The following transcript is part of the videotaped deposition of Bill Gates conducted by lead government attorney David Boies, played in court yesterday. The government side claimed they played the tape to show that Microsoft viewed Java as a threat to its operating systems business. Microsoft responded by saying that the excepts were out of context and were played only to besmirch the reputation of Microsoft and Mr Gates, and to distract the public’s attention from the lack of credible evidence supporting the government’s claims. The exchanges are undeniably comic, with both Gates and Boies frequently showing their irritation, and the extract below was the subject of much laughter in court. Ben Slivka is a senior software engineer at Microsoft, and the exchange relates to an email message sent from Slivka to Gates on May 14,1997.

BOIES: Now, Mr Slivka here says that Microsoft is going to be saying uncomplimentary things about JDK 1.2 at every opportunity. Do you see that?

GATES: Where’s that?

BOIES: That is, JDK 1.2 has JFC, which we’re going to be pissing on at every opportunity.

GATES: I don’t know if he’s referring to pissing on JFC or pissing on JDK 1.2 nor do I know what he specifically means by pissing on.

BOIES: Well, do you know that generally he means by pissing on he’s going to be saying and Microsoft is going to be saying uncomplimentary things?

GATES: He might mean that we’re going to be clear that we’re not involved with it, that we think there’s a better approach.

BOIES: Well, as you understand it, when Mr Slivka says he’s going to be pissing on JDK 1.2, as you seem to interpret it, at every opportunity, do you interpret that as meaning that Microsoft is going to be saying uncomplimentary things about JDK 1.2?

GATES: I told you I didn’t know whether pissing applies to JFC or JDK.

BOIES: Well he’s going to be pissing on or Microsoft is going to be pissing on either JDK 1.2 or JFC or both according to Mr Slivka. Is that at least fair?

GATES: That appears to be what the sentence says.

BOIES: Yeah. And as the chief executive officer of Microsoft, when you get these kind of emails, would it be fair for me to assume that pissing on is not some code word that means saying nice things about you, that it has the usual meaning that it would in the vernacular?

GATES: I don’t know what you mean in this kind of email.

BOIES: The kind of email that is sent to you by executives in the course of you business, Mr Gates.

GATES: So all emails I get? Ben Slivka’s not an executive.

BOIES: All the emails you get from people telling you that they’re going to piss on competitive products, that’s what I’m talking about.

GATES: I don’t remember mail like that. It looks like I got one. But believe me, it’s not a term that’s commonly used.

BOISE: But you have no reason to think that he means it in any way other than the normal meaning of that term, do you sir?

GATES: I think it’s a term of multiple meanings. In this case I think it means what you suggested it means.