EU Decides against M$

[MacRumorSkeptic]

Go shout somewhere else. If > 90% marketshare isn't a monopoly then goats lay eggs (or however that saying goes in English).

Look, I hate MS just as much as the next guy, but sorry NO, 90% market share IS NOT a monopoly. No matter how much you want it to be, it simply is not. Since when do monopolies have competitors.

Posted byatrick0brien
Despite your impassioned statement, and interesting definition of what a monopoly is, Microsoft was convicted in United States Federal Court under Civil Action No. 98-1232 (TPJ) and Civil Action No. 98-1233 (TPJ)

They are a Monopolist.

Posted by:Sayhey
It’s an unknown expression to me, but it translates well and describes graphically the impossibility of not understanding the monopoly character of Microsoft.

MacRumorSkeptic, perhaps you should read the legal judgment (U.S. vs. Microsoft) in which Microsoft is explicitly named as a monopoly. It is a free download as a pdf file from the Washington Post

because the federal government and courts are always right. (dripping with sarcasm)

 

[patrick0brien]

Originally posted by MacRumorSkeptic
because the federal government and courts are always right. (dripping with sarcasm)

-MacRumorSkeptic

But they're the law.

Go ahead, speed.
Or go do some drugs.
Heck! Walk into a police station and sucker punch a cop.

Just because you don't believe in something doesn't exempt you from the law, or the consequences of your actions.

Until you ace the LSAT, get into a top 5 law school, get a law degree near the top of your class, practice law as a U.S. attorney or other governmental capacity for a decade, become a federal judge, then get hand-picked by a president, your opinion means very little in this matter.

But, what is interesting here is that monopolies aren't illegal.

Using monopoly power in a predatory capacity is.

This is the subject we should be keeping our eyes on.

For your edification, the definition of a monopoly by the FTC (the authority in this matter):
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Maintaining or Creating a Monopoly

While it is not illegal to have a monopoly position in a market, the antitrust laws make it unlawful to maintain or attempt to create a monopoly through tactics that either unreasonably exclude firms from the market or significantly impair their ability to compete. A single firm may commit a violation through its unilateral actions, or a violation may result if a group of firms work together to monopolize a market.

I see no numbers here. Nothing that says that a monopoly is defined by 'no competitors'.

I don't know where you got your interesting notion of what a monopoly is, but I'd question it if I were you.

 

[Sayhey]

Originally posted by MacRumorSkeptic
because the federal government and courts are always right. (dripping with sarcasm)

No, because when legal antitrust decisions are made, either in the US or in the EU, it is the legal authorities that determine the standard. I may agree with you on instances where you think the feds are wrong, but the two of us would make no difference in what the law means. In this case I think common sense in looking at the history of the computer industry also agrees with the court decision. <No sarcasm>

Sorry, Patrick to duplicate points you already made very well.