I think we'll see lots of fallout from the Federal Trade Commission's approval of the America Online (AOL:NYSE - news - boards)-Time Warner (TWX:NYSE - news - boards) merger. An early example:

Given the FTC's requirement, as a condition of its approval, that the combined entity "open" its cable systems to other Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, in addition to RoadRunner, the captive service owned mainly by Time Warner, there are rumbles in Washington about the commission proposing a rule requiring similar open-access from all cable companies. Or at least, from all cable companies that have upgraded their systems to carry fast-Net-access service.

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It makes sense, if you think the demand that AOL-TWX open up RoadRunner is a reasonable and proper one.

Ever playful, Qwest (Q:NYSE - news - boards) didn't waste a second, immediately petitioning AT&T (T:NYSE - news - boards) for the right to access T's cable systems in Colorado and Washington. There's both more and less than meets the eye in Q's demand, though.

Qwest is relying not on the FTC's action in the America Online-Time Warner merger, but instead on a ruling from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, denying AT&T the right to discriminate against competitors by denying them access to its networks. Since the Ninth Circuit Court's jurisdiction does not extend to Colorado, Qwest is pushing the limit a little here.

Qwest has obviously been enjoying tweaking T on this cable-access issue. First, Qwest has itself denied competitors access to its own networks, while making the same demand of AT&T. Can you say h-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y?

Second, Qwest last month demanded that AT&T include it in an open-access test with outside ISPs that the company was running in Boulder, Colo. T, of course, ignored the request.

From an AT&T spokesman: "Qwest should be ashamed of themselves."

Ahh, the twists and turns of the joining of cable and telcos

Important point I failed to make in my column earlier today about the Microsoft Billion-dollar Bust warning:

We all know and worry about threats to Microsoft's (MSFT:Nasdaq - news - boards) revenue stream from a slowdown in PC sales. Since every one of those PCs sold has Windows preinstalled on it, Microsoft earns a licensing fee from PC makers for every box shipped.

But there's a less-evident, second threat, which came to mind for me as I heard Microsoft CFO John Connors say Thursday that the miss was driven in large part by lower-than-expected license fees, thanks to that slowdown in PC sales.

Virtually every one of those Windows-equipped PCs also goes out the door with either one of the variants on Microsoft's Office 2000 suite, or its lower-cost Microsoft Works Suite 2001 sibling. Either way, every PC not sold means not just a missed opportunity for Windows-license income for Big Redmond ... but also no application-preload license income.

Another aspect of the custom of preloading Microsoft applications packages on new PCs -- and of the company blaming the earnings miss in large part on slowing apps sales: We have grown so accustomed to getting a new version of the applications suite most of us use on our new PCs -- and of upgrading PCs every two to three years or so -- that our instinct to go down to the store and buy a shrink-wrapped upgrade package of that suite "between PCs" is substantially dimmed.

Yet for Microsoft, given the number of copies of Office and Works out there now, the retail market for both is now almost completely an upgrade market. So our growing resistance to upgrading software only, instead waiting for the new, "free" software we know will come on our next PC, is a double-whammy for Mr. Bill and his shareholders.

Little noticed in the press over the Microsoft earnings warning late Thursday, and Oracle's (ORCL:Nasdaq - news - boards) announcement in tandem of a great quarter, were a couple of important personnel changes at Cisco (CSCO:Nasdaq - news - boards).

Following former Cisco exec veep Don Listwin's departure four months ago to run OpenWave Systems (OPWV:Nasdaq - news - boards), nee Phone.com, Cisco announced late Thursday that its highly regarded veep of worldwide operations, Gary Daichendt, is departing to spend more time with his family.

Two high-level departures do not a trend make -- and Cisco's turnover, both in the ranks and in the executive suite, has been remarkably low -- but Daichendt is going to be hard to replace.

At the same time, Cisco nabbed a potential new star for an important job. Hossein Eslambolchi left AT&T, where he helped run T's packet-switched business, to become Cisco's senior vice president of service provider solutions.

Cisco's new focus on "service provider" customers, as opposed to just selling routers to corporate accounts, comes at a time when reduced telco capex spending brings worries about just how many bucks those service providers may have to spend with Cisco -- or with anyone else.

But it's essential for Cisco to meet Nortel (NT:NYSE - news - boards), Lucent (LU:NYSE - news - boards) and the other big switching-equipment companies head-on, and on a level playing field.