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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: johnd who wrote (38052)	2/17/2000 9:42:00 PM
From: Captain Jack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

(REUTERS) Microsoft denies Gates offered to open Windows code Microsoft denies Gates offered to open Windows code SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp.<MSFT.O> on Thursday strongly denied that Chairman Bill Gates had told Bloomberg Television in an interview that he would be willing to open the Windows operating system source code to competitors to settle an antitrust suit with the U.S. Justice Department. "Bill did not make any of the comments attributed to him about the settlement," Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan said. "The comments they said Bill made are just not true." The suit by the Justice Department and 19 states is in a mediation phase and both sides have been instructed by the mediating judge, Richard Posner, not to talk to the media about details of the case. Just hours after Gates unveiled Windows 2000, the latest version of its flagship product, Bloomberg quoted Gates as saying, "Microsoft Corp. would be willing to open the source code for Windows software to competitors to settle the antitrust case filed by the U.S. Department of Justice." Bloomberg later issued a correction saying that the release should have read, "Bill Gates agreed with the statement" that Microsoft would be willing to open the Windows source code in order to settle. Cullinan emphasized that Gates had made no comments about opening the Windows source code. Windows accounts for about 40 percent of the Redmond, Wash.-based software company's revenues. "He just said that we would be doing our best to settle the case," Cullinan said, adding that such statements were the company's routine way of answering questions about the antitrust suit. Microsoft planned to make a transcript of the interview available on its Web site later on Thursday, Cullinan said. The Justice Department has argued that Microsoft abused its monopoly in computer operating systems to crush rivals and stifle innovation, charges that the court has largely agreed with. There has been speculation that the Justice Department could seek a break-up of Microsoft, a move the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant vigorously opposes. Another solution would be to open the Windows source code, which would let other software developers, including Microsoft competitors, create and sell their own versions of Windows, analysts have said. ((San Francisco bureau, 415-677-2500))