The long-awaited court hearing between Microsoft Corp. and the Department of Justice begins today as the software giant fights to prove it is not in contempt of court.
The hearing was scheduled by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to determine if Microsoft disobeyed a Dec. 11 ruling requiring it to unbundle Internet Explorer from the Windows 95 operating system.
Expected to appear on the witness stand is David Cole, Microsoft vice president in charge of Internet Explorer. Cole will try to uphold Microsoft's argument that separating the browser from the operating system would cripple the Windows 95 platform.
Despite this contention, the Redmond, Wash., company said it offered computer manufacturers an earlier version of Windows and a version of Windows 95 with the Internet Explorer files deleted.
If the court decides Microsoft has ignored its original ruling, the company could be fined $1 million a day, as the Justice Department has requested.
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