University of Colorado computer science professor John Bennett had testified Thursday that a version of Windows with removable features was "technically infeasible."

Questioned by an attorney for nine states seeking stiff antitrust sanctions against the software giant, Bennett said anything was possible with software.

"It's a question of the degree of difficulty and the amount of work that would be required," said Bennett, Microsoft's last witness at the hearings, now in their eighth week.

The states say a modular version of Windows, allowing features like the Internet browser and media player to be removed, would help level the competitive playing field for non-Microsoft software.

But Microsoft has insisted that Windows is highly dependent on all its parts to work properly.

Under a proposed settlement reached with the U.S. Justice Department in November, Microsoft would let computer makers hide desktop icons for some Windows features.

Bennett was the last of more than 30 witnesses who have testified before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly during 32 days of hearings into the demands of the states.

The judge is also weighing whether to approve the proposed settlement that the nine dissenting states say is too weak to prevent future antitrust violations.

The states on Thursday canceled plans to demonstrate a modular version of Windows after it became clear they had annoyed the judge by introducing the material so late in the case that it would vastly lengthen the proceedings.

A federal appeals court last June upheld the original trial court's finding that Microsoft illegally maintained its Windows monopoly through acts that included commingling its Internet Explorer browser code with Windows to fend off rival Netscape Communications.

But the appellate judges rejected Jackson's breakup order and sent the case back to a new judge, Kollar-Kotelly, to consider the most appropriate remedy.

Bennett had said in written testimony that the states' proposal for a modular operating system would exponentially increase the cost of testing and supporting Windows.

States attorney Steve Kuney countered by suggesting that Bennett was exaggerating the impact of the states' proposals. In particular, Kuney challenged Bennett's claim that the states would force Microsoft to make almost every piece of Windows removable.

Bennett acknowledged that it would be possible to remove software features like the Internet Explorer browser from Windows and replace them with other companies' software.

"From the (computer) user's perspective it's relatively straightforward to replace the browser," Bennett said. But he added that the browser has many complicated parts "that would have to be replicated."

"Are you testifying it would be technically infeasible?" Kuney asked.

"No, I'm saying it would have to be done," Bennett replied.

The nine states still pursuing the case are California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia.

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