When federal prosecutors asked John D. Rockefeller for financial data in the suit that broke up Standard Oil, his lawyer's response was brief and to the point: "I'll see you in hell first." Microsoft hasn't been that dismissive of its own high-profile antitrust suit, but it's come close. Vice chairman Steve Ballmer declared, "To heck with Janet Reno," last year. And earlier this month a supremely self-assured Bill Gates told a meeting of 2,000 Microsoft shareholders that "the facts simply don't support the government's claim."
But as the Justice Department begins Week Six of its hard-hitting case, Microsoft's blithe confidence is...