hey are depriving a software developer of the information needed to develop applications that are compatible with Windows.Solution 3Microsoft, through a provision in its licenses with computer manufacturers, requires when a new computer is turned on for the very first time, that the Windows user interface with all the features intact appear. That part of Windows is a guarantee to its consumers and ISVs that the look, feel, and functionality of Windows is consistent. Each computer manufacturer should be required to install non-Microsoft user interfaces that the consumer can change with a click of the mouse. After the computer is turned on for the very first time, the consumer can configure the machine to turn on to a different screen thereafter. Similarly computer manufacturers should be required to offer other third party applications even if those applications compete with Windows. So, if the Windows first screen is the most valuable real estate in the world, more than three-quarters of that screen is available to computer manufacturers to accommodate the icons of applications and utilities provided by the manufacturer and third parties.Microsoft also includes a “wizard” in Windows that makes it easier to get an Internet Service Provider. This wizard also offers a select group of ISPs that Microsoft has a contract with, so in return the ISPs offer Internet Explorer and not any competing web browser as the contract states. These agreements are with twelve ISPs in the United States. Practices such as these that might ordinarily seem good or that have only a slight exclusionary effect can “tip” markets in favor of a given operating system platform. Thus, tipping can have dramatic long-term effects that are anticompetitive, enabling Microsoft to eliminate any program that threatens to make Windows obsolete. As a result, the threat of “tipping” warrants government intervention and the requiremen...
