The MicroSoft Monopoly


         I dont know if anyone as noticed, but it seems Microsoft has
         gotten a little too powerful. Microsoft controlls the computer
         market. The are the publishers of DOS and WINDOWS, the 2 largest
         operating systems in the world. In fact, even if i wanted to, i
         couldnt use a differnt Operating system. To run every IBM file,
         you either need to run DOS or WINDOWS. There are no other
         options, other than OS/2, but to install that you need DOS.
         There are also other alternatives, such as Unix or SunOs,
         but operating systems like that are far too large to use
         for the average computer user. Microsoft has a complete monopoly
         over the world. Microsoft itself, says that their programs run
         75 percent of the worlds computers. With this monopoly, Microsoft
         plans to cash in on their power. Somtime next year, Microsoft
         plans to start up a network, such as Prodigy, Compuserve and
         America Online. Microsoft plans to pakage this network into
         Windows '95. Windows Watchers Magazine reports that within a
         year, up to 30 million people will be running Windows 95.
         Common sence indicates that if people are more likley to subcribe
         to the new network, because it comes with what they buy.
         "Microsoft is using the operating system as a Trojan horse,
         leading people to Microsoft Products" [ George Colony, Forrester
         Research]. With this "Trojan Horse", Microsoft could then
         dominate the entire software market, by making it that to
         use the new network, you need Windows, and vise versa. Since
         Microsoft is a monoply, it bascially controlls the entire
         computer software industry. MicroSoft was also under investigatin
         by the US Justice Department, because the way they were selling
         Windows was unfair to rival companies(what rivals?). Microsoft
         resolved the issue by changing the way it sells Windows, making
         it easier for other companies to sell their products. Microsoft
         should not be able to push a new network through their already
         existing systems, that you must use, to run most files.
         I dont belive that Microsoft should be able to controll an
         entire industy. I think the Justice Department needs to step
         in and break Microsoft up, just like they did to Bell, AT&T
         etc..The United Stats is a democracy, and we have never allowed
         one company to violate our commerce rules like MicroSoft has,
         and we should never let a company do it either.