan Milosevic does not compare to the fall of communism. Vojislav Kostunica is no Lech Walesa, and the Serbians revolted not because of what Milosevic did to Croatians, Bosnians, and Kosovars but because he ruined Serbia.

New York Times Magazine

New York Times Magazine, Oct. 15

The special "spending" issue. … The cover story debunks the myths of free-spending dot-commers and frugal seniors. In fact, the elderly are conspicuous consumers, while wealthy Gen Xers worry that money corrupts and try not to look as if they have a lot. … A piece argues that the middle class is burying itself in debt to keep up with rapidly increasing living standards. The wealth explosion is making average people buy bigger houses and nicer cars to avoid humiliation among their peers. … An article confirms that money buys happiness. Three North Carolinians went into debt to buy a tractor, a luxury car, and a drum set, and they swear they are happier for it. … A piece describes the barter economy in New York's Suffolk County Jail. Inmates sell everything from commissary goods to smuggled-in contraband to sex.

Advocate

Advocate, Oct. 24

Hillary Clinton's first interview with the gay press offers no real bombshells. She talks about gay friends who died of AIDS, briefly describes her opposition to gay marriage, and waffles on the issue of public funding for the Boy Scouts. She is asked about the whispering campaign about her sexuality but does not address it. … In an interview, Ralph Nader tries to argue that he is the most pro-gay candidate in the race, even though Barney Frank hates him and he told the New York Times in 1996 that he was not interested in "gonadal politics." Nader admits that he has not always felt a sense of urgency about gay rights and explains why sexual identity politics must be linked to class politics. … A piece reports that the breakups of two celebrity lesbian relationships (Ellen DeGeneres-Anne Heche and Melissa Etheridge-Julie Cypher) have triggered a mini-crisis in the lesbian community. The rumor that both Heche and Cypher left to be with men is feeding the fear among lesbians that women's sexual preferences are so fluid that even loving lesbian relationships are never safe.

The New Yorker

The New Yorker, Oct. 16 and 23

Joe Klein's extra-long retrospective of the Clinton presidency claims Clinton never had the opportunity to achieve greatness because he never faced a real crisis. Clinton was able to articulate a new politics for the information age: an activist government based on the conservative values of community and responsibility. Clinton's indecisiveness and a divided staff led to early fiascos, including health care, Somalia, and Haiti. But when the Gingrich revolution seemed to change the balance of power in Washington, the administration learned how to destroy Republican policy proposals and build its own out of the ruins, as it did during the budget crisis in 1995. While he has sacrificed some principles, such as gays in the military, he has also been unbending in his support of his pet priorities, Americorps and the Earned Income Tax Credit, for example. In the end, Klein says, the Lewinsky scandal and the peace and prosperity of the last eight years make the Clinton presidency seem like a waste of Clinton's extraordinary talents.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 16

The cover story on sleeplessness says that Americans sleep 338 hours less than they should each year. Scientists no longer believe sleeplessness simply causes grogginess. Along with diet and exercise, it could be one of the three keys to long-term health. Lack of sleep contributes to cancer, diabetes, and obesity, among other health problems. … A campaign piece reports that the Bush camp will focus on the wasted opportunities of the last seven years and Al Gore's lack of credibility in order to make the case for change in good times, a case which Bush's advisers admit he has yet to make clearly. Bush is also in trouble in Florida, a state he desperately needs to win. Pat Buchanan will campaign hard there and siphon votes from Bush, who insists on spending resources on Pennsylvania even though most experts believe he has no chance. … An article claims that big casinos, once strongly opposed to Internet gambling, are now trying to cash in on it. The market is huge, and the establishment casinos don't want to let upstarts get a toehold.

Newsweek and Time

Newsweek and Time, Oct. 16

Newsweek's and Time's cover stories say Slobodan Milosevic was tossed out by the same ordinary Serbs who kept him in power for 13 years. New Yugoslavian President Vojislav Kostunica's task is to rebuild a Serbian economy battered by NATO bombs and sanctions. Unemployment is more than 30 percent. … In a Newsweek profile, Kostunica declares, "I want to see a Serbia that is boring." Time's profile suggests that a boring Serbia would mirror Kostunica's personality. "We've had our share of charismatic politicians … and look what happened," a local journalist says. … A Time story says Yasser Arafat wanted to provoke Israel into a crackdown, followed by international condemnation of Israel. But the strategy may backfire for Arafat by causing Ehud Barak to be replaced by a hard-line Israeli government. In a Newsweek interview, Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon says he expects to lead the country after the coming elections, and that Barak's mistake was to give the people hope for peace. (Click here for Slate's "Assessment" of Sharon.) … Although this year's election may be the closest since 1960, a Newsweek story predicts the lowest voter turnout since the Roaring '20s. The large number of attack ads on television will depress turnout, and hyperinformed Net users are cynical about both candidates. … A Time story asserts that Gore's debate victory was Pyrrhic. Voters think he won on substance, but his annoying behavior may make them less likely to vote for him than before.

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Chris Suellentrop, a former Slate staffer, writes "The Opinionator" for the New York Times. Jeremy Derfner is a former Slate editorial assistant.
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