Novell Inc has been a lot less belligerant in its dealings with Microsoft Corp since Ray Noorda retired, and has withdrawn from some markets where it had attempted to compete – but don’t think Hewlett-Packard Co alumnus Bob Frankenberg, the new chairman and chief executive, is a pussycat. He does not rule out filing an anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft, he said at Esther Dyson’s PC Forum in Phoenix on Tuesday, adding that he sees some potential problems with restraint of trade with the upcoming launch of the Microsoft Network later this year. I’m not implying that we are in any way running off and filing a lawsuit, he cautioned, noting that that would cost it more than just legal fees, and adding that Novell has many options. Meantime Microsoft filed its appeal over Judge Stanley Sporkin’s rejection of its anti-trust consent settlement with the US government, asking the court to approve the terms and contending that Judge Sporkin exceeded the scope of his powers by raising issues that were not included in the Justice Department’s case against the company, and accusing him of improperly accepting communication from rival companies and industry observers outside normal judicial channels.Microsoft also asked the court to reassign the case to another judge for any future issues that may arise from the settlement.
