Gates Star Witness for the Defense
WinInfo | at | by Mike
He came bearing a meticulously prepared, 155-page testimony, complete with charts, graphs, and graphics. He was polite in court, even chatty, laughing and smiling when appropriate. He was also in command of the facts, and often presented detailed, technical explanations during his direct answers to questions. He was, in other words, nothing like the person we saw in video deposition clips almost four years ago. He was also, unfortunately, nothing like the real Bill Gates.
On the stand, Gates sat erect, answered questions quickly and decisively, and appeared to be in command of the facts. The only real drama, to be honest, is that Gates is somewhat hobbled by having to stick to the letter of Microsoft's "Chicken Little" defense, in which the company claims that a states' request to create a modular Windows version is impossible and would damage the company and its product irreparably. To be fair, he made some good points, including a request that any court approved remedy be clearly written, with terms such as middleware concisely defined.