The dispensation provided to Dell, the world's second-largest PC maker and a close ally of Microsoft's, could pose a risk to Microsoft in its antitrust fight with the government, according to legal specialists. Computer manufacturers, the government asserts, should be free to decide whether they want to display the icon for a rival browser made by Netscape Communications Corp. in place of Explorer's icon.
Icons are symbols for programs.
Placement of a program's icon on the Windows desktop, the first screen a user sees when a computer is turned on, gives a major marketing advantage to the program. Windows NT is an operating system designed for computers that are connected to corporate networks. A Microsoft official denied that Dell has received any special treatment. Microsoft requires that all computers sold to consumers have the Explorer icon, which is a symbol for the browser. Consumers can remove the icon if they choose, but the company has not given them any way to remove the browser itself.