Essay Microsoft Monopoly - 904 Words

Microsoft Monopoly This paper will show my opinion of Microsoft being branded a monopoly. I feel this example shows supply and demand in addition to monopolistic competition. This entire ordeal is over a free browser that Microsoft includes with windows for free and gives out on the internet for free just as Netscape and most other browser companies do. The government feels that Microsoft is creating a demand purely for their products by forcing its browser on suppliers and controlling prices. I have yet to see where Microsoft is charging extraordinary prices for any of these free programs nor do I see how Netscape, in using the governments definition, a monopoly itself, is being forced out of business by Microsofts free†¦show more content†¦Other reasons easily explain how Microsoft came about to its size and how new companies constantly spring up in the computer industry. Computer software is a very volatile industry. To succeed in this industry all you basically need is a good program and a way to offer it for sale. All they have to do is make a program and copy it on a disk. Since making an extra disk containing the program costs all of 2 cents, it is more costly for the software company to print the box and manuals, than it is to make one extra disk. But it does cost Microsoft to develop a new program. No matter how cheap a disk is, capital investment such as salaries, factories, storage, and programmers always exist. Even though development costs are sunk and additional production costs are nonexistent, other costs are incurred. Besides, supply and demand determines where a price will fall. Another thing about the computer market is its ever-changing program market. For all we know, anyone literate in programming may develop a better program than Windows. If consumers like it, we may soon find another browser monopolist. For reasons similar to this, computer industry leaders have vastly changed in just a few years. At times Apple, IBM, Intel, Net scape, ATT and even Commodore, have or had large, sometimes monopolist-like markets. Characteristics of monopolies that cause trouble are (1) restriction of output, (2) higher prices along with thisShow MoreRelatedIs Microsoft a Monopoly?1167 Words   |  5 PagesMicrosoft Monopoly Corporation Samantha F. Grinvalds DeVry University The Microsoft Corporation has lead people believe that they were attempting to gain monopoly power in the computer operating systems market. A monopoly market structure consists of having one firm that has control of the resources and market by selling a unique good that has no available substitutes, in which; make it very difficult for others to enter into this market. In America, we enjoy a free market rather thanRead MoreIs Microsoft a Monopoly Essay2147 Words   |  9 PagesIs Microsoft a monopoly or not? 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Individuals are often time fearful of a company or industry becoming a monopoly because it would control too much of a market share, and do whatever wants; this includes raising prices, to using excess capital to branch into even more areas (Rise of monopolies 1996). The market structure of a monopoly is characterized by; a singleRead MoreMicrosoft: An Examination of Monopolies1023 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Microsoft: An Examination of Monopolies Introduction This paper examines the nature of monopolies and the anti-trust policies developed by the government to discourage them. It specifically considers Microsoft and the case brought against it by the Federal government to prevent its becoming a software monopoly. In many cases, the government is justified in pursuing such anti-monopoly policies to protect competition and by extension the consumer. There are some instances, however, when allowing