Feds should force Microsoft into showdown over Windows XP :Dan Gilmore... Perhaps it's beginning to dawn on federal and state antitrust officials that Microsoft is playing for keeps. The company's unsurprising decision Tuesday to appeal its antitrust conviction to the Supreme Court looks more like a stalling tactic than anything else. But it comes at a crucial time -- on the eve of the release of Windows XP, the linchpin in Microsoft's plan to extend its monopoly into new areas of commerce.