Computer Scientist Testifies for Microsoft

Microsoft Corp.’s Windows software would collapse like a “house of cards” under an antitrust proposal by nine states to strip Internet Explorer from the operating system, a computer scientist testified.

MIT professor Stuart E. Madnick said it would be “difficult, if not impossible, to implement” the states’ proposal for a “modular” version of Windows that would let computer makers easily remove programs such as Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player. The professor likened Windows to a brick wall that would topple without the blocks of computer code that make up the system’s Web browser.

Madnick is the 13th witness to testify against the states’ proposals for tougher remedies than the software maker agreed to accept in a proposed settlement of the U.S. government’s 4-year-old antitrust case.

A Princeton University computer scientist, Andrew Appel, testified for the states that there are no technical barriers to a stripped-down version of Windows.

Microsoft shares rose 49 cents to $52.75 on Nasdaq.