This whole thing reminds me of the recent Supreme Court ruling where the Supreme court decided that it was more qualified to determine the rules of golf than was the PGA.
Quite disgusting in my opinion.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/640207/posts?q=1&&page=1
The thread at the above URL has a report that indicates that Ballmer and Gates may be thinking of a "corbomite maneuver."