From The Dark Side--Microsoft Knows No Bounds

"An interesting analysis in the Maine Sunday Telegram "Sunday Business" section of the MS trial by Andrew J. Glass, Washington Bureau staffer for Cox News Service. (I couldn't find it on line from Cox News Service anyway. It apparently posts its stories after they are a week old - which is understandable since it is a subscription service supplying stories to the print media.)

Glass feels that the mood at the trial has "subtly shifted from the question of whether Microsoft broke the law to what limits should be placed on the software giant."

But an interesting tidbit that I haven't read elsewhere illustrates the extent to which MS continues right up to the present to "spin" (fabricate) a favorable story.

"Defense lawyers sought to stem the impact of (Prof.) Fisher's testimony by suggesting in court that Microsoft, which enjoys a market capitalization of $650 billion, was on the ropes and likely to falter from Linux....

"At one point, to try to make their case, they offered a 'confidential' e-mail message between two top Microsoft executives... that suggested 'Linux is beating Windows' in the retail marketplace. Although the judge openly suggested the memo, dated May 25, was cooked up to make an impact in court, he reluctantly allowed it to become a trial exhibit."

One can only hope that Mr. Boies will cross-examine MS on the memo, now that it is an exhibit. But, the absurdity of the assertion and the contrived manner of presenting it as "inside information" shows the extent to which MS is willing to go in its "spin."