WASHINGTON (AP):
MICROSOFT'S COMPETITORS plan to tell a federal judge this week that the software giant is using its monopoly power to shove out competition in emerging technology markets.
The witnesses were taking the stand starting yesterday on behalf of nine states that want Microsoft to be hit with strong penalties in order to restore competition and break Microsoft's Windows monopoly.
The nine states want Microsoft to create a stripped-down version of its flagship Windows software that could incorporate competitors' features. The states also want Microsoft to divulge the blueprints for its Internet Explorer browser.
The federal government and nine other states settled their antitrust case against Microsoft last year with lesser penalties.
As the nine remaining states pursue the next phase of the case, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly refused in the first week of testimony to rule on a central issue - whether the penalties should cover issues outside the desktop computer operating system market on which the first antitrust case was based.
The states hope Judge Kollar-Kotelly will allow them to present evidence they say shows that Microsoft has damaged competition in emerging markets such as hand-held computers, television set-top boxes and "smart" cell phones.
That will be an uphill battle, as the law does not allow the states to punish Microsoft for accusations that were not addressed in the first proceeding. The states have to make the distinction that Microsoft's actions are part of a pattern of conduct that can only be stopped by the states' remedies.
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said the company was pleased with the first week of tesll Inc., Ledbetter plans to say Microsoft abused industry standards for competitive gain and that the states' penalties would force Microsoft to disclose technical information that would help computers communicate with each other.
Steve McGeady: A former executive with Intel Corp., the world's leading computer-chip maker, McGeady will testify that the technical disclosure will not compromise security, as Microsoft claims.
Michael Mace: A top executive of handheld computer pioneer Palm Inc., Mace will allege that Microsoft has tried to block Palm's development by blocking access to its development tools.
