Does Microsoft face meaningful competition?
To win the case, Justice first has to prove that Microsoft is a monopoly. Under antitrust law, none of the company’s allegedly predatory practices could be deemed illegal unless Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson decides that it virtually owns the operating-system market. Fortunately for the feds, this point is a slam dunk. Microsoft has sold the dominant personal-computer operating system for many years. According to Justice, its market share rose from 93% in 1991 to 95% last year. In pretrial deposition testimony, executives from Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and other computer makers have testified that they have no reasonable alternative to Windows. Asked what would happen if her company were to try selling non-Microsoft operating systems, Gateway Associate Business Manager Penny Nash said it “would be suicide.” Because this issue of competition provides the foundation for the feds’ case, Microsoft is not giving up. Richard L. Schmalensee, an economist for the defense, testified on Jan. 11
