Novell, Executives Attack Microsoft Practices

Novell's Chief Technology Officer Carl Ledbetter testified Wednesday in the ongoing remedy phase of the antitrust suit against Microsoft. Ledbetter told the court that the settlement proposed by the nine states and the District of Columbia would do nothing to stop Microsoft from refusing to disclose technical information required by competitors to ensure interoperability with Windows. He claimed Novell's network operating system would not benefit from such a proposal which largely covers Microsoft's desktop monopoly.

Redmond counsel Michael Lacovara fired back, questioning Ledbetter's assertion that his company faced numerous incompatibility issues when marketing material said Novell software was fully interoperable with Windows. Lacovara also showcased e-mails from Ledbetter that infer Novell planned to use the trial to force Microsoft to adopt Novell's products.

"After we get in, we can proliferate," Novell CEO Jack Messman wrote in an e-mail to Ledbetter. "Could the directory or some other product be our Trojan horse?" Ledbetter responded: "Getting Microsoft to adopt [Novell's] eDirectory is clearly the best way to do this and we've talked about it in the past. If what we are doing in the states' anti-trust case creates a crack in Microsoft's resistance, we may have a way to renew the offer."

Novell has been known to take every chance to stick it to Microsoft. In December, the company posted a special Web site entitled "Why They Lie," devoted to exposing the truth behind Microsoft marketing claims. Even this week Novell released a video spoof of Microsoft's flying Windows that shows a Windows server crashing and Redmond employee slamming his head on the keyboard.

In recent days, computer executives from Gateway, Intel and Red Hat slammed Microsoft's defense, stating the software giant utilized fear tactics to force PC manufacturers to accept restrictive terms of its Windows license. Former Intel Vice President Steven McGeady on Tuesday compared Microsoft's actions to cannibalism.

Perhaps the most damaging blow to Microsoft since the remedy hearings began came this week when Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly announced she will allow testimony from industries not only directly involved in the original suit, but also those into which Microsoft is expanding. "I've decided that I need more factual information, frankly," she said.