If it's always darkest before the dawn, the folks at Microsoft must expect the sun to rise any minute. Things look gloomy. As the government's antitrust trial, hardest punches hitting Bill Gates on the chin with allegations. For example:

Antitrust Trial: Pundits say the government is winning in the court of public opinion.

Courtroom antics have created a throbbing public relations headache for Microsoft. Most

damning was Bill Gates' videotaped testimony, during which he appeared rumpled and rude. As a ZDNN reporter Mary Jo Foley writes, "All the PR spin in the world won't make the public forget that Gates wouldn't even deign to say 'good morning' to lawyer David Boies."(The New York times)

Consumer Fraud Allegations: A key issue during the trial is the price of Microsoft's Windows operating system and whether it's unfairly inflated. The Consumer Federation said that Microsoft has grabbed an extra $10 billion during the past three years by overcharging consumers. It threatens a flood of class-action lawsuits, if the DOJ's antitrust charges stick.

Accounting Fraud, Too? Former Microsoft general auditor Charlie Pancerzewski accuses the company of falsifying

the computer software market for years to come. No other company in the world has such

up their sleeves. And if Microsoft can overcome the obstacles of lawsuits, Microsoft will be

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