___Judge's Injunction Against Microsoft Halts Bundling____
Microsoft must at least temporarily halt its practice of
requiring PC vendors to bundle Internet Explorer with
Windows 95 while the case is being decided, the judge in the
case ruled on Thursday.

Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson also appointed a
special master to gather additional evidence. However,
Jackson declined to hold Microsoft in contempt--a move which
could have cost Microsoft as much as $1 million a day. He
also turned down a Justice Department request to strike down
non-disclosure agreements between Microsoft and PC vendors
that the department claims has hampered its attempts to
solicit testimony against the software vendor.

The Justice Department filed suit against Microsoft in late
October, alleging that the company violated its 1995 consent
decree--one section of which banned Microsoft from tying the
licensing of one product to the acceptance of another.

A Microsoft spokesman says the ruling will probably have no
significant impact on users or the company while the case is
still under consideration. PC vendors will probably continue
to buy versions of Windows 95 that include Internet Explorer
because it makes the operating system "a whole lot more
useful," the spokesman says, adding that the company is
"gratified that the judge rejected the Justice Department's
request to hold us in contempt."  --Stuart J. Johnston