Speaking at a congressional hearing today, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith said that his company "wholeheartedly" supports Apple in the ongoing case that's pitted the iPhone maker against the FBI. "We at Microsoft support Apple and will be filing an amicus brief next week," Smith said. An amicus brief is a "friend of the court" filing that allows parties not directly involved in the case to weigh in. Before today, Microsoft had offered only tepid support for Apple's, but now it's getting behind the company in a big way.

In protest of the FBI citing the All Writs Act — a federal statute first passed in 1911 — to make its case against Apple, Smith pulled out an adding machine manufactured in 1912 while speaking at today's hearing. "We do not believe that courts should seek to resolve issues of 21st century technology with a law that was written in the era of the adding machine," he said. Smith also warned of this particular case setting precedent for others in the technology industry. "Every case has implications for others," he said. The spectacle didn't go unnoticed. Before the hearing moved onto other topics, Smith was asked "Do you have any other props?"