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

To: XiaoYao who wrote (22175)	12/17/1998 3:24:00 AM
From: XiaoYao	Respond to of 24154

Judge Says AOL-Netscape Deal May Be 'Very Significant Change' By JOHN R. WILKE and KEITH PERINE Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL interactive.wsj.com WASHINGTON -- The federal judge presiding over the Microsoft Corp. antitrust trial said America Online Inc.'s planned $4.2 billion buyout of Netscape Communications Corp. "might be a very significant change in the playing field." The comments by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson surprised both sides because his prior rulings and statements from the bench have been generally favorable to the government. While he could still find that the software giant violated antitrust law, as the government charges, any remedy could be less restrictive if he believes the AOL-Netscape merger might create a strong competitor. The deal "could very well have an immediate effect ... on the definition of the market," Judge Jackson said late Wednesday. As a result, he said he might grant Microsoft's request for additional evidence related to the merger that it could use in its defense. The judge said that while he is "very reluctant" to allow new evidence to be gathered at this point, he might permit Microsoft some limited review of documents Netscape and AOL will have to produce as part of their effort to seek regulatory approval for the merger, which is now pending at the Justice Department. Renewed Effort Lawyers for Microsoft, the Justice Department and the 19 states backing the case said they would confer on how to accommodate the judge and Microsoft's request. But the Justice Department's trial counsel, David Boies, reminded Judge Jackson that "there may be some statutory issues" that would prevent the disclosure of documents collected for the merger review that under the law are kept secret. Receive e-mail notifying you of news from the Microsoft antitrust trial. However it is accomplished, the judge had clearly opened the door to some renewed effort by Microsoft to collect new evidence, a setback for the government. John Warden, Microsoft's lead counsel, welcomed the judge's remarks but cautioned against reading too much into them. "It's a mistake to draw a conclusion from comments the judge makes from the bench," he said. But he said there is now "plenty of evidence" that the Netscape Internet browser, which Microsoft is alleged to have targeted for extinction, "isn't going away" as a result of the merger. Mr. Warden said outside the courthouse that the combined AOL-Netscape would be a formidable competitor on the Internet. Microsoft wants the additional documents, he said, because "public and private pronouncements often differ" and Microsoft wants to know more about the talks that led up to the merger announcement, which occurred as executives from both companies were in Washington testifying against Microsoft. A Microsoft spokesman added that the pending deal "shows that the industry is racing ahead at 120 miles an hour and any attempt by the government to regulate this industry is going to be five steps behind the pace of competition and innovation." Effect on the Trial Mr. Boies said he doubted the request for additional evidence would hurt the government's case. Indeed, it could show that Netscape was so badly wounded by Microsoft's tactics that it couldn't survive as an independent company, he said, but he added that the merger had no bearing on other major issues in the case. Mr. Boies also said the government's core allegation that Microsoft acted illegally to protect its Windows monopoly doesn't change. Antitrust experts have generally agreed that while the pending deal doesn't directly alter the main issues in the trial, it could affect any eventual prescription for a remedy if Microsoft loses the case. Mr. Boies conceded as much Wednesday, saying outside the courthouse that "all of the elements of the way the industry looks are going to be relevant when it comes to the issue of remedy." The issue in the trial remains Microsoft's Windows monopoly in the operating system, he said. The browser -- and Microsoft's tactics against Netscape -- are legally significant because they were undertaken to protect Windows, he said. In earlier testimony, the government played taped depositions of computer and software makers who said Microsoft's tactics hampered their ability to provide product choices to consumers. A Packard Bell NEC executive said, for example, that most PC buyers don't want to have an Internet browser forced on them. Other PC and software executives said they saw the browser as an application, separate from the operating system; Microsoft sees them as a single product. Judge Jackson cut short the videotaped testimony late Wednesday and adjourned the proceedings, which have been going on for nine weeks, until Jan. 4, when Intuit Corp.'s chief executive, William Harris, is expected to testify for the government. Mr. Boies and Stephen Houck, counsel for the states, say they now expect to complete their case by mid-January.

To: XiaoYao who wrote (22175)	12/17/1998 3:28:00 AM
From: XiaoYao	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

microsoft.com Ironically, the DOJ alleged in the October 1997 lawsuit that Microsoft had engaged in wrongdoing because IE was merely "bundled," not integrated. In this lawsuit, the DOJ alleges that Microsoft has engaged in wrongdoing because IE is integrated, not bundled, making "removal" more difficult. Neither claim has merit. Numerous IBM documents shown in Mr. Howards deposition demonstrate that IBM recognized that consumers want Internet browsing integrated into their operating system: (Deposition Exhibit 3 - OS/2 and Network Computing) - "Network connectivity is not new in OS/2 -- a large suite of Internet tools have been integrated into the OS/2 Warp family of products, including Internet browsers, TCP/IP for OS/2, telnet, FTP tools, 3270 and 5250 emulators, and many other networking functions. These are not add-ons to the operating system, but are fully integrated." (p. 50) (IBM exhibit 4) - "OS/2 has also integrated one of the best TCP/IP stacks available." (p. 52) (IBM exhibit 8) - "In addition to the improved Web browser thats built into OS/2 Warp 4s user shell, users now have the option of using Netscape Navigator for OS/2 Warp." (p. 94)