Word: microsoft
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Gates: The key thing the ruling says is that Microsoft, by creating better Internet support [i.e., embedding a browser into Windows], made it tougher for the guy [Netscape] who was competing with us. In fact, that's exactly what we're supposed to do on behalf of consumers...
...different websites. You'll be able to create applications and programs that use that information. That will give you power to assemble news or find the best price for a product. You'll be in control of that experience. And companies like ours will provide services online such as Microsoft Office or passport authentication...
With the possible exception of my marriage license, I've never agreed more with a legal document than I do with Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's findings of fact in the Microsoft case. Of course he's right when he says Microsoft enjoys a monopoly on the desktop--more than nine out of 10 PCs use Windows. Of course Microsoft used its control of the marketplace to hammer competitors--just ask Netscape. And of course Microsoft could charge more than the fair market price for Windows--and do so for a long time without losing market share. After all, what...
...what about Linux, the free operating system used and loved by some 15 million techies and evoked so often by Microsoft witnesses during the trial? Isn't Linux a viable alternative? Not according to the judge. He describes Linux as a "fringe" operating system that's unlikely to challenge Microsoft...
Judge Jackson makes a strong argument. The operating system with the most applications "wins" the market, he says, because it has the broadest appeal to consumers. As users settle on a platform, developers build more applications for it, which attracts yet more users. "What for Microsoft is a positive feedback is for would-be competitors a vicious cycle," Jackson wrote. With more than 70,000 Windows programs out there, it's almost impossible for any upstart to come along and grab significant market share...