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States cite version of Windows to bolster case

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CIOL Bureau
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Peter Kaplan

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WASHINGTON: Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates admitted in court on

Wednesday that his company already offers a customizable version of Windows,

despite his insistence it cannot comply with a similar demand by nine states

still suing the software giant.

Under a third day of questioning by an attorney for the states, Gates said a

commercial versions of the operating system, called Windows XP Embedded, allows

customers to choose different software features, including different versions of

its Internet Explorer browser and Windows Media Player.

But Gates said Windows XP Embedded, which is designed for use in specialized

devices like cash registers and automatic teller machines, subsequently would

not work the same way as the home version of Windows.

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The demand for a version of Windows that can be customized by computer makers

and rival software companies is a key part of the states' proposed antitrust

sanctions, aimed at leveling the playing field for Microsoft competitors.

Gates has testified that the states' sanctions would fragment the operating

system, cripple Microsoft, harm consumers and hurt the entire computer industry.

He told U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly earlier this week that it

would be impossible to engineer a version of Windows with removable features

because different components, such as Internet Explorer and Media Player, are

"interdependent" on each other.

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Windows XP embedded

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But that argument came under attack on Wednesday from states attorney Steve

Kuney.

"You can build an operating system that can run on a PC and support

virtually (all) applications that are currently supported by a PC running XP

home (version), correct?" Kuney asked Gates.

"Yes and No," replied Gates, pointing out that the embedded

Windows, once configured, did not allow a customer to load additional software

programs. "You wouldn't be able to go and take an application and install

it and have it run," Gates told the judge.

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The nine states still pursuing the case have refused to sign on to a proposed

settlement of the four-year-old case reached between Microsoft and the Justice

Department in November.

The settlement is designed to give computer makers more freedom to feature

rival software on the PCs they sell by, among other things, hiding some Windows

add-on features.

But the hold-out states say stronger measures are necessary to prevent

Microsoft from abusing its Windows monopoly in the future, particularly against

recent computer technologies like handheld devices and interactive television.

Microsoft has previously said the embedded version of Windows XP is not

comparable to other versions of Windows because it is so specialized.

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But Kuney argued that the embedded version was comparable, pointing to a

computer screen shot that listed the optional functions available for Windows

Embedded.

"There's no suggestion at this point that this is some sort of modified

or truncated version of Internet Explorer, is there, Mr. Gates?" Kuney

asked. "That's correct," Gates said.

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License cited

Kuney also showed the judge a provision in Microsoft's Windows XP Embedded

licensing agreement that specifically bars customers from running it on

"general purpose computing device."

A federal appeals court in June upheld trial court findings that Microsoft

illegally maintained its Windows monopoly in personal computer operating systems

with tactics that included trying to crush Netscape's Internet browser.

The appellate judges rejected breaking up the company and sent the case back

to the lower court to consider appropriate remedies to prevent future antitrust

violations.

The hearings on possible remedies in the case are now in their sixth week and

are expected to go through May. Kollar-Kotelly is also weighing whether to

endorse the settlement proposal.

The nine states still pursuing the case are California, Connecticut, Florida,

Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah, West Virginia, plus the District

of Columbia.

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