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MICROSOFT'S BATTLE WITH the Justice Department grabbed many headlines during the past year. Bill Gates vs. Janet Reno-a heavyweight bout worthy of pay-per-view-generated a great deal of heat, to be sure. But not much light. Lost in the miasma of TV reports and op-ed pieces was the simple fact that Gates has created one of the most innovative companies of all time. The idea that he should somehow be stopped now or in the future is beyond my comprehension.
How often does a single business invent not only an industry, but reinvent our lives? I remember when Gates first described Microsoft as a "software publisher." I knew ultimately it would be much more than that. Today, along with chipmaker Intel and networking hardware makers like Cisco and 3Com, Microsoft provides the world with the look, texture, and experience of computing. Buy Windows 98 and it's all there: word processing, spreadsheets, calculators, games, news, information, portals to the millions of databases on the Internet.
Basically, Microsoft has created the next phase of communications. Like trains, planes, and telephones, Microsoft increasingly moves the mail and enables commerce. In fact, Gates has the distinction of doing what other infrastructure builders-Edison with electricity, Morgan with railroads, and Rockefeller with petroleum products-have done. Only Microsoft has done it faster and more thoroughly....