Video follies show browser removal is tough

A recreation of Microsoft_s botched video demonstration of flaws in a browser-removal program for Windows 98 written by a government witness shows that a sophisticated user could still find ways of browsing the Internet. But Microsoft engineers were unable to duplicate a key demonstration that was at the heart of the government_s questions during the past few days about the credibility of the company_s original video. The 70-minute video played in U.S. District Court Thursday afternoon was not as polished as the original because it was filmed in real-time without editing. It showed the difficulties in getting a dial-up connection in Washington, the tedium involved with loading software and rebooting, and only some of the original tests. It was taped starting at 10:40 p.m. Wednesday, after company officials bought six new IBM ThinkPads, software galore, and hired television crews to film the demonstration. The courtroom was packed Thursday for the first time in months.