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Example research essay topic: Wall Street Journal Internet Explorer - 1,674 words

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... p any competitor product they wish, but they are not allowed to disable features of our products, (Just Dept v MS 2). Second, the government is contending that the terms of Microsoft's non-disclosure agreements are an obstacle in the way of their attempts to gather evidence for their investigation. Microsoft says that their non-disclosure agreements are no different than those of most companies within the software industry, as well as outside it. Finally, there is the matter of the competitive browser possibly representing a threat to Microsoft's key product, its operating system.

Company officials claim that by not allowing them to include their browser with Windows, the government is preventing innovation. They say that the pace of the competition will quickly pummel a company that stops innovating, and that the consumers win because competition drives firms to deliver better products at lower prices. In essence, Microsoft is claiming that by not allowing them to include the browser, the government is stifling the competition that it is trying to protect. Orin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, held the first of what he claimed would be several hearings on the Microsoft antitrust petition in the first week of November 1997.

At this hearing, the Senator produced an exclusivity agreement between Microsoft and Earthlink Network, Inc. It called for Earthlink to offer only Microsoft's Internet Explorer and prohibits them from implying that another browser is available. What you have set forth appears to be a classic example of an artificial entry barrier. It is not designed to enhance the product. It is designed simply to hobble the competitor said Kevin Acquit (former general counsel of the Federal Trade Commission), (ClausingSenator). After the hearing, Microsoft asked a federal judge to throw the governments petition out.

They filed their response to the Justice Departments allegations with Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson (the same judge that signed the antitrust settlement two years earlier). The company is claiming that the governments case is without base, is implausible and is a perversion of the truth. According to what their claims, the original decree allows them to develop integrated products. The response also claims that the company realized long before Netscape was even a company that [Microsoft] needed to build this type of functionality into Windows for consumers, (ClausingMicrosoft 2).

Netscape was founded in 1994. The first version of Internet Explorer wasnt released until July of 95, and that was a limited beta version. In May of 98, the DOJ and the attorneys general of 20 states filed a pair of antitrust lawsuits against Gates company. The suits claimed that Microsoft used Windows to attempt to force customers to use their other software products, the most important of which was their Internet Explorer (IE) web browser, as well as targeting contracts used by Microsoft that required companies to put up a first screen that was created by the OS creators. The states and DOJ also sought an injunction that would have required Microsoft to strip IE from Windows 98, which was due on shelves at the end of June that year. Microsoft's response to the injunction request was to claim that the IE browser cannot be taken out of Windows 98 system without severely damaging the functionality of the entire product.

The injunction failed, had it been granted, though, Microsoft would have been required to remove the browser or include a copy of Netscape's Navigator and another competing browser with the OS. The lawsuits were to be heard by Judge Penfield Jackson, the same judge who heard the first lawsuit over the browser. According to Michael Martinez of ABC News in his May 1998 article, comments were made by representatives of the DOJ, the states, and Microsoft. Attorney General Janet Reno said, Consumers and computer manufacturers should have the right to choose the software they want installed on their personal computers.

We are acting to preserve competition in the software industry. New York Attorney General Dennis Vasco, who was heading up the states case along with the attorneys general from Iowa and Connecticut added, it is Microsoft who is acting like an Orwellian big brother by controlling the range of products available to consumers. The Microsoft response to the new allegations was to claim that attacking them for integrating their software was an attack on innovation. By going after the basic principle of integration, the government can conceivable go after a very broad set of things, Gates said (Martinez, Government).

Opponents of the renewed allegations were swift in coming to the defense of Microsoft. They point out that it was Netscape who dominated the browser arena early on and forced Microsoft to play catch up and aggressively market IE. Many people are of the belief that rivals of the software giant might have been better off focusing their attentions on improving their products rather than seeking refuge in the courts. Mark Schmidt, the Director of Programs for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) argued against the claims that Microsoft's anti-competitive conduct has resulted in higher consumer prices, less consumer choice, and decreased levels of innovation made by Iowa AG Tom Miller, in a September 1999 article (Schmidt, Lawyers).

