Re: Excerpts from Gates testimony

[Mitch Stone <mstone@vc.net>]

--- From a message sent by Norm on 11/6/98 5:44 AM ---

>     Wait hell, that's been one of their main defense strategies all
>along.  By trying to turn the tables (ie. "Apple playing hardball")
>they've been trying to to take the "everyone does it" scenario one step
>further into the realm of 'self defense' (ie. 'if everyone's doing it
>we have to do it to defend ourselves').

True, but I was thinking of the public relations strategy, not the legal 
strategy. My working assumption is that this case will result mainly in 
public relations damage, as any legal resolution of the issues is too far 
off in the future to be of much material value.

>     What frustrates me though is that the DOJ could easily render this
>defense strategy completely moot just by working to prove (the obvious)
>that M$ does in fact *HAVE* a monopoly.  Once this is established M$
>will no longer be able to take cover under the "everyone's doing it"
>excuse, because the same rules don't apply to "everyone else". 

The economists will be called as expert witnesses next week, I believe. 
Expect the three economists to offer at least four different definitions 
of monopoly.

   Mitch Stone
   Editor, Boycott Microsoft
   http://www.vcnet.com/bms 
 +---
   The threat to cancel Mac Office 97 is certainly the strongest
   bargaining point that we have, as doing so will do a greater
   deal of harm to Apple immediately.
     --- e-mail from Microsoft's Ben Waldman to Bill Gates, 1997