Microsoft, States Clash On Remedy

In a court deposition released last Monday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said strict product sanctions would force it to offer thousands of different versions of its Windows operating system, creating havoc. He also said the sanctions recommended by nine states and the District of Columbia,which go further than proposed remedies in a settlement reached by Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice in November,would cost billions of dollars and allow competitors to clone Windows.

"The proposal as put forward by the . . . states would not be a decree that I would know how to comply with," Ballmer said in the deposition. "I actually think we would need to withdraw the Windows product from the marketplace."

In response to Ballmer's comments, the state attorneys general later that day filed another revision to their proposed sanctions. The change specified that Microsoft wouldn't be required to sell different versions of Windows but would only have to sell one "modular" version that allowed software features such as Web browsers, media players and instant messaging to be removed.

Because of the new revision, Microsoft last week requested a two-week postponement of the remedy hearings, slated to begin March 11.

Solution providers say a modular version of Windows is technically feasible, but they're unsure whether that is the best course. "If the goal is to confuse consumers, having multiple versions of Windows will succeed," said Ken Winell, president and CEO of Econium, Totowa, N.J. "Requiring Microsoft to support multiple OS configurations is also costly from the support perspective, and I think Ballmer is right in sounding alarmist."