Microsoft Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Microsoft Case - Essay Example The author states the second allegation as that Microsoft had various contractual agreements with computer manufacturers and Internet Service Providers that effectively allowed the company to retain a monopoly over the market. The third allegation is that the company attempted to monopolