Compaq vice president John Rose, enduring his first day of cross-examination in the Microsoft antitrust trial says that Windows is not a monopoly, despite the fact that there are no viable alternatives available. Rose says that Windows plays a vital part in its plans for the Presario line of systems.
"All the way back to 1993 we had a vision for the Presario as not just a PC, but a center of information, entertainment, and communication. It was a paradigm shifting device," he said, adding that Windows uniquely "fit that vision."
Rose points to over 70,000 Windows-compatible applications as the most compelling reason to use the operating system. Rose's cross-examination followed the final day of questioning for Microsoft executive Brad Chase, who argued that online giant America Online, who has recently purchased Netscape, was continuing to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer in its software solely to aid the government's case against the software giant.
"\[Switching to Netscape\] would be inconsistent with AOL's desire to support the government's position in this case," Chase said.
