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Ballmer ordered to testify in Vista case
THE SHY AND RETIRING, softly spoken, Microsoft CEO, Steve " there is a kind of hush" Ballmer will be ordered to testify in a class-action lawsuit challenging Microsoft's Vista Capable program as deceptive.
US District Court Judge Marsha Pechman has ruled she wanted to see Steve dance in the witness box to answer questions in the case.
She wants to hear what Ballmer mimed to Intel CEO Paul Otellini on January 30th, 2006. After that call, Vole changed to its Vista Capable marketing program that would help Intel flog hardware that would soon be obsolete.
Ballmer must be deposed within 30 days as part of a class-action lawsuit challenging Microsoft's Vista Capable program as deceptive.
Microsoft asked the judge to dismiss the remaining claims in the suit on the grounds that plaintiffs have not offered evidence that addresses the legal issues in question. It had also wanted to keep Ballmer from the witness box on the sound defence that he knew nothing.
Pechman didn’t buy it and said Ballmer may have "relevant, unique personal knowledge of relevant facts". Only Ballmer has knowledge of the conversation he had with Intel's Otellini, she said. µ
L'Inq
Seattle Times
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'Only Ballmer has knowledge of the conversation he had with Intel's Otellini, she said.'

Presumably Otellini does, too?
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".
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$.
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?