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Technology Stocks : MSFT Internet Explorer vs. NSCP Navigator -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Keith Hankin who wrote (15145)	12/19/1997 6:34:00 PM
From: John F. Dowd	Respond to of 24154

Dear Keith: The following tells you how computer literate this judge is. Please read the entire article and then you will understand MSFT's dilemma. The judge said they had to separate the two but perhaps he didn't mean it as literally as he spoke in court. Microsoft Must Explain Browser Position By David Lawsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge Friday told Microsoft Corp. he easily uninstalled the company's Web browser without breaking Windows 95 and ordered company officials to explain why they could not do the same. "Windows 95 functioned flawlessly" with Internet Explorer uninstalled, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson told Microsoft. Last week he ordered the company to make its Windows 95 software operating system available to PC makers without also requiring them to accept Internet Explorer. The company called Jackson's decision unworkable and appealed it. Nonetheless, Microsoft said it had complied with his order by offering computer makers the choice of an old version of Windows 95 or one that the company says will not work. Personal computer makers may instead buy an up-to-date system with both Windows and the Web browser installed. At a hearing to schedule arguments over a government allegation that Microsoft is in contempt of Jackson's order -- and should be fined $1 million a day -- the judge said he had seen a demonstration showing that Microsoft's Web browser could be uninstalled in about 90 seconds. He said a court employee had used a brand new Micron computer with the latest version of Windows 95 as he watched. "I was given a demonstration," Jackson said. After the uninstall, he said, "Windows 95 functioned flawlessly." The judge then explained the simple steps the employee had followed to uninstall the Internet Explorer Web browser. At the end, a message flashed on the screen saying that Internet Explorer had been "uninstalled successfully." Jackson said the program could be reloaded with equal ease in what appeared to be a very simple process. "If it's not that simple, I'd like to have it refuted," he told Microsoft officials at Friday's hearing. Microsoft must file a brief by Dec. 23 explaining its position and the government will file a response on Dec. 29. The judge set a hearing for Jan. 13, with each side permitted only one witness. The scuffle is part of an increasingly intense battle between the government and Microsoft. The Justice Department has charged that Microsoft is trying to muscle rival Netscape Communications Corp. out of the Web browser market by forcing PC makers to buy Microsoft's Web browser along with its dominant Windows 95 operating system. After the hearing, Brad Smith, associate general counsel of Microsoft, was asked about news reports speculating that the company might settle the case. "There's no discussion that I'm aware of," he said in a telephone interview, adding that he probably would know about such discussions. "The case is continuing." Smith also said that the uninstall mechanism described by the judge actually left 97 percent of Internet Explorer intact, removing little more than the "icon" on the screen known as the "desktop." He said that despite what Jackson said about the program functioning flawlessly, the removal breaks a couple of functions in Windows 95, such as the ability to easily download other Web browsers. Smith said Windows 95 is a technologically complex product that is best left alone by the government. "You simply can't slice and dice it with a legal meat cleaver," Smith said. The Justice Department, however, is beefing up its legal team. It has retained David Boies, a highly regarded New York lawyer, to help try the case against Microsoft. After the hearing Friday, Christine Varney, a former Federal Trade Commissioner now representing Netscape, was jubilant. "I think the judge has understood the seriousness of the issue," she said. Microsoft stock closed at $128.69, down $2.19 on Nasdaq, where it was among the most active issues.