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Science Friday > Archives > 1998 > January > January 16, 1998:

Hour Two: Microsoft Antitrust Suit:

Monopoly or mis-step?

Microsoft is facing a serious challenge this week. US government lawyers charge that the Redmond, Washington-based software giant has been illegally tying the sale of Windows 95 to its internet browser, Microsoft Internet Explorer, in violation of a 1995 agreement with the Justice Department. Microsoft may be acting in violation of antitrust laws - a violation, the company's critics say, that amounts to a monopoly on access to the internet.

Eighty-five percent of the personal computers on the market today use Microsoft's Windows operating system. Government lawyers claim that by requiring computer makers who license Windows 95 to install Internet Explorer on machines each machine that they sell, Microsoft is illegally competing against other software makers such as Netscape. Microsoft, on the other hand, claims that Internet Explorer is not a separate product, but is actually an integrated part of the operating system that cannot be removed without affecting operating system performance. The company fears that putting limits on Internet Explorer now may unreasonably restrict its other software development efforts down the road.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer: Part of a larger whole, or world domination?

They have been fighting the lawsuit energetically, even to the point of trying to get the case's Special Master removed due to anti-Microsoft comments he may have made in an e-mail to Netscape some years before.

Other groups are concerned about Microsoft's supremacy in the computer operating system world, particularly as the internet gains momentum as a source of information and as a place to do business. Microsoft has acquired a number of internet industries, from WebTV to Hotmail, and has forged alliances with companies such as Comcast (a cable provider) and NBC. Microsoft has annual revenues of over 13 billion dollars.

On this hour of Science Friday, join us for a look at the lawsuit, and tell us what you think - is Microsoft truly the Evil Empire that some people make it out to be, or is it just a very effective business?

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:
Brad Chase
Vice President, Developer Relations and Marketing
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, WA

Paul Gillen
Editor-in-chief
ComputerWorld
Framingham, MA

Jamie Love
Director
Consumer Project on Technology
Washington, DC

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Microsoft Corporation Corporate Information

Consumer Project on Technology

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