1.   At the Justice Department, meanwhile, officials were talking to industry leaders about the ops-aps idea, and other short-term conduct remedies to go with it.

2.   Besides, the conduct remedies would be difficult to enforce, requiring constant government monitoring of the American software industry for years to come.

3.   A package of conduct remedies along the lines rejected by Microsoft in the settlement talks might just about have met the first aim.

4.   Alas, the most likely outcome now is that the case will drag on for several more years, while a bundle of ineffective conduct remedies is devised.

5.   But the trouble with conduct remedies is that they require constant oversight and monitoring to be effective, and a clever company can often find ways to sidestep them.

6.   Conduct remedies require strong enforcement mechanisms to remain effective, and the states were having trouble finding mechanisms they were certain could work.

7.   Concerned about their prospects on appeal, and about public opinion, among other issues, the states had been planning to ask only for conduct remedies.

8.   Far more antitrust violations are addressed by conduct remedies than breakups, but the effectiveness of breakups is easier to judge.

9.   He could focus on so-called conduct remedies for some of the ways Microsoft unfairly drove out competition.

10.   In addition, they say, the government intends to propose a series of conduct remedies likely to remain in effect for two to three years.