Microsoft Corp has taken a pre-emptive strike at the government’s next witness in the antitrust trial, Princeton University professor Edward Felten, ahead of his appearance on the stand Monday. The company issued a statement Friday refuting some of the main points of Felten’s written testimony – mainly the assertion that IE can indeed be removed from Windows 95 and 98 in a manner that will not endanger the non web-browsing functions provided in the operating systems. Microsoft asserts that Felten’s prototype removal program didn’t actually remove IE from Windows 98, but only hid some of its functionality – and claims that he actually removed almost none of the IE software that performs web browsing and other functionality. Redmond also trumpets the fact that Felten had to modify Windows source code in order to hide access to web browsing. The company points out that Felten doesn’t testify that there is an easy way to remove IE from Windows 98, but suggests that with a certain amount of engineering work, the operating system can be redesigned so that IE can be disabled. That testimony proves nothing, the company insists, explaining, You can surgically remove someone’s right arm, but the arm was certainly a useful part of the person’s body before it was removed. Microsoft promises that the real story will come out in court.
