The US Justice Department has again signaled that it intends to go the distance in its case against Microsoft Corp by recruiting David Boies, one of the best-known anti-trust litigators in the US, reports The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Boies, a 56 year-old legal veteran, made his name helping IBM Corp’s defense against antitrust action in the 1970’s and he is renowned for an astute mind that can cut through the complexities of such cases. Microsoft is also playing hardball for now, trying to make the point that IE functions are integral to the current Windows environment. But US District Judge Thomas Jackson has called Redmond’s bluff, insisting that deleting Internet Explorer from Windows 95 is a cake walk. The Judge told lawyers for both sides that with the help of a technician, he easily deleted Internet Explorer in about 90 seconds and reported no loss of Windows functionality. As a result of Judge Jackson’s conclusion that Microsoft is making a lot of noise about nothing, he has called for a hearing on January 13 to explore technical questions in the case. Both Microsoft and the Justice Department have been told to provide one witness each for the hearing. Microsoft has until December 23 to provide a brief for the hearing, while government lawyers have been given a deadline of December 29.
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