21.   But inside the hearing room, heads of rival companies painted a totally different picture of Microsoft and Gates.

22.   But rival companies, led by companies like Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems, have argued that Microsoft needs to be reined in more strictly.

23.   But rival companies, including the industry leaders, have been quick to fill the void.

24.   But some may also be worried about how four huge firms can avoid conflicts when performing services for rival companies.

25.   Check vacation and sick-leave policies at rival companies of about the same size in your area.

26.   Clinton wants to keep sales to developing countries like Brazil growing, at a time when rival companies from Europe and Asia also are vying for contracts.

27.   Earlier this year, Jackson found that Microsoft was a predatory monopoly that used unfair business practices to crush rival companies.

28.   Executives at rival networking companies also questioned what could bethe largest merger transaction in the industry.

29.   For a nomadic engineer bent on working on the latest projects, it might be a job offer from a rival company with a challenging assignment, Lee said.

30.   Gulf National sued Loewen four years ago after Loewen bought two rival Mississippi companies.