A group of top IT executives last week sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice arguing that any delay in the release of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 98 operating system will hurt the industry, a Microsoft spokesman said.
"Our success depends on the freedom of Microsoft and the rest of America's personal computer industry to create new and innovative products," the letter states.
Addressed to Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein, who heads the Justice Department's antitrust division, the letter was signed by 26 high-tech executives, including Andy Grove, chairman and CEO of Intel Corp.; Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Computer Corp.; Eckhard Pfeiffer, CEO of Compaq Computer Corp.; and Lewis Platt, CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co.
Microsoft said it has been receiving calls from industry partners concerned about recent press reports, according to which the June 25 rollout of Windows 98 might be delayed by the ongoing Justice Department case against Microsoft or by new antitrust charges being contemplated by the attorneys general of 13 states.
Microsoft took an active role in drafting the letter, according to the spokesman, Mark Murray. "A lot of our partners have been calling us, asking what they can do to help," Murray said. "The letter was a group effort. Virtually all the companies involved helped to draft and edit the letter."
It is significant, he added, that the executives who signed the letter did express their opinion on the Justice Department investigation.
The Justice Department has been investigating Microsoft's business practices related to the bundling of its Internet Explorer browser with Windows. The department alleges that Microsoft is trying to dominate the browser market through that bundling, which it describes as anticompetitive practice. Microsoft has begun to offer PC vendors an unbundled version, but many top vendors - including those whose leaders signed the letter - have said their customers want Microsoft's bundled software.
Justice Department spokesman Michael Gordon said that to his knowledge the department had not received the letter.
"We are here to enforce the law," Gordon said, declining further comment.
