Linux executive accuses Microsoft of withholding important technical data

Monday, March 25th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ A top executive of Linux operating system distributor Red Hat accused Microsoft Monday of taking ownership of open technology standards in an attempt to frustrate other companies.

Red Hat Chief Technology Officer Michael Tiemann said Microsoft adds ``extensions'' to critical communications methods that computers use to transmit security information, print, and perform other tasks. Those extensions are proprietary to Microsoft, he said, and despite recent actions Microsoft has not been forthcoming in releasing details of those changes.

``Some disclosure does not mean complete disclosure or substantial disclosure,'' Tiemann said.

Tiemann took the stand on behalf of nine states that want Microsoft to be hit with strong penalties in order to restore competition and break Microsoft's Windows monopoly.

The nine states want U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to force Microsoft to create a stripped-down version of its flagship Windows software that could incorporate competitors' features. The states also want Microsoft to divulge the blueprints for its Internet Explorer browser.

The federal government and nine other states settled their antitrust case against Microsoft last year with lesser penalties.

Microsoft lawyer Stephanie Wheeler said the federal settlement would require disclosure of technical information needed by other firms to let their systems communicate with Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system.

Tiemann replied that the settlement's definitions are so subjective that Microsoft could easily evade disclosure.

Wheeler asked Tiemann whether he would consider Microsoft's actions a ``bad act'' that requires a penalty.

``I would not be alone in characterizing it that way,'' Tiemann said.

Microsoft objected to Tiemann's accusations, repeating their complaint that new accusations are not appropriate for the current hearing, which is confined to deciding what how Microsoft should pay for prior antitrust violations.

Despite Wheeler's threat that Microsoft would have to present ``a parade of witnesses'' to refute the allegations, Kollar-Kotelly refused to throw out Tiemann's testimony, though she said she would not view it as a new violation.

Red Hat distributes the Linux operating system, which is based on a ``open-source'' model in which software developers create programs through collaboration and share their software blueprints. Microsoft, like most software firms, jealously guards its technical data.

The nine states have offered several new examples of alleged predatory behavior by Microsoft, saying that the court should be aware of the technology landscape in order to fashion an appropriate remedy.

States that rejected the government's settlement with Microsoft and have continued to pursue the antitrust case are Iowa, Utah, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Kansas, Florida, Minnesota and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia.