Microsoft Trial Set to Resume in Mid-May

The judge in the Microsoft Corp. antitrust case outlined a new courtroom schedule, promising to resume the marathon trial in mid-May. The schedule is likely to delay any verdict until August or September. The extended recess gives Microsoft and the government more time to try to negotiate a settlement, although one round of talks ended unsuccessfully late Tuesday after only two hours. Both the company and the government declined to comment about negotiations after a hearing Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, presiding over an unrelated trial expected to last all April, said he will resume the Microsoft case May 10 or the Monday following jury deliberations in his current case.