[Am-info] Microsoft's competitors

[John Poltorak]

I keep hearing Bill Gates banging on about Microsoft's competitors...

Microsoft's core business is the development of operating systems for IBM 
compatible PCs and applications to run in that environment. Almost 100% of 
PCs come with Windows pre-installed and Microsoft Office is used in the 
vast majority of organisations. Anyone know how much of the market it 
actually holds?

I'd like someone to nail this myth about competitors - Microsoft does not 
have any. None of Sun, IBM, AOL, Novel or others who are sometimes quoted 
could, in anyone's wildest imaginations be considered as threats to this 
monopoly. 

However, given that we live in an alleged free enterprise world, what 
would be so wrong about Microsoft having the odd competitor. We can see 
what competition has done to the price of the Xbox. Why should Microsoft 
be so protected from the real world in its monopoly in the PC desktop 
market? The cost of Windows and MS Office is held artificially high by 
lack of competition and this does real harm to consumers. 

How come no one gets this point?


-- 
John