Mr. Schmidt claims that after figuring in inflation, the costs to computer manufacturers of installing the Windows and MS-Office programs have actually decreased. In response to claims of anticompetitive behavior, he quotes Mitchell Kertzman of Microsoft rival Sybase as saying Basically, all the big companies, all the companies that have won, are run by bloodthirsty killers, (Schmidt, Lawyers). As for decreased innovation as a result of Microsoft's practices, well I must say that he has a very persuasive argument, The integration of Windows with Internet Explorer was an important advance for software users, who would almost surely find it easier to use an Internet Explorer that looks similar to and operates like Windows Even Ohio AG Betty Montgomery, who is suing Microsoft admits, Many Ohio consumers have benefited from the innovative products marketed by Microsoft of the past 19 years. (Schmidt, Lawyers) One of the proposed sanctions that would be placed on Microsoft should the DOJ and the states win their case would be to force them to sell or license its Windows source code (a blueprint of sorts, one that lays out the foundations of a piece of software). George Washington University Law School Professor William Kovacic warned, It also reduces incentives to innovate if a dominant firm is forced to share its hard-won assets like intellectual property in the software business with other companies, (Schmidt, Lawyers). Schmidt also pointed out that in May of 98, 26 CEOs of major computer companies sent a letter to the Justice Department asking that they refrain from filing any additional charges against Microsoft (Schmidt, Lawyers).

On March 24 th of this year, the Wall street journal reported that Microsoft sent a detailed proposal to the governments attorneys in an effort to settle the case. It was expected that the proposal contained price changes, separation of the Internet Explorer browser from the Windows OS, as well as some access to parts of the source code. It is believed that the proposal was brought about after weeks of talks because Judge Penfield Jackson said that if a deal wasnt reached soon, he would issue his findings of law. After ripping Microsoft in November (99), it seems that the Judge will find for the DOJ (WSJ, Microsoft). There are questions as to how effective any of this antitrust litigation will be. If one looks back to some previous cases, it looks to be rather unnecessary.

In 1969 the government went after IBM for allegedly violating antitrust laws. That case was dropped thirteen years later when their market share started to drop with emerging companies (including a young Microsoft) gaining. Schwinn Bicycle actually lost an antitrust suit in 1967, but foreign competition relegated the firm to bankruptcy in 1992. RCA, a once dominant radio and television producer was made to license products. They followed the Justice Department mandate and directly licensed to Japan, who now is the leader in the electronics industry. (Schmidt, Lawyers) There are going to be very definite repercussions to the Microsoft case, no matter what the verdict. We have to weigh the cost of these trials against what usually ends up being short term dominance by a powerful firm.

If Microsoft is broken up, Bill Gates isnt going to be the only one that is affected. If theyre not broken up, it seems Netscape will have to suffer only moving 160 million units of their browser. It seems to me that the majority of consumers have benefited from Microsoft's dominance and progress in software. Government intervention just doesnt seem to do anything but hinder that benefit. Bibliography: Work Cited Causing, Jeri Senator Takes on Microsoft in Antitrust Hearings New York Times, 11 / 05 / 97, web Microsoft Counters Justice Departments Lawsuit New York Times, 11 / 11 / 97, web Cooper, Charles MSN surpasses half-million point as rivals stew PCWeek, 11 / 20 / 95 web Lebanon, Stephen Government Accuses Microsoft of Violating Antitrust Agreement New York Times, 10 / 21 / 97, web Lohr, Steve Justice Department Examining Microsoft's Internet Strategy New York Times, 9 / 20 / 96, web US Requests Documents Concerning Microsoft Purchase of WebTV New York Times, 5 / 20 / 97, web Markoff, John Gates says His Company is not Violating Antitrust Agreement New York Times, 10 / 22 / 97, web Martinez, Michael Government Sues Microsoft ABC News, 05 / 18 / 98 web Rated, Evan Judge approves Microsoft antitrust settlement The Detroit News, 8 / 22 / 95, web Schmidt, Mark Lawyers Playing Lawmakers National Taxpayers Union, 9 / 9 / 99, web Unknown Author Microsoft: An Unprincipled, Rapacious Company The Ethical Spectacle, April 1995, web Unknown Author The Justice Department v Microsoft: The Evidence and the Answers New York Times, 10 / 27 / 97, web Unknown Author Microsoft offers a proposal to settle antitrust charges Wall Street Journal, 3 / 24 / 00 web


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Research essay sample on Wall Street Journal Internet Explorer

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