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What Happens to Windows Now? By Dan Calloway, TheWorldJournal.com 
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Following the battle between the Department of Justice and Microsoft, what effect will the outcome have for Windows users and what will Microsoft's strategy be next? Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals issued its 150-page ruling on Microsoft. There are a few lessons to be learned from its contents: There will be no breakup… The breakup that everyone feared will not happen. The breakup penalty that was issued previously has been remanded to a different judge. Few people even thought for a moment that the government would split up the company into two factions: the Operating Systems side and the Applications Development side. One reason for this is because clearly the single monopoly that apparently existed prior to the lawsuit would only result in two separate monopolies. No reprieve… Prior to the final ruling, many people thought that the courts would ease up on Microsoft by dismissing most of the case because it would be good for business. However, the judges unanimously agreed that the company had abused its monopoly power by violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. The judges claimed that Microsoft had prevented other PC manufacturers and users from removing bundled programs simply to protect its monopoly. This ruling by the judges legally impairs Microsoft and clears the way for the more than 100 private lawsuits that have been under way against it. If the plaintiffs win their cases, they will be entitled to triple damages against the software giant. Here's what to expect from Microsoft: No remorse… Microsoft is planning to release its latest Windows Operating System, Windows XP, with more bundled software than before. That is to say, Microsoft is bundling an MSN.com - specific browser, instant messaging, Passport, proprietary media players and more. This will inevitably make Windows slower and more prone to security dangers from hackers. As an example, Windows Media Player 7, when incorporated into Windows ME, caused simple data files to be virus carriers. No recourse… Users will ultimately pay the price for application bundling as well as Microsoft itself. Microsoft will eventually look like a repeat offender when another judge hears the 100 + cases against it. Many individuals claim that bringing suit against Microsoft is fruitless since any penalty that is forthcoming will be too late to bring back all the competing products that Microsoft has and will put out of business. The computer industry suffers from what economists call the "network effect." Consumers utilize the software that the greatest number of people is already using. The company, therefore, that has the largest market share tends to become a monopoly. To restore competition, a new judge should forget about breakups and require Microsoft to license its source code for a set fee. If this is done, we might begin to see a meaner and leaner Windows Operating System. © August 7, 2001 |
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