Microsoft's Dismissive Attitude

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Which is it now -- the cool, smart Microsoft or the arrogant, petulant one? We'll find out Monday, when the software giant will seek a summary judgment to have all charges against it dismissed, and will request its trial be delayed until such a judgment is considered. Following a hearing today, the company said that evidence uncovered in discovery will rebut each of the five key points the DOJ and the states must prove to make their case.

It had better be pretty strong evidence -- summary judgments are rare in matters as complex as antitrust cases, and Microsoft risks losing face if its attempts fall too far short of plausibility. Steve Houck, an antitrust enforcer for New York State, which is leading the charge, said it is "highly unlikely" that Microsoft's request will be granted. But Microsoft head counsel William Neukom contends that the appeals court decision recognizing Windows 95 as being integrated with Internet Explorer would prove fatal to a successful prosecution of his company.

Be that as it may, in the likely event that the case proceeds to trial September 8 as scheduled, you can expect to hear some of Bill Gates's views. The über-honcho had tried to limit the length of his August 12 deposition, but Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson said he'd just have to hang in there for as long as it takes. Microsoft was also ordered to hand over the source code for Windows to the DOJ and the states for examination. Second set, Microsoft serving.