Microsoft verdict: View from Gates

Speaking in a conference call just half an hour after hearing the US Department of Justice (DoJ) call for the company he founded to be split in two, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect insisted the company would appeal the decision.

Bill Gates said: "This reminds me of the old saying 'today is the first day of the rest of your life' and today is the first day of the rest of the case."

He continued: "We're confident the judicial system will overturn this decision and we will also be seeking a staying order to prevent any other restrictions until the appeal process is complete." Gates added that while the process took its course Microsoft would "continue to build great software."

Charles Rutstein, senior analyst at Forrester Research believed the software giant was making the wrong decision. He said: "Microsoft has two choices to appeal or to acquiesce. They should acquiesce but they will probably appeal."

Rutstein outlined two futures for the company. If they appeal the decision the cloud of uncertainty stays and government-appointed lawyers will oversee commercial decisions. According to Rutstein: "That is no way to run a technology company."

The second option, according to Rutstein, is to comply with the DoJ judgement and "move forward and keep innovating."

Michael Silver, research director at Gartner Group, said: "The bigger issue in the shorter term is the restrictions the court has put on Microsoft while the appeal is ongoing. Especially the look of the start-up menu, exclusive deals with OEMs and other companies - Microsoft has $25bn in investments, many on an exclusive basis - and finally the restriction on including new functionality in the operating system."