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he Monopoly Clock tracks the count-down to the final and
complete monopolization of the technology and communications
industries by Microsoft, and the midnight hour for consumer
choice. The Monopoly Clock is advanced or retreated on
regular intervals depending on related events.
12 May 1998
After seven months characterized by a series of
tortured and arcane legal maneuvers, the U.S. Department of
Justice has failed to gain any substantial traction in its
antitrust case against Microsoft. The courts handed
government lawyers a notable setback when they voided Judge
Jackson's injunction blocking distribution of Windows 98.
The investigation has brought to light some embarassing
and revealing internal company documents, and caught
Microsoft officials in some ludicrous and contradictory
statements. Overall, the past few months have been the worst
in the company's history in term of public relations, and
the public's opinion of the company has declined
accordingly.
If the past few months prove anything, however, it's that
Microsoft is now virtually impervious to bad news in the
public relations arena -- the company's ensnarement of the
marketplace is now that complete. Despite the bad press and
the likelihood of a broadened antitrust investigation, time
clearly favors Microsoft, and the company's legal team has
apparently mastered the art of delay. The efforts of those
pesky government lawyers notwithstanding, it's full steam
ahead for Microsoft, and the Monopoly Clock moves forward
one minute, to 11:55 PM.
27 October 1997
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno announces that her Justice
Department had filed charges against Microsoft accusing the
company of violating a 1995 consent decree prohibiting
Microsoft from "tying" the sale of products to the sale of
operating system software. In this instance, they stand
accused of required clone manufacturers to preload Internet
Explorer as a condition of licensing Windows 95 for their
products. A one million dollar a day fine was imposed by
Reno's agency, which bluntly referred to Microsoft's
practices as an "abuse of monopoly powers."
This filing represents the culmination of a nearly
seven-year investigation into the company's activities by
the Justice Department, and potentially the most significant
setback for Microsoft in the company's history. At a
minimum, these events suggest a renewed willingness on the
part of the Justice Department to enforce antitrust laws.
However dramatic, this move carries with it substantial
risks: A failure by the courts to uphold these charges would
likely result in a virtual termination of the on-going
investigations into Microsoft's business practices.
Accordingly, the Monopoly Clock has been retreated one
minute to 11:54 PM, pending the court's ruling.
8 August 1997
At the MacWorld Expo in Boston, Apple co-founder and keynote
speaker Steve Jobs dropped a bombshell: Microsoft would be
investing $150 million in the company, the two companies
agreed to unspecified patent sharing, and Apple agreed to
place Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser in a "default"
position on future OS releases. Microsoft also pledged to
support the Mac platform with future software releases and
the companies will cooperate on Java development. While the
$150 investment is virtually inconsequential from a
financial standpoint (it mainly represents the settlement of
ongoing patent disputes), the technology sharing and
Internet Explorer aspects of the deal may have a significant
impact on future consumer choice. Whatever the immediate
term advantages may be for either Apple or Microsoft, as a
matter of general principle, it is difficult to find a
silver lining for consumers when two big companies become so
intimate, especially if one of those companies is Microsoft.
As a result, the Monopoly Clock moves forward one minute, to
11:55 PM.
16 June 1997
Hot on the heals of its acquisition of WebTV for $425
million and the $1 billion investment in the cable giant
Comcast, Microsoft this month announced the J/Direct
initiative. The WebTV and Comcast deals signal Microsoft's
determination to dominate all aspects of information
technology, from publication to delivery. J/Direct is the
keystone in Microsoft's strategy to neutralize Java as a
cross-platform application development tool. Taken together,
these events warrant advancing the Monopoly Clock one minute
closer to midnight, to 11:54 PM.
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