Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News

      States Outline Case Against Microsoft

      By
      Darryl K. Taft
      -
      March 18, 2002
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        WASHINGTON—In the opening salvo of what could be an eight-week court-room battle, the lead lawyer for the states that had not signed onto the antitrust settlement between Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. Department of Justice laid out nearly a dozen proposals designed to keep the software giant from exercising its operating-system monopoly powers.

        On Monday morning in U.S. District Court here, Brendan Sullivan—the Williams & Connolly lead attorney for the District of Columbia and nine states that are continuing to pursue antitrust charges against Microsoft—outlined the proposals in his opening statement.

        One of the key proposals is that Microsoft, of Redmond, Wash., be required to issue an open source license for its Internet Explorer browser.

        “Internet Explorer [IE] enjoys its position because of [Microsofts] illegal anti-competitive conduct over many years,” Sullivan told Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. “IE is the fruit of Microsofts illegal actions, and it should be denied to them.”

        Sullivan told the court that it is appropriate to mandate that IE be open sourced to ensure that others have access to the platform and to prevent Microsoft from benefiting further from IEs dominance.

        Sullivan outlined a number of what he termed “barriers to entry” that Microsoft had put in place. While not citing Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates by name, Sullivan said, “the chairman” was directly involved in promoting Internet Explorer, cutting deals with Apple Computer Inc. and threatening American Onlines Netscape division. Sullivan said all of these strategies were aimed at helping to commoditize Windows.

        “And the word commoditize, on the campus of Microsoft, is like Kryptonite to Superman,” Sullivan quipped.

        Another of the key remedy proposals sought by the states includes requiring Microsoft to distribute Java with Windows. Sullivan noted that Microsofts own strategy documentation includes the words “strategic objective: kill cross-platform Java by growing the polluted Java market.” The particular Microsoft document that includes this citation was not made available as an exhibit by press time.

        Other state remedy proposals that Sullivan itemized include requiring Microsoft to continue to sell the version of Windows that precedes the most current release for a set period of time, putting safeguards in place so that Microsoft cannot retaliate against other companies, preventing Microsoft from using its licensing terms to stifle competition, forcing Microsoft to unify and standardize its Windows licensing terms, and requiring Microsoft to work with a special master to oversee its compliance with any court-ordered remedies.

        The nine dissenting states that are pushing ahead with the remedy hearing are California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and West Virginia. The District of Columbia is also part of this group.

        While the current remedy hearing proceeds, Kollar-Kotelly is continuing to examine, in a separate proceeding, whether the settlement agreed upon by the Justice Department and nine other states in November best serves the interests of the public.

        For more on the Microsoft antitrust case, check out eWEEKs special report,

        Avatar
        Darryl K. Taft
        Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Android

        Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

        Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
        Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
        Read more
        Cloud

        Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

        Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
        Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
        Read more
        Cybersecurity

        How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

        eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
        Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
        Read more
        Big Data and Analytics

        How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

        Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
        There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
        Read more
        Apple

        Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

        Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
        If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
        Read more
        eWeek


        Contact Us | About | Sitemap

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

        © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

        ×