Lessig email angry at IE install
By Dan Goodin January 5, 1998, 2:50 p.m. PT
The special master assigned to the Justice Department's case against
Microsoft was advised to file suit against the software giant after his
Internet Explorer installation allegedly caused problems on his
personal computer, according to documents released today by the
government.
The email, sent to a Netscape Communications executive in June,
complains that after installing the<bold><underline> Microsoft Web
browser on his Macintosh</underline></bold>, Lawrence Lessig was unable
to use features of Netscape's software.
"This is making me really angry," the email states. "Charlie Nesson
thinks we should file suit." Nesson is a Harvard Law School professor
specializing in computer issues.
The email was filed along with a brief arguing that Lessig should not
be removed as special master in the case, which the Justice Department
initiated in late October.
According to the filing, Microsoft sent Justice Department attorneys a
letter today that made "a variety of accusations against Professor
Lessig, including that the email exchange shows he has 'actual bias
against Microsoft' and that he is 'a partisan of Netscape.'"
In a footnote, the government went on to dispute the claim. "These
assertions are unfounded and overblown and depend largely on
assumptions and conjecture," the brief states. "They do not appear to
raise any credible basis to conclude that the email, viewed in light of
all the facts of this case, relates to any relevant issues or creates
any reasonable indication that Professor Lessig is biased against
Microsoft or has a 'closed mind' about any of the matters in dispute."
Representatives from the Justice Department and Microsoft were not
immediately available for comment.
--
"The public wants what the public gets,
but I don't want what society's
got" - Paul Weller
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