There are no pat answers - we're pushing through some new frontiers, and lessons of the past don't always apply.

Where we can compete on merit, we do very well.

We can provide beta software to our developers in advance of the general public. We can easily link up with external partners, customers, and suppliers.

I want my testimony to stand on that point. But I would point out that Zona Research Inc. showed we have increased market share among business users, educational users, and government users over the past several months - and that's more recent than the IDC report.

In my column series 'The Main Thing,' I often talk about how Internet technology can improve the way people communicate - both within a business and between a business and its customers and partners.

I think they should separate Microsoft's application group from its operating system group.

I think the touchstone is to give consumers a full, fair choice without the power of a monopoly operating system pushing them in a direction that free competition might or might not achieve.