Microsoft's Antitrust Trial: Government Lawyers Present Explosive Evidence Against Bill Gates

As the antitrust trial against Microsoft continued, government lawyers presented a series of damaging testimonies and documents that painted a picture of a ruthless attempt by Bill Gates to crush Intel's software development efforts. The evidence challenged the long-held notion of a benevolent "Wintel duopoly," revealing a complex web of pressure, intimidation, and market manipulation by Microsoft to maintain its dominance.

Key Takeaways:

• Bill Gates repeatedly denied attempting to dissuade Intel from software development, but Intel Vice President Steven McGeady testified that Gates told him Microsoft would not support Intel's next processor offering unless it dropped its software projects.
• McGeady said Gates felt Intel should not use its microprocessor profits to fund software competition, and that Microsoft would "extinguish" Netscape's browser software by developing incompatible browser software.
• Intel had charged its team with developing native signal processing (NSP) software, which would have allowed video and audio data to play smoothly on personal computers, but Microsoft pressured Intel to cancel the project, which Gates considered "infuriating."
• Gates had a strained relationship with Intel, citing the NSP project as a major point of contention, and felt that Intel was "hard to work with."
• A 1995 memo from Gates suggested that Intel's investments in multimedia support for the Internet were a threat to Microsoft's plans for industry domination.
• Microsoft spokesman Michael Murray attempted to dismiss McGeady's testimony, suggesting that he might be venting anger over being sidelined by Intel.

Statistics:

• Intel had spent $4 million to gain access to the Rolling Stones' song "Start Me Up" for use in launching Windows 95.
• The government's testimony mentioned a 700-person software development lab at Intel that was shut down under pressure from Microsoft.
• The development program called native signal processing (NSP) allegedly "infuriated" Bill Gates.
• 2 1/2 hours of testimony were spent placing confidential internal Intel and Microsoft documents into evidence, supporting McGeady's contention that "the threat from Microsoft was credible and fairly terrifying."

Sources:

• Glass, Andrew J. "Gates Denies efforts to bar Intel from software development." [No date specified in the original text]
• Same article as above.