Ralph Nader "Appraising Microsoft" Conference

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ralph Nader Announces "Appraising Microsoft" Conference

October 6, 1997  Contacts: Caroline Jonah or John Richard at (202)387-8030

Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader announced today plans for the "Appraising
Microsoft and Its Global Strategies" Conference to be held on November 13
and 14 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Scheduled participants include Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems,
Former Federal Trade Commissioner Christine Varney, Gary Reback of Wilson,
Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati and Roberta Katz, General Counsel of Netscape
Communications and others.

In separate letters to Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and Vice President Al Gore,
Nader invited both to attend the conference and make presentations.

In his letter to Gates, Nader urged the Microsoft executive to share his
insights "as one of the dominant corporate architects and philosophers of
the information highway" and to dialogue with the conference participants
who are among the few still willing to speak publically of their concerns,
findings and recommendations.

Nader also noted serious concerns raised by Microsoft's overwhelming market
power. "Self-censorship brought on by the detailed fear of Microsoft
retaliation - itself seen as a many pronged cluster- is not healthy in any
economy," he wrote.

The two-day conference aims to bring together industry leaders, academic
specialists, writers, consumer activists and government officials to
discuss and debate the business practices of Microsoft and the impact of
those practices on our society.

Conference topics to be discussed include: The Microsoft Antitrust Decree,
A Consumer Framework for the Digital Age, The Federal Government and
Antitrust Enforcement, The Digital Commerce Toll Road and The Theory of
Increasing Returns. Conference participants include Garth Saloner of
Stanford University, Morgan Chu Esq. of Irell & Manella, Vice President for
Huntington Bancshares William Randle, CEO & President of NetChannel Philip
Monego, Caldera CEO Bryan Sparks, Audrie Krause of NetAction, Bill Wendle
of The Real Estate Cafe, Ralph Palumbo Esq. of The Summit Law Group and
Steve Susman Esq. of Susman and Godfrey among others.

For more information about the conference and registration materials, go to
www.essential.org/appraising/microsoft

Contact the Conference Coordinator at appraisingmicrosoft@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx