What does the judge's ruling mean?

United States District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's decision lays down the new rules in town.

. If no appeals are filed the case is over and the sides would go about instituting her remedies. The settlement officially expires after five years but could be extended by the court for an additional 24 months. The settlement will be overseen by a corporate compliance committee made up of Microsoft board members. The proposed settlement called for a three-member technical committee to oversee the settlement.

What is the likelihood either side can win on appeal?

"Trial judges have tremendous discretion to fashion remedies as they see fit," says Hillard Sterling, a partner at the Chicago law firm of Much Shelist and a specialist in antitrust and technology legal issues. "It will be very difficult to overturn her on appeal."

When would an appeal have to be filed?

Appeals must be filed within 30 days.

Can Microsoft still be broken up?

No. That possibility was thrown out in June 2001 when an appeals court upheld the ruling that Microsoft had illegally maintained a monopoly in the operating system market, but rejected a remedy of breaking the company in two.