Java takes centre stage at Microsoft trial

The main focus of the Department of Justice's case against Microsoft will this week be based on the software giant's alleged attempts to stop Sun Microsystems' Java programming language gaining universal acceptance.

Sun vice president James Gosling, one of the creators of Java, is expected to take the stand against Microsoft in the protracted anti-trust trial.

In a separate case last month, Microsoft was dealt a damaging blow when a US judge made a preliminary ruling that it may have used unfair business practices to stop the widespread adoption of Java (PC Dealer, 25 November).

The DoJ will release written testimony from Gosling, which will allege that Microsoft saw Java as a threat because it could run across different operating systems and could therefore hurt Windows' dominance in the market.

Later witnesses called by the DoJ will be two academics - Ed Felton, a professor at Felton University, and David Farber, from the University of Pennsylvania. They are expected to testify that Internet Explorer is a separate product from Windows 98 and the two have only been combined to gain an illegal advantage in the browser market.

William Harris, chief executive of Intuit, is also expected to testify on how Microsoft put Intuit's Quicken software on the Windows desktop in exchange for Microsoft promoting IE.

Government witness Frederick Warren-Boulton continued his argument that the vendor held a monopoly. He said Microsoft could raise its licence charge to OEMs without a drop in sales. This ability to increase prices without fear of competition, together with its market share of more than 90 per cent, was proof of a monopoly, he claimed.