U.S. Dept. of Justice vs. Microsoft: The real story

In the end, it came down to four simple letters - APIs. According to Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, Microsoft abused its monopoly again and again, and each time it was to protect its precious Windows APIs. The reports in the general press have for the most part failed to mention APIs. Maybe it's because the writers don't understand APIs, or they realize their audience won't understand or care about APIs, or maybe they simply failed to read the judge's complete ruling.

Well, I read all 207 damning pages, and I'm here to boil it down so you don't have to. Actually, the document is fine reading. Jackson is no Hemingway, but his decision is a crisp and cogent history and analysis of Microsoft's business practices over the past decade.

In the end, Jackson found that:

Microsoft contracts with PC vendors called for the manufacturers to stop distributing IBM's OS/2, which offered an alternative API set.

Microsoft forced Intel to abandon multimedia APIs that directly exploit Intel chips.

Microsoft tried to squash Apple's Quicktime APIs, which offered Windows developers a cool way to write video applications.

Microsoft tried to convince Netscape to stay away from the Windows 95 market. When it couldn't control Navigator, which offered an alterative API set for developers, Microsoft decided to kill it.

Microsoft tried to turn Java APIs into Windows APIs, and largely succeeded.

Of the 412 findings, Microsoft agreed with just one: that Internet Explorer "gave Netscape an incentive to improve Navigator's quality at a competitive rate."

Ironically, Microsoft didn't have to be so paranoid about the APIs. Software developers love an operating system monopoly because they only have to write to one thing. The Windows monopoly, in my estimation, could have preserved itself quite easily without all the arm twisting and crazy contracts.

What should be done? It's too late to undo the damage to competitors. However, Microsoft should be carefully restricted in how it writes contracts, should totally separate its application and operating system businesses, and should be forced to give loads of stock options to all it has harmed.

- Doug Barney

Executive Editor, News

dbarney@nww.com