The flagged page
Grading report
47 exchanges read · 4 moments flagged · outline checked against 4 topics
1
answers that stopped being answers
Outline coverage: 4 of 4 topics actually covered (100%)
Whether Microsoft tried to get Apple to stop distributing QuickTime for Windows
The wrest control of Java away from Sun memo addressed to Gates
What Gates knew about market-division discussions with competitors
Whether QuickTime competes with Microsoft software
Moments worth a second look
Ranked: answers that stopped being answers first, then the long narratives, then the evasions.
Q. Were you aware of those discussions while they were going on?A. I knew that Apple had a--had the QuickTime runtime for Windows. And there was always a question of whether we could create a Windows runtime that combined what their goals were there and what they had done well there for the work we were doing. And I know we talked to Apple about whether we could help each other in an effort like that.
Non-answer65 words that never touch the question. This is where the follow-up lived.
Q. Insofar as you're aware, did Microsoft representatives tell Apple representatives that if Apple would agree not to sell or promote QuickTime for uses for which Microsoft offered NetShow, that Microsoft would help Apple in other areas?A. Well, the quick--as far as I know, the QuickTime runtime is free. So, when you say `Sell,' I don't know--I'm not sure what you mean there.
Evasive answer"I'm not sure" — the door to a clean admission was open here.
Q. Okay. And he lists what he describes as some pretty pointed questions that you, Mr. Gates, had about Java. Do you see that?A. Well, I'm not sure those are the pointed questions. It says, `I want to make sure I understand your issues/concerns.'
Evasive answer"I'm not sure" — the door to a clean admission was open here.
Q. That really wasn't my question, Mr. Gates. Maybe I can state it more clearly. Did Microsoft try to convince Apple to take actions which would have resulted in Apple no longer distributing QuickTime to people to whom Microsoft was distributing NetShow or a successor Microsoft product?A. I'm not aware of anything that would have stopped them from distributing the QuickTime they had, but it was possible we could come up with something that would be helpful to both companies in terms of a product that took some of their technology and ours and was better for users.
Long narrative51 words in one run. Rabbit trails like this are where outline coverage quietly dies.
How this was graded: the transcript excerpts above are public record — from the Department of Justice's own posted file of the Gates deposition excerpts read into the trial record in
U.S. v. Microsoft (justice.gov/atr). The DOJ text is the court reporter's all-caps read-in format; we normalized capitalization for readability and joined the Q&A pairs. The flags, counts, and coverage below are the unedited output of the Deposition Grader — a free, browser-based tool that reads Q&A text for the patterns examiners miss in the room. No human at Demur selected or edited these flags; the same input produces the same output for anyone, at
grader.trydemur.com. Also in this series:
Graded: the Sackler deposition ·
Graded: the Pichai cross ·
Graded: the Nadella cross ·
Graded: the Eddy Cue examination.
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