6 ms·
You put forth Microsoft as a monopoly, not necessarily a bad business.
by krupan 7d ago
You put forth Microsoft as a monopoly, not necessarily a bad business.
- tombert 7d agoSure, a monopoly (as determined by the courts, albeit briefly) and found to be engaging in anti-competitive practices. It wasn't some vague "copyright" thing that made Microsoft do the AARD code, or make it difficult/impossible to install Netscape on Windows.
- krupan 7d agoI feel like we're really getting off into the weeds here. I think the original question was, could they have achieved their monopoly without government help? I still think no. Their product, software, is given more protection than other types of products by copyright laws. If you sell a hamburger you can't copyright it. If you sell a circuit board you can't copyright it. PC clones kept IBM from becoming a monopoly at the exact same time Microsoft was becoming a monopoly. Why? Government protection. Microsoft even sued a guy named Mike Rowe for selling software (mikerowesoft.com). That's insane.