Microsoft claims DoJ hand-picked IE critics

Microsoft has attacked the written testimony of computer consultant Glenn Weadock, who is due to take the stand at the antitrust trial today, as "a collection of opinions, not a statement of facts." In a statement Microsoft claimed that companies Weadock had talked to for his testimony had been hand-picked by the government. "It would be interesting to ask why the government did not speak to some of the major companies that are building innovating applications on top of the Windows platform utilising Internet Explorer technologies," said the statement. But the companies Weadock talked to are in themselves interesting - there's Microsoft's Seattle neighbour Boeing, for example. Weadock's testimony takes the form of consultation with numerous companies over their views on browsers, and their plans for future deployment. In general, they seem to think browsers are applications, not operating systems, and that being forced to take IE as part of Windows 98 loses them flexibility and choice, and causes them needless expense. But nevertheless Boeing is moving from Navigator to Internet Explorer - why? Says Boeing's 18 month tactical plan, quoted in Weadock's testimony: "The main reason for moving to Internet Explorer 5.0 in Q2/3 of 1999 are: We do not have a choice [Boeing's italics] … the integration between Internet Explorer and the desktop operating system cannot be fully disabled … Our only choice is whether we will install two browsers or just install Internet Explorer." Of course, the DoJ may well have 'hand-picked' companies especially hostile to Microsoft for Weadock's investigations. Like Boeing, maybe? Well. Here are some excerpts from a Microsoft release of May 27 1997: "Boeing selected Systems Management Server to provide desktop management based on Systems Management Server's ability to scale to meet the company's needs. Microsoft and Boeing teamed up to test the software … "Based on our scalability testing up to 100,000 clients, we're confident that Systems Management Server is a firm foundation that meets the needs of The Boeing Company," said Chris Kent, director, computing and network operations at Boeing. Or there's this piece of Microsoft PR: "Among large enterprises, over half of the 1998 Fortune 50 have already adopted Microsoft Exchange Server as the corporate standard. Boeing and General Electric have successfully deployed over 125,000 Exchange seats each." So Boeing is a committed NT shop that doesn't buy the IE bit of the strategy, but that's about it. The DoJ has hand-picked one of Microsoft's biggest fans, apparently. Other hand-picked companies include Chrysler, Informix, Citibank, FedEx, Ford, Morgan Stanley and US Steel. ® Complete Register trial coverage