We were willing to explore ways in which [computer makers] might create more choices in browsing technology. There were a number of issues we thought were worthy of discussion, but the government would not engage us. We were there to solve a problem, and they were constantly asking for more.

This preliminary injunction threatens every American technology company's right to innovate and define what goes into its products. The ruling puts the government into the middle of complex product design issues in an industry that, for more than 20 years, has experienced incredible growth, innovation and competition - without government intervention.

It's impossible to move, to live, to operate at any level without leaving traces, bits, seemingly meaningless fragments of personal information.

It's a much bigger deal for the computer makers than it is for anybody else.

Every bit makes a byte

What a computer is to me is the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.