Microsoft Case

* Edwin Meese III’s argument in “Old Anti-Trust Laws Hobble New Technology” (Commentary, March 21) is seriously flawed.

He states that the federal government’s lawsuit against Microsoft “threatens to impede the growth of an American software and Internet industry.” The truth is that where competing operating systems like Linux and BeOS have been able to establish a toehold, they substantially outperform Microsoft’s products. The primary reason the benefits of alternative operating systems haven’t reached the public at large is Microsoft’s stranglehold on PC manufacturers.

If the Justice Department’s lawsuit can open the way to true competition between operating systems, the entire economy will be the beneficiary.

PETER RHALTER

Beverly Hills