The Microsoft Monopoly Essay - 1563 Words

The Microsoft Monopoly I. Introduction United States vs. Microsoft is one the largest, most controversial antitrust lawsuits in American history. Many claim the government is wrongly punishing Microsoft for being innovative and successful, arguing that Windows dominates the market because of the product’s popularity, not because of malpractice by the parent company. Others argue in favor of the government, claiming that Microsoft’s practices conflict with the free market ideal. There are many arguments for both sides of the lawsuit, but what the case really comes down to is this: does the government have the right to interfere in today’s marketplace? Or is Microsoft violating laws that are rightfully imposed by the government?†¦show more content†¦Throughout the 1980’s, it became the pre-eminent operating systems of personal computers, until another operating system, DR-DOS, was released by a company called Digital Research. Critics claim that this operating system never had a cha nce at gaining a fair share of the market because Microsoft deliberately slowed DR-DOS’s sales by announcing a better version of MS-DOS was on its way (Newman). Windows, a program that was created in 1983, but did not change the market significantly until 1990, has grown to control 94.1% of the operating system market (Newman). This has required other companies in the software industry to make all of their applications Windows compatible. Critics claim that Microsoft systematically eliminated all competition of other operating systems and software manufacturers. Microsoft also controls a large part of the software industry. According to sales from April 2002, Microsoft sold 89% of office software to consumers (Washington Post). Microsoft bundles these applications with the Windows operating system, which is, according to them, an effective technique. Critics assert that this forces other makers of office software, like Corel, to lose business, because consumers will not buy another application if one is already pre-installed. Critics point to the proposed 1995 merger between Microsoft and Inuit which ultimately failed. Inuit is the m aker of the best-selling money managementShow MoreRelatedIs Microsoft a Monopoly?1167 Words   |  5 PagesMicrosoft Monopoly Corporation Samantha F. Grinvalds DeVry University The Microsoft Corporation has lead people believe that they were attempting to gain monopoly power in the computer operating systems market. A monopoly market structure consists of having one firm that has control of the resources and market by selling a unique good that has no available substitutes, in which; make it very difficult for others to enter into this market. In America, we enjoy a free market rather thanRead MoreMicrosoft: An Examination of Monopolies1023 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Microsoft: An Examination of Monopolies Introduction This paper examines the nature of monopolies and the anti-trust policies developed by the government to discourage them. It specifically considers Microsoft and the case brought against it by the Federal government to prevent its becoming a software monopoly. In many cases, the government is justified in pursuing such anti-monopoly policies to protect competition and by extension the consumer. There are some instances, however, when allowingRead MoreMicrosoft Office a Monopoly Within a Monopoly946 Words   |  4 PagesJacob Phillips GB 6210 Microsoft Office A Monopoly within a Monopoly Microsoft Corporation has three major monopolies within itself: Office, Window’s, and Internet Explorer. Microsoft Office is a monopoly that sits on top of the Windows monopoly and makes money. Office is Microsofts best monopoly, making profits of 60% per copy sold Microsoft’s main cash cows: Windows and Office are currently desktop applications. Microsoft has dominated the desktop scene for several decades. However, withRead MoreEssay Microsoft Monopoly904 Words   |  4 PagesMicrosoft Monopoly This paper will show my opinion of Microsoft being branded a monopoly. I feel this example shows supply and demand in addition to monopolistic competition. This entire ordeal is over a free browser that Microsoft includes with windows for free and gives out on the internet for free just as Netscape and most other browser companies do. The government feels that Microsoft is creating a demand purely for their products by forcing its browser on suppliers and controlling pricesRead MoreIs Microsoft a Monopoly Essay2147 Words   |  9 PagesIs Microsoft a monopoly or not? In order to understand if Microsoft is a monopoly one must first know the definition of a monopoly. A monopoly is a firm that is the sole seller of a product that has little or no substitutes. This automatically should arouse many thoughts in the minds of â€Å"us† as consumers. For all these years have we been monopolized by a producer of a product just because there were limited sources in the same fields? Yes and no should be the floating answer. Microsoft for yearsRead MoreMicrosoft Monopoly Case Study703 Words   |  3 PagesMicrosoft Monopoly Case Do old monopoly laws still pertain to life in a modern context? Recently, innovative companies have been hassled by the American government because of their potential for holding a monopoly over the ever-evolving computer systems and processing industries. Although Microsoft may have been in an unfair position, therefore negatively impacting the market as a whole, not all monopolies are bad, as examples of federal agencies clearly show. In 1998, Microsoft was hit with aRead More The Microsoft Monopoly Issue Essay1499 Words   |  6 PagesThe Microsoft Monopoly Issue The best position on the Microsoft monopoly problem is one best for the general public, those who are and will be using Intel-PC products. This position is in opposition to Microsoft and to support the State and the public. This will consequently give the public better choice, thereby keeping the price of the product down and benefiting the general public. To understand why this position is the best choice two simple questions must be answered. The first is,Read MoreMicrosoft: on Anti-Trust and Monopolies1278 Words   |  6 PagesMicrosoft: On anti-trust and monopolies (or How A Linux User Can Court Ostracism) Introduction In 1890, the US Congress passed the Sherman Act. Further, the Clayton Act was enacted in 1912. This was followed by the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936. These antitrust laws prohibit agreements in restraint of trade, monopolization and attempted monopolization, anticompetitive mergers and tie-in schemes, and, in some circumstances, price discrimination in the sale of commodities. Thus, the goals ofRead MoreCase Study of the Microsoft Monopoly599 Words   |  2 PagesCase Study of the Microsoft Monopoly Introduction Microsoft has a long history of engaging in monopolistic behavior, from the initial efforts to protect their operating system business to the forced bundling of key software components including Internet Explorer (Meese, 1999). The goals of this analysis include a critical evaluation of why Microsoft has been investigated for antitrust violations, an assessment of how they are trying to gain monopolistic strength in the computer software industryRead MoreCase Study - Playing Monopoly Microsoft1584 Words   |  7 PagesMicrosoft’s journey towards Monopoly Summary The case evolves around the unethical monopolistic actions taken by Microsoft to achieve monopoly. Some major facts in the case are given below – †¢ In 1980 IBM representative met bill gates for Operating System †¢ Bill Gates bought Operating System from a friend in $60,000 Microsoft licensed MS-DOS to IBM with condition that it could license it to others too †¢1981 IBM started mass production of and MS-DOS became standard Operating System for Personal