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Friday, Jul. 17, 1998
Senators to probe high-tech rivalries
Hatch cites Microsoft activities; Gates hasn't been invited to testify
By TED BRIDIS
Associated PressWASHINGTON - The Senate said Thursday it will hold new hearings next week on competition in the high-tech industry. Microsoft said its chairman, Bill Gates, hasn't been invited to testify.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the witness list for the Judiciary Committee hearings was still being compiled but said he expects testimony from ``a number of leading software industry innovators and CEOs.''
Hatch, the committee chairman and a frequent critic of Microsoft, questioned Gates and other high-tech executives in March. He asked particularly tough questions about Microsoft's sales agreements with other companies and its decision to bundle its Internet browser in Windows.
``Given Senator Hatch's continued attacks against Microsoft, it's not clear that additional testimony from Microsoft will serve any useful purpose,'' Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray said Thursday.
Earlier this month, Hatch said he was worried about Microsoft's push into the market for set-top television boxes, which can control voice, data and video communications into homes.
Microsoft, which is being sued by the government in a landmark antitrust case over its browser-bundling and sales agreements, bought WebTV last year and has invested $1 billion in cable company Comcast and $212 million in Time-Warner's high-speed cable Internet access plans.
``I believe we need to look beyond the so-called browser wars,'' Hatch said Thursday. ``There is little question that Microsoft, which now controls the PC software market, is seeking to extend its desktop monopoly. . . . As a government and as a society, I think we must give close scrutiny to the nature, extent and ramification of this development.''
At the March hearings, Microsoft rivals Jim Barksdale of Netscape Communications Corp. and Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems appeared with Gates, along with Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corp.
``We have not received a formal invitation to this hearing and despite repeated requests, Senator Hatch's staff has refused to provide any specifics on what this new hearing is about or who will be testifying,'' Microsoft's Murray said.
Murray also said it might be inappropriate for Microsoft to testify because of the pending antitrust case. The trial is set for Sept. 8.
Meanwhile, three other Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee are accusing the Justice Department of stirring separate foreign antitrust investigations of Microsoft.
The Justice Department called the assertion ``completely false.''
Sens. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Spencer Abraham of Michigan and Jon Kyl of Arizona said the Justice Department's antitrust lawyers ``have effectively been lending support to foreign governments to use their antitrust laws against Microsoft.''
The three Republicans cited visits by Justice officials to Japan, Brazil, Israel and France during which they discussed the U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft. Japan and Brazil have since opened investigations against the software company.
Asked about the charges at a Senate hearing Wednesday, Attorney General Janet Reno promised to respond once she had time to look into the complaints.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web