|
Wow, this story is
infuriating. It's just Microsoft at it's tactics again, but it's just
disturbing to hear what they actually are.
Microsoft is on trial for stealing technology. The facts are, before the
case has even begun:
- Microsoft has admitted deleting 35 weeks of emails, pertaining only to
this case. Why? Because, they claim, Burst's technology was "unimpressive
and not of interest to Microsoft". However, it took them two years to figure
that out, and enough emails were kept that printed out, they filled 120
boxes. If the technology was that aweful, and they only managed to figure
that out after two years, why didn't they delete all the messages, and not
just 35 weeks worth? Yeah, maybe just a little suspicious. It's also of
interest that for those 35 weeks, they not only deleted the messages off the
user desktops, they took the time to go to the mail servers and removed the
copies from there.
- Microsoft has begun cc'ing lawyers when sending emails. This allows them
to claim attorney-client privilages. Microsoft can't claim to have invented
this either though, the lawyers in the tobacco cases figured that one
out.
The Burst lawyers did their homework though, and noticed from the
Sun-Microsoft trial that Microsoft stores all emails on over 100,000 off-site
tapes. So, the judge ordered them to produce the messages. The judge wasn't
buying their tale either -- upon Microsoft's statement that finding the
messages would be like finding a needle in a haystack, the judge reminded them
that is was they who put the needle in the hay. Good one, judge :-)
|