WASHINGTON -- As the Microsoft antitrust trial resumes, the roster of governments aligned against the software company is a little shorter.
In a high-profile defection, South Carolina announced it's pulling out of the case, expected to enter its eighth week Tuesday. That leaves 19 states and the Justice Department to wage the legal fight against Microsoft.South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon, a Republican, cited last month's $4.2 billion purchase of Netscape Communications Corp. by America Online Inc. as evidence that in the nation's high-tech industry, "further government intervention or regulation is unnecessary and, in my judgment, unwise."
Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, contended Monday that the AOL-Netscape deal makes it "hard to believe the government can continue to make its case with a straight face." The deal "shows the marketplace is working just fine."
In a satellite interview with reporters, Gates portrayed himself as the victim of overzealous government lawyers who don't understand the industry's "incredibly fierce" competition.
Gates had particularly harsh words for Justice lawyer David Boies, who interviewed Gates for most of his 20 hours of questioning over three days last summer. The government has shown hours of videotape at trial from those interviews, in which Gates appears evasive and forgetful trying to dodge questions by Boies. Gates accused Boies of intentionally asking vague questions.
"Mr. Boies has made it clear in the negotiations leading up to this that he is really out to destroy Microsoft," said Gates.
The Justice Department, in a statement, dismissed the comments as "another public relations effort to distract attention from the overwhelming evidence introduced in court."
It said South Carolina's withdrawal will have "zero impact" on the antitrust trial.
Condon, the state's attorney general, said in a statement also distributed by Microsoft: "I can no longer justify our continued involvement or the expenditure of state resources on a trial that has been made moot by the actions of the competitive marketplace."
Microsoft said it gave $20,000 this election cycle to the Republican Party in South Carolina. State GOP executive director Trey Walker described the contribution as among the largest received.
In written testimony released Monday, software expert David Farber of the University of Pennsylvania criticized Microsoft's decision to include its Internet software within its dominant Windows operating system. Adding extra functions to Windows increases its size and complexity, slows its performance and increases the likelihood of bugs in the software, he told the federal judge.
The judge has requested that all witnesses provide their testimony in writing to speed the trial. Microsoft was expected to begin questioning Farber today.
The government contends Microsoft "tied" its Internet software to Windows 98, which would violate antitrust law because it forces Windows customers also to use Microsoft Internet software.
Legal experts have said this "tying" allegation may be among the weakest of the government's claims, because a federal appeals court ruled in a related case in June that Microsoft's bundling its Internet software with Windows 95 was legal and a "genuine integration" because consumers benefited.
But Farber warned that if Microsoft were allowed to add anything to Windows, the company "could become the one and only universal software product."
Farber's complaint was the same voiced in June by the lone dissenting appeals court judge, Patricia Wald. She said the appeals ruling "would seem to permit Microsoft to 'integrate' word-processing programs, spreadsheets, financial management software and virtually any other now-separate software product into its operating system."