Monopoly

Definition

“The first thing we should know about Microsoft. This is an important thing because monopolies are not natural. Usually, when a company becomes big and monopolistic, it also becomes inefficient. Then, the market throws up competitors who see the overpriced products of Big Inc. as an opportunity. Understand, bigness and inefficiency go together. The larger a firm, the more likely it is to suffer from friction (when people and processes run into each other and jam); to suffer from destructive politics and conspiracies, and to lose creative focus. So, for a monopoly to develop, there have to be other issues involved, for example, political connections, the need to raise huge amounts of capital, or fundamental technological necessity. So, when a company goes from nothing, to monopoly, in only twenty years, there has to be a reason that goes beyond the market. In the case of Microsoft, I think there are two reasons. First, whenever you have a communication or data system there have to be standards. That means that there has to be so meone to create standards, and someone to enforce the standards. Second, new technology.”(Linzmayer,1999)

Microsoft Monopoly Background

“Microsoft dominates the individualized information processing systems operating system. Almost every computer in schools, libraries, offices, and hearthstone is equipped with either Windows 3.X, Windows 95, or 98. As far as browsing the web, there are three major browsers: AOL, Netscape and Microsoft meshwork Explorer. When Windows 98 came out, it already had Microsoft Internet Explorer installed, compared to Netscape which users had to pay $50 for the program before being acquired by America Online. Basically Microsoft is being sued for having an illegal monopoly over personal computers operating system and repeatedly quashed competition to preserve its market domination. After the findings, Government lawyers give tongue to they would consider proposals to break up the...