Gates said he didn't remember writing that specifically. But Boies pressed him about what companies he would include in the term browser share. After Boies rephrased his question, Gates played the artful dodger. While the tape was rolling, however, all eyes were on U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who audibly laughed and shook his head during the sometimes comical war of words between the argumentative attorney and the hostile witness.
Browser share needs to remain a key priority for our field and marketing efforts.
Some of the exchanges evoked laughter in the courtroom. Gates said he was confused. After 20 minutes of bobbing and weaving Boies' questions, Gates testified that he and other company officials were looking at rivals' browsers, including Netscape's then-market dominant Navigator browser and the browser then used by America Online, which was called Booklink. Outside the courthouse, a Microsoft spokesman said the government was grasping at straws and had decided to play portions of Gates' deposition in order to embarrass the company chairman. The remainder of that tape was word games.