Free Browser Stumps Economist
Microsoft's Lacovara won't complete his cross examination of states' economist Shapiro until Monday, a day when the first of the 31 Microsoft witnesses is also likely to appear. But in the last few minutes of the trial Thursday, Lacovara returned to the question of unbundling software from Windows, leaving Shapiro with a quandary to think about as the trial adjourned for the week.
The problem was this: The states' remedy would require Microsoft within six months to sell a version of Windows without the Internet Explorer web browser, software that is at the root of the antitrust case. Microsoft would be required to discount the price of the browserless Windows, based in part on development costs for Explorer.
But Microsoft would also be required to publish for free the software code for Explorer, allowing developers to create their own versions of it. That would leave Microsoft with no incentive to invest in Explorer, since the discount would increase with development costs at the same time that computer makers could install a "perfect open source clone with innovations in it," Lacovara said.
Answered Shapiro, "I hadn't considered that before."
While allowing he wanted more time to think about the problem, he said Microsoft could recover Explorer development costs by raising the price of Windows.
"So you would raise the price of Windows for all consumers?" asked Lacovara. Shapiro responded that maybe the requirement to discount the browserless Windows should be reconsidered in light of the requirement to give away its source code.
Responded Lacovara, "So they would not get a discount for the only piece of Microsoft middleware that was at issue in this trial?"
Said Shapiro, "you can put it that way," but the open source Explorer is a powerful remedy. "So it's not quite as odd as your question makes it sound."
By Mark Wigfield, Dow Jones Newswires; 2028283397; Mark.Wigfield@dowjones.com
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