Jeroen Wenting <jwenting> wrote:
> Microsoft isn't evil, they're not a monopoly either.
> If they were a monopoly they'd have 100% of the market and
> there'd be no other software manufacturers at all.
Interesting. Standard Oil only had about 2/3 of the oil
refining market when they were split up. And Microsoft has
a fair bit more of the home computer market than that.
The fact is, while Microsoft is not the only firm in the market,
and are not a "pure monopoly", they are a de facto monopoly, and
have been found on multiple occasions to violate many of the
same practices which Standard Oil performed and caused to become
illegal.
Microsoft is a monopoly, as defined by US Antitrust Law. And as
they've been found similarly guilty by other governing bodies,
it doesn't seem to be a purely American deduction.
I won't deny that Microsoft has done possibly more than any
other single entity to further the mass adoption of public
computer use. I also won't deny that they used a combination of
good products and good business tactics to get to the top of the
industry. I also can't in good conscience call them "evil".
I will, however, say that they have engaged in immoral[*],
unethical, and illegal practices to artificially maintain and
augment their position in the industry and has not yet provided
products/services to back it up.
[*] Yeah, I know. What place do morals have in the business
world. I'm an idealist. Sue me.
Cheers,
Tim Hammerquist
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