Microsoft Playing Monopoly?
They do not cost the consumer because of limited competition because the product Microsoft’s competitors allege make them a monopoly, the browser ties to Windows operating systems, is given to consumers and vendors for free. This analysis will discuss the antitrust suit in an argument that demonstrates why Microsoft is not in violation of antitrust laws and should, therefore, win on appeal.

The ruling of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson charges Microsoft Corp. to be in violation of antitrust law in three cases. Yet, despite this case dragging on for three years and helping lower Microsoft stock, there are few involved on the case (and more of them are fellow-justices) that can point to evidence that Microsoft has hurt the technology industry or consumers in any kind of economic manner. While bullying, arrogance, and deception may be part of Microsoft’s tactics, one would be hard pressed to find a modern international corporation close to this level of success that was not perceived in such a manner. However, economic clout and market success are not violations of antitrust law. Neither is releasing software that comes packed with plenty of extra features, most of them for free. This has made many legal analysts outraged over government intervention in the company’s operations “What harm, if any, has really been done to consumers? Unless there is clear evidence that Microsoft’s actions have actually hurt consumers, the case for ma

 

In many instances, antitrust suits arise due to consumer dissatisfaction. However, one author, Ron Chernow, notes that Gates and another industry tycoon involved in antitrust suits, John D. Rockefeller, were similar in temperament and inflexibility when it came to compromise but held different images among consumers. During the antitrust suit against Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, the same author notes a similar level of hostility directed at Rockefeller and Gates by other business rivals, businesses that perceived them as rivals, and by the mainstream media. However, Chernow argues that antitrust suits are as much a matter of public opinion as legal matters, and in this comparison between Rockefeller and Gates, the Microsoft CEO has a competitive advantage over the departed oil tycoon “Gates remains extraordinarily popular among consumers and the general public. Something like two-thirds of those polled think the government should leave him alone” (Grant 164). One of the reasons Gates is so popular among consumers is also the reason why his competitors charge he has violated antitrust laws. Gates packages his browser software with his Windows operating system. Competitors have charged this is unfair and stifled competition and consumer choice, but consumers receive the browser for free. Can a company actually be guilty of violating antirust laws aimed at protecting consumers because they give them a product for free? When Rockefeller was involved in his antitrust suit, public opinion was rooted against him, but then consumers, most of who paid for Standard Oil in their homes, were being economically harmed by a lack of competition.

Grant, L. Playing monopoly: Rockefeller and Gates. Fortune. Jun 22, 1998, 164+.

Moschella, D. Court puts the proper focus on Microsoft case. Computerworld. Mar 26, 2001, 29.

 
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    Some topics in this essay  
 
    Microsoft Corp | Bill Gates | Microsoft Corporation | Microsoft CEO | CEO CrossTier | Microsoft Gates | Gates Behavior | Supreme Courts | Windows PCs | Microsoft Determined | antitrust suit | technology industry | gates microsoft | bill gates | judge thomas penfield | rockefeller gates | windows operating | operating systems | argue microsoft | behavior trial | judge thomas | thomas penfield jackson | mar 5 2001 | technology industry consumers |  
   
 
 
 
   
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