Microsoft's appeal had failed; the US Supreme Court had denied Seattle's petition and upheld the ruling of the Columbia District Court.
Even the many liberal political teams that Microsoft mobilized for street protests could not alter this fact.
Similarly, assaults from the party could not hinder the private agreement reached between the White House and Capitol Hill.
Jokingly, within the so-called separation of powers, the President, Congress, and the Department of Justice were all pushing for Microsoft's split.
At such a time, a small faction could not sway the situation; it was the trend of the times.
Thus, after struggling for two more months, Microsoft almost accepted this fact amid general gloom.
Just as Gates and Ballmer had agreed before, they crafted a Microsoft split plan.
The core company that inherited the operating system assets would still operate under the name of Microsoft for subsequent businesses.