Was part of Apple's braintrust raided? Microsoft says no.

Officially, Capps and Smith are now part of Microsoft's Internet platform and tools division. But as Microsoft's senior vice president of the Internet platform and tools division, Brad Silverberg, told Newsbytes, "We will give them a lot of freedom to create user interfaces for the next generation of Microsoft products. Not for just our browser, Internet Explorer, but a whole range of our software products."

Often seen as Apple's arch enemy, Microsoft's has often been criticized for not having an operating system (OS) and interface as intuitive and easy to use as various versions of the Macintosh OS. Windows 95, Microsoft's latest OS is considered by many to be the most intuitive and easy interface to use, but now Microsoft adds some of the best of Apple's talent for the development of future products.

One media source headlined Capps Microsoft appointment as Microsoft luring Capps and Smith away from Apple. Questioned about the possibility, Silverberg said, "We did not lure Capps away. I have known him for 15 years and worked with him in the early 1980's when I was with Apple. Over the years, I let him know that if he ever left Apple I would gladly consider the chance to work with him again."

No-one is saying the specific reasons for Capps departure from Apple, but several news stories have suggested some of Apple's veteran employees are not happy with the directions the company as taken under the direction of Gilbert Amelio.

Speaking of Capps, Silverberg said, "He was unhappy with the way things were going at Apple. Like a number of employees who have been with Apple, he felt this was a good time to make a change.

"We have gained a person whom I am very excited to have at Microsoft," continued Silverberg. "He is able to combine his visionary talents with very practical skills and still remain fun and enjoyable. We are very pleased to have him and Walter on the our team."

Capps was named a software architect at Microsoft and Smith was named a senior software design engineer. The former holds a bachelor of science degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and Smith holds a bachelor of science degree in applied mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University.

(Patrick McKenna/19960625/Press Contact Shelly Julien, Waggener Edstrom, 206-637-9097; shellyj@wagged.com/)