only Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and prohibits them from implying that another browser is available. “’What you have set forth appears to be a classic example of an artificial entry barrier. It is not designed to enhance the product. It is designed simply to hobble the competitor’ said Kevin Arquit (former general counsel of the Federal Trade Commission),” (Clausing…Senator). Since the hearing, Microsoft has asked a federal judge to throw the government’s petition out. They filed their response to the Justice Departments allegations with Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson (the same judge that signed the antitrust settlement two years earlier). The company is claiming that the government’s case is without base, is implausible and is a perversion of the truth. According to what their claims, the original decree allows them to develop integrated products. The response also claims that the company “…realized long before Netscape was even a company that [Microsoft] needed to build this type of functionality into Windows for consumers,” (Clausing…Microsoft 2). Netscape was founded in 1994. The first version of Internet Explorer wasn’t released until July of 95, and that was a limited beta version. Where does all of this leave us? Do any of these allegations have merit? Is this software giant a monopoly? If so, how are we going to be affected by it? At the time of this essay, no answers have been provided to the questions brought forth by the government’s allegations. However, it is my belief that Microsoft has met all the requirements necessary for the antitrust laws to be implemented. The consumers are in need of protection. This company has attained more than a dominant share of all sectors of the software markets. It has merged with many smaller companies; it has tied their products to one another, and is about as vertically integrated as one could imagine wi...
