Microsoft, Justice Present Arguments

The Justice Department and Microsoft Corp. argued Friday whether the computer software giant violated a consent decree by requiring computer makers that want to use its Windows operating system to accept its Internet browser as part of the package.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson adjourned a hearing in his crowded courtroom without ruling in the dispute. The government has asked that Jackson rule quickly on whether Microsoft is in contempt of court for violating the 1995 agreement aimed at preventing anti-competitive practices. The Justice Department seeks an unprecedented $1 million-a-day fine for continued violations.

Microsoft attorney Richard Urowsky denied that the company, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., is forcing computer makers to accept its Internet Explorer browser as part of its Windows 95 operating system. Instead, he said, the two systems are integrated and not separate programs that have been tied together.

Microsoft said key elements of the Windows system could not operate without the inclusion of the browser technology.