After four years of legal battling, the first — and perhaps only — visible result of the government's antitrust case against Microsoft will arrive this summer: an update to the Windows XP operating system for PCs that lets users hide the computer screen icons of some Microsoft programs.

Microsoft agreed to make the changes to its latest version of Windows in the settlement it reached last fall with the Justice Department and nine of 18 states. The company said it was complying with the settlement now, even though it had not yet been approved by a federal judge. "This is following the letter and the spirit of the consent decree," said Jim Cullinan, a Microsoft spokesman.

But it is not yet clear whether that decree is the final word on how Microsoft must change its business practices after being held liable for antitrust violations by an appeals court last June. And some analysts say Microsoft may have decided to show off the updated software last week — months before it will reach consumers — in an effort to sway the federal judge in the case.

In addition to ruling on whether the settlement is in the public interest, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court in Washington must decide whether to impose broader restrictions proposed by a coalition of nine state attorneys general.

Those states disagreed with the settlement reached between the Justice Department, nine other states and Microsoft. The dissenting states, including Utah, returned to federal court to contend the settlement was too lenient on Microsoft. The dissenting states say that Microsoft should be required to remove not just the icons to its programs, but the underlying code.

The power of the operating system depends on how many applications are developed to run on it, they say.

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Closing arguments in that proceeding are scheduled June 19, and the judge's decision is expected in late summer or early fall — around the time the software update for Windows XP will begin shipping in new computers. The upgrade will also be available free from Microsoft's Web site.

"This might comply with the spirit of the Justice Department settlement," said Roger Kay, an analyst with the technology market research firm IDC. "But the Justice Department settlement violates the spirit of what the antitrust suit is all about."

The Windows XP operating system upgrade allows customers to hide the icons to Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser, Windows Media Player audio and video playback software, Outlook Express e-mail program and Windows Messenger instant messenger software, in addition to choosing which version of the Java Virtual Machine they want to use. Currently, computer makers and consumers can install competing software, like the Netscape Navigator browser, but Microsoft's software cannot be removed from view.

In the new version of Windows XP, Microsoft has designed a screen with four options from which users can choose the programs they want. By clicking the choice at the top of the screen, they can select all Microsoft programs. The second choice offers all programs preselected by the computer manufacturer. The third choice offers all non-Microsoft programs, and the fourth allows users to pick their own combination.

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