Love them or hate them, you have to give Microsoft credit for trying. Whilst repairing one bloody nose in the law courts, the software giant gaily goes on with new initiatives, at least one of which, for the automotive industry, invites some jibes from the Press.

Part of the Microsoft anti-trust trial findings were that the company overcharged consumers by as much as 0 for copies of Windows 95 and 98. That finding was the launch-pad for thousands of private prosecutions throughout the USA. Since then, state by state, Microsoft has been battling to have the prosecutions removed from state courts on a technicality.

The technicality in question is known in US legal circles as Illinois Brick and refers to a Supreme Court decision in 1977 that indirect purchasers cannot sue original suppliers. Since most people bought their copies of Windows through distributors, they can't sue Microsoft.

Removing the cases to federal courts, where the Illinois Brick precedent applies, has been partially successful in 8 states so far: Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Oregon, Nevada, Rhode Island and Texas. However, that still leaves 40+ to go and California and Michigan, by contrast, have elevated the cases to class action status.

None of which sheds any light on the merits of the claims, since all these moves are based on legal technicalities rather than merit. And 0 is a precise figure that the plaintiffs are going to have to substantiate. In fact, of course, the whole process is primarily a delaying tactic whilst moves to overturn the anti-trust verdict proceed.

Perhaps it's all this experience with one bloody nose that has made Microsoft impervious to the prospect of another, albeit much more minor one, from the Press. On Sunday Microsoft unveiled its third version of Windows CE for automotive software. General Motors (GM) plans to use it for in-car Internet access. But haven't we heard something about Windows, cars and GM before?

Eighteen months ago an email was circulating on the Web purporting to give a GM reply to a reported jibe by Gates against the car industry. Bill supposedly said that if the car industry had kept pace with the computer industry, we'd all be driving 5 dollar cars that did 1000 miles to the gallon. The alleged GM reply was that if cars were built like MS software, they'd crash twice a day for no reason, every time lines on the road were repainted you'd have to buy a new car, after executing a left turn you'd have to re-install the engine, etc. Never mind, there's a new facility where you'll be able to test the truth of that. Anxious to push further into the Internet market, the Redmond giant has unveiled a test centre in Austin, Texas, where users can test drive websites based on MS software. More test centres are planned in Chicago, Silicon Valley and Toronto, the move being planned to show off MS-based offerings against those of rivals Sun and Oracle or based on Linux. The test centres will allow scalability and security assessments and transaction cost analyses.

It's a great idea and should prove a very useful facility. As I said, you have to give Microsoft credit for trying. On the other hand, one of the ideas mooted, having independent trials of MS vs Sun or Oracle solutions in a Microsoft test centre, offers yet more bloody nose potential.