Why is/was Microsoft considered a monopoly?
Microsoft was considered a monopoly in the late 90’s because it had monopoly market power. It could set prices for users, and dictate behavior such as what other software manufactures could offer on their machines. Because of the structure of the business operating system in the 1990 there was effectively no other option than to use Windows[1]. The 1998 United States v. Microsoft case revolved around the idea that Microsoft was abusing its monopoly power to extend its power to new markets – specifically the web browser market. The company most at risk by this behavior was Netscape, with its Netscape Navigator product. [1]Some may argue that Mac OS and Linux were other options. However because of network effects Windows really was a monopoly if you look at the “Business Operating System” market.
