Palm Says Antitrust Case Got Microsoft's Attention

Palm executive Michael Mace told U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly the software giant had refused Palm access to the software development tool called VISP and had set one-sided conditions for allowing Palm handhelds to work with Microsoft's .NET Internet software.

Mace was the ninth witness called by nine states seeking stiffer sanctions against Microsoft for findings it illegally maintained its Windows monopoly in PC operating systems.

"We are pleased that Palm may now be offered access to VSIP, but the process by which we go there was very disturbing," Mace said in written testimony.

Mace, chief competitive officer of Palm's software subsidiary, says Microsoft had refused to allow Palm into the VISP, short for Visual Studio Intergration Program, even though it was supposed to be open to the whole computer industry.

The nine states have rejected a proposed settlement reached between Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department and want broad remedies that would also protect technologies that have emerged since the case was launched nearly four years ago.

Microsoft argues the sanctions cannot go beyond specific wrongdoing upheld by a federal appeals court last year, mainly that Microsoft tried to crush Netscape's Internet browser to preserve its Windows monopoly.

Mace says Microsoft had tried to barter Palm's entry into VISP in exchange for Palm deploying Microsoft's .NET technologies, a suite of Web-based services.

VISP allows software developers who write their programs for Windows to convert easily their programs to run on Palm's operating system.

Palm had tried to gain entry to the VISP program for two years and was only now in the final details of a deal.

"Microsoft sent us the contract only after we had documented clearly that there was no resource barrier within the Visual Studio team itself, that Microsoft had been using VSIP entry to get leverage over us in the .NET negotiations and after it was becoming clear that Palm was participating in the current court proceedings," Mace says.

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