so if ballmer & otellini had a conversation and no one else heard it, and the contents of that conversation are potentially incriminating to both of them, and the 5th amendment being what it is.... How is this going to matter?

Defence To Ballmer: Where you a where of the change made to support INTEL's lower chipset but knowning it wouldn't be enough to show VISTA's full capability.

Baller: I have no part in this!

The usual sentence he says to everything thats gone tits up for M$.

Indeed, Otellini has direct knowledge of his conversation with Balmer. Unless someone can obtain a written transcript of that conversation it will be difficult to prove what they did or did not say and testimony could be easily slanted in one direction or another, particularly if the two have a conversation to "get their stories straight".

'Only Ballmer has knowledge of the conversation he had with Intel's Otellini, she said.'

Presumably Otellini does, too?