Autor: Przemysław Pawełczyk (warpman_at_friko5.onet.pl)
Data: Wed 02 Sep 1998 - 15:14:39 MET DST
Hi,
Never too much, knowledge, of course.
Warpman
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By Ted Bridis
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, September 1, 1998; 11:59 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In court papers released today, the government
leveled new accusations that Microsoft moved illegally to smother the
market for a rival Internet browser by Netscape.
It also said Microsoft illegally tried to kill in its infancy a new
technology, called Java, that threatened to supplant Windows as the
world's dominant operating system.
The government also made passing mention to Microsoft's alleged
discussions with rivals Intel, Apple Computer and RealNetworks as "part
of a pattern ... to divide the market and restrict or eliminate
competition."
It said Microsoft tried to dissuade Intel from continuing to develop
software, tried to convince Apple not to sell its competing QuickTime
for Windows and wanted promises from RealNetworks that it wouldn't
share
technologies with Microsoft competitors.
In its 89-page court filing, the government contended that Microsoft
"set out to eliminate the potential threats posed by Netscape and
Java."
It said the company acted "at the specific and pointed direction of
Microsoft CEO Bill Gates."
Gates, who was questioned by government lawyers two days last week,
"displayed a particular failure of recollection at his deposition," the
court filing said. Gates was scheduled for a third day of questioning
Wednesday.
The Justice Department and the 20 states suing Microsoft urged the
judge
to reject company's request to dismiss the most important parts of the
pending antitrust case. The document was filed late Monday and
publicly
released today.
The latest allegations brought by the government doesn't substantively
broaden its lawsuit against Microsoft. Claims about the company's
actions toward Netscape and Java were included in its original filing,
but not with the level of detail afforded by today's court documents.
For example, the government accused Microsoft of cutting deals with
Intuit, which makes personal finance software, and with Apple to stifle
the market for Netscape and Java, a technology developed by rival Sun
Microsystems.
"Microsoft's dealings with Apple are illustrative of how far Microsoft
was willing to go to limit Netscape's opportunities and to stifle
Java,"
the government said, adding that the company's effort "is particularly
telling since Apple represents the main alternative to desktop PC's
running Microsoft Windows."
The trial is scheduled to start September 23.
The latest filing by the government came in response to the company's
earlier request for summary judgment.
In its request to throw out the case, Microsoft argued that a favorable
ruling in June from a federal appeals court -- combined with evidence
it
uncovered from business rivals -- undercuts the government's most
dramatic claims.
The government responded by pointing to statements by the appeals court
that said the ruling was only peripherally related to the pending
antitrust case.
The appellate court, in a separate but related case, had ruled that
Microsoft was allowed to bundle its Internet browser with its popular
Windows software, calling it "a genuine integration." That is legal,
because a single combined product offers benefits over separate ones.
"The appeals court ruling severely undermines their original case, so
they're trying to rewrite the case in a matter of days before the trial
begins," said Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray.
But the government contends Microsoft's bundling amounts to illegal
"tying" because it forces customers who use Windows -- the world's
dominant operating system -- to also use the company's web browser
rather than that of rival Netscape.
Microsoft also argued that during its trial preparations it uncovered
evidence showing that Netscape can distribute its browser through
computer makers, along with making it available on the Internet for
customers to download for free.
The Justice Department argued that asking consumers to download an
Internet browser is too burdensome and said that Microsoft was guilty
of
exclusionary agreements with the nation's largest Internet providers to
distribute its own browser instead of Netscape's.
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
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-- Wurds of Wisdom... I always take life with a grain of salt... plus a slice of lemon... and a shot of tequila. -------------------------------------------- Bob Rice <bob_at_rexxshop.com> Team OS/2 The REXX Shop http://www.rexxshop.com Join our friendly maillist. Send e-mail to shoptalk-request_at_rexxshop.com with SUBSCRIBE as the only word in the BODY of the mail. -------------------------------------------- Try some free ICE Cream, our MR/2 ICE add-on to automate and log your e-mail retrieval. ===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE=================== ============================= OS/2 WARP 4ever Przemysław Pawełczyk (Warpman) Freelance journalist Os. Centrum B 1/89 Phone +48 12 642-13-00 31-927 Kraków mailto:warpman_at_friko5.onet.pl Poland http://friko5.onet.pl/kr/warpman/ =============================================
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