1.   A few dissenting states, or even one, could scuttle a settlement proposal, legal experts say.

2.   Competing companies and the nine dissenting states see too many loopholes and are preparing to ask a federal judge to impose tougher penalties.

3.   For both the dissenting states and the Justice Department, the procedural framework of the case has legal and political pitfalls.

4.   Next Monday, the judge is set to begin a trial that is expected to last more than a month to consider the remedies proposed by the dissenting states.

5.   The dissenting states say the proposed settlement has too many loopholes and does not do enough to promote competition in the software industry.

6.   The dissenting states are pushing for a settlement that will give computer manufacturers more leeway in how they configure computers with the Windows operating system.

7.   The dissenting states returned to federal court to contend the settlement was too lenient on Microsoft.

8.   The dissenting states say that Microsoft should be required to remove not just the icons to its programs, but the underlying code.

9.   The motion filed on Tuesday is an attempt by the dissenting states to intervene in the settlement proceeding, where they are not a party.

10.   The motion from the dissenting states came as the tempo of activity in the long-running antitrust case has begun accelerating again.