From WSJ:
WASHINGTON -- Endorsing a key component of the case for tough restrictions on Microsoft Corp., a computer expert who inspected the secret code that makes up the Windows operating system said it could be broken into separate parts and still function effectively.
Andrew W. Appel, a professor of computer science at Princeton University in New Jersey, inspected the closely guarded code -- often likened in corporate importance to the secret formula for Coca-Cola -- on behalf of the group of nine state attorneys general pursuing the antitrust case against Microsoft. He was the first expert witness to take the stand, following weeks of testimony by high-tech executives from AOL Time Warner Inc., Gateway Inc. and other companies.
The states are seeking tough restrictions on Microsoft's business practices, including the so-called modular version of Windows, from which programs such as the Internet Explorer Web browser and the Windows Media Player audio-visual software can be removed. The Justice Department and several other states moved to settle its part of the antitrust case in November, after an appeals court upheld the finding that the company illegally maintained its operating-system monopoly.
Mr. Appel testified before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that the terms of the Justice Department settlement were insufficient to allow competition in software for Windows. "It is my opinion that this broader disclosure of technical information set forth in the states' remedy is necessary to allow independent software developers to create programs that effectively interoperate with Microsoft platform software, including the Windows operating-system products," Mr. Appel testified.
In cross-examination that began late Tuesday afternoon, Microsoft lawyer Steven Holley questioned whether Mr. Appel could speak with confidence after examining only portions of the 38 million lines of code that constitute Windows. Mr. Appel employed two assistants to help him with the task. The code was made available to him in late February, making it impossible to review the whole thing, Mr. Appel said.
Disclosures of technical information were central to the expert testimony. Both the states and the Justice Department have asked Microsoft to give other software companies sufficient access to the technical interfaces -- like hooks that allow the programs to connect with the operating system -- to write for Windows.
The states' proposed remedy goes much further, including a provision allowing outside software programmers a closed facility where they can inspect the Windows source code. Microsoft lawyers have argued that would allow competitors to clone the popular computing platform.
Mr. Appel testified that the necessary interfaces are just 1.2% of the source code, and no more than 1.7%, allowing for a margin of error. In addition, he said that the kind of modular programming which would be used for the jigsaw-puzzle version of Windows had been "an accepted programming standard for over 20 years."
The settlement Microsoft reached with the Justice Department has been criticized as full of loopholes. In his testimony, Mr. Appel critiqued a provision allowing Microsoft to avoid disclosures for security reasons. "This provision is premised on a concept of computer security that is inherently flawed as a matter of computer science and that is overly broad for any legitimate purpose," he said.
Microsoft has one computer-science professor and an engineering professor slated to testify for the defense.
WASHINGTON -- Endorsing a key component of the case for tough restrictions on Microsoft Corp., a computer expert who inspected the secret code that makes up the Windows operating system said it could be broken into separate parts and still function effectively.
Andrew W. Appel, a professor of computer science at Princeton University in New Jersey, inspected the closely guarded code -- often likened in corporate importance to the secret formula for Coca-Cola -- on behalf of the group of nine state attorneys general pursuing the antitrust case against Microsoft. He was the first expert witness to take the stand, following weeks of testimony by high-tech executives from AOL Time Warner Inc., Gateway Inc. and other companies.
The states are seeking tough restrictions on Microsoft's business practices, including the so-called modular version of Windows, from which programs such as the Internet Explorer Web browser and the Windows Media Player audio-visual software can be removed. The Justice Department and several other states moved to settle its part of the antitrust case in November, after an appeals court upheld the finding that the company illegally maintained its operating-system monopoly.
Mr. Appel testified before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that the terms of the Justice Department settlement were insufficient to allow competition in software for Windows. "It is my opinion that this broader disclosure of technical information set forth in the states' remedy is necessary to allow independent software developers to create programs that effectively interoperate with Microsoft platform software, including the Windows operating-system products," Mr. Appel testified.
In cross-examination that began late Tuesday afternoon, Microsoft lawyer Steven Holley questioned whether Mr. Appel could speak with confidence after examining only portions of the 38 million lines of code that constitute Windows. Mr. Appel employed two assistants to help him with the task. The code was made available to him in late February, making it impossible to review the whole thing, Mr. Appel said.
Disclosures of technical information were central to the expert testimony. Both the states and the Justice Department have asked Microsoft to give other software companies sufficient access to the technical interfaces -- like hooks that allow the programs to connect with the operating system -- to write for Windows.
The states' proposed remedy goes much further, including a provision allowing outside software programmers a closed facility where they can inspect the Windows source code. Microsoft lawyers have argued that would allow competitors to clone the popular computing platform.
Mr. Appel testified that the necessary interfaces are just 1.2% of the source code, and no more than 1.7%, allowing for a margin of error. In addition, he said that the kind of modular programming which would be used for the jigsaw-puzzle version of Windows had been "an accepted programming standard for over 20 years."
The settlement Microsoft reached with the Justice Department has been criticized as full of loopholes. In his testimony, Mr. Appel critiqued a provision allowing Microsoft to avoid disclosures for security reasons. "This provision is premised on a concept of computer security that is inherently flawed as a matter of computer science and that is overly broad for any legitimate purpose," he said.
Microsoft has one computer-science professor and an engineering professor slated to testify for the defense.
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