CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Joined Netscape in January, 1995, after serving as CEO of AT&T Wireless Services in the wake of its merger with McCaw Cellular Communications. Earlier, he spent 12 years at Federal Express Corp. -- ending as chief operating officer.

EXPECTED TO TESTIFY:
In his direct testimony released on Oct. 19, Barksdale recounts a long list of transgressions by Microsoft -- all aimed at defeating Netscape in the Web browser market and heading off the threat it poses to the Windows operating system. He calls for remedies that would separate Microsoft's operating system employees from those who work on applications and a prohibition on bundling browser technology with Windows 98. "Any remedy, to be effective, must prevent the use of such monopoly power to stifle innovation -- and choice," he says.

Barksdale's testimony includes the first detailed description of the June 21 meeting between Microsoft and Netscape executives that is at the heart of the Justice case. Barksdale contends that Microsoft offered at that meeting to illegally divide up the browser market. Microsoft officials offered Netscape a "special relationship" -- including an equity investment -- if they agreed not to create a version of their browser for the upcoming Windows 95 operating system.

Instead, Netscape would be expected to build an application that ran on top of Windows and Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, Barksdale said. Microsoft said it would not provide Netscape with some technology help it had asked for if it didn't agree to Microsoft's terms, according to Barksdale. "I have never been in a meeting in my 33-year business career in which a competitor had so blatantly implied that we should either stop competing with it or the competitor would kill us," says Barksdale.

When Netscape refused to play ball, Microsoft set out to put the company out of the browser business, according to Barksdale. The software giant started giving away its Internet Explorer browser for free, forcing PC makers to ship every machine with IE installed and visible on the first screen, and cutting exclusionary distribution and promotional deals with PC makers, Internet service providers, and Internet content providers.

Among the examples cited by Barksdale:

America Online: After Netscape made a deal to provide AOL with a version of its browser that could be shipped as part of its software package, Microsoft cut a separate deal that made IE the only browser that would be shipped with AOL's software. Microsoft's offer to place AOL's icon on every Windows desktop interface won the day, Barksdale says he was told of the decision by AOL CEO Steve Case.

Erol's: The CEO of this East Coast Internet service provider told Barksdale that Microsoft offered to pay 20% of his $600,000 monthly advertising bill if he agreed to exclusively distribute and promote Internet Explorer.

Apple: Then-CEO Gilbert Amelio told Netscape that Apple had agreed to bundle IE with its computers because Microsoft CEO Bill Gates had threatened to stop developing Office 97 for the Macintosh if Amelio didn't go along.

Attachmate: Barksdale says he learned that Microsoft intimidated this software maker into halting a new-product development project as well as stopping distribution of Netscape's browser. The threat: That Microsoft would start bundling software with Windows that would compete directly with Attachmate's main line of business -- which is providing access between desktop computers and mainframes.

Disney: Netscape was on the verge of making a deal to include Disney's Web site on its Netcaster browser feature, but at the last minute Disney pulled out. Instead, it agreed to receive a featured position on Microsoft's competing channel bar in Internet Explorer -- but only on condition that it not give Netscape any compensation for the Netcaster placement.

International Paper: Microsoft beat out Netscape as the supplier of Internet and intranet software because it agreed to provide much of the software for free.

Barksdale also complains that Microsoft has repeatedly withheld vital technical information in order to make Netscape less competitive. In one instance, in 1996, Netscape tried to license a software tool from Microsoft that would improve its browser's ability to dial in to Internet service providers. The answer from Microsoft: No go. And that was in spite of the fact that Microsoft licenses the technology free of charge to other companies -- as long as they agreed to distribute IE exclusively.

In its defense, Microsoft is expected to argue that Netscape's mistakes -- not anything Microsoft did unfairly -- are responsible for the smaller company's declining fortunes. But Barksdale asserts that Netscape's browser market share started to decline long before Microsoft fielded a competitive product. He quotes Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft's president, saying that Netscape in 1996 was Microsoft's "smartest competitor." Barksdale concludes: "Apparantly facing a worthy adversary, Microsoft could not resort to competition in an open marketplace, but rather resorted to using its monopoly to ensure a win."