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AOL: Microsoft better deal
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October 26, 1998: 6:23 p.m. ET
America Online CEO Steve Case explains company's decision to use Microsoft IE
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As the Microsoft trial entered its second week, America Online CEO Steve Case said Monday that AOL chose Microsoft's Internet browser over Netscape's because Microsoft was willing to use AOL's software with its operating system.
When asked if Microsoft (MSFT) twisted his arm to choose its browser, Case said, "We talked about Microsoft and Netscape (NSCP), both of which had at that point superior solutions than what we were presently offering and tried to work out the best possible deal.
"We thought at the end of the day they were reasonably comparable technical solutions, both quite a bit superior to what we were presently focused on, so certainly the factor that tilted it in favor of Microsoft was their willingness to bundle our software with their operating system."
In his luncheon speech to the National Press Club, Case also said an AOL executive was subpoenaed and will likely testify at the trial this week.
"He will explain our view of our relationship with Microsoft, which you can imagine is a complex relationship in that we do license technology from them, but we also compete vigorously with them," Case said.
"Hopefully, as all the facts come out and everybody has a real sense of what's happening, people will make the right choices to really focus on innovation and focus on competition."
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