dle of competing against itself -- a person who buys Windows 95 might not choose to upgrade. Microsoft has to present a better operating system in the future in order to get any more business from that customer. The new operating system, therefore, is competing against the old system. Standard Oil never had this problem, as customers who used oil would always be back for more at some point (3).Even worse for Microsoft, operating systems may have hit their zenith as Web-based applications are gaining in popularity. The computer industry and the Internet are changing so rapidly that it's impossible to tell what the future may hold. Microsoft may well be a successful dealer of a soon-obsolete product. Standard Oil surely had no such worry. Microsoft is also being attacked for engaging in exclusionary contracts to prevent competition from other operating systems and browsers against its Windows and Explorer. Standard Oil made deals with railroad companies and pipelines to ensure the transport of its products to prevent competition, but this is far different in two ways. First, there are many computer dealers that offer computers without an operating system or with another operating system installed, like MacOS or Linux, and shipping isn't any real barrier to receiving the goods. Second, there's nothing about Microsoft's Windows operating system that prevents or obstructs consumers from getting a browser other than Explorer. Standard Oil's exclusionary contracts actually prevented people from having choices in whose products they could buy. That is not happening with respect to Microsoft. Any computer publication has the phone numbers and Web addresses for dealers that sell computers without Windows on them, and anyone with Windows can put Netscape on their computer and let Explorer gather cyber dust on the hard drive. What's more, Netscape recently merged with AOL, giving Netscape instant access to 16 million AOL users. Anyone who gets an A...
