The Microsoft Monopoly Issue

The 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, is Microsoft a monopoly? And the second is, whether Microsoft is a monopoly or not, does that have a negative effect on the consumer? The answer to the first question is found by examining Microsoft and the second question is found by considering the company’s practices. After these two questions have been answered, a summary of why this position is better than others will be presented. Finally a conclusion of this argument will be given with some suggestions that go beyond the issue at hand.

There is a simple argument to prove Microsoft is a monopoly by examining Microsoft itself. Microsoft is a Monopoly because “Microsoft’s share of the worldwide market for Intel-compatible PC operating systems currently exceeds ninety-five percent (Conclusions).” And that “ninety-five percent” is enough of the total market of to constitute a monopoly. That is not all; Microsoft also places barriers that help protect its monopoly. That any company “who wants to introduce a rival operating system, such as Linux, faces a difficult hurdle-the ‘application barrier to entry,’ as Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson called it in his decision. The government alleges that Microsoft used the monopoly that resulted to limit competition (Making Monopoly).” Com...

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