Cable executives who wanted to avoid giving Microsoft too much influence in their sector (CI No 3,413) may have found a creative compromise. The 20% stake Microsoft wanted to take in high-speed internet venture Road Runner has been split into two 10% stakes, one for the Redmond software giant and the other for its faithful sidekick Compaq. Road Runner is jointly owned by Time Warner Inc, Advance/Newhouse Publications and the MediaOne Group Inc. Since it was founded in December, 90,000 subscribers have signed on, but Road Runner has access to a further 27 million cabled homes. Hence the interest from Microsoft, which needs new markets for its internet, client, server and application software, and Compaq, whose new Internet PCs can plug into the cable and play. As the traditional PC market reaches saturation point, all players have invested heavily on gaining a foothold in the TV- convergence realm. But the other stakeholders in RoadRunner reportedly mistrust Microsoft and its reputation for naked ambition. By splitting the Microsoft stake, those players may feel they have halved the danger. Both Compaq and Microsoft have invested $212.5m in Road Runner, representing a 10% stake for each company,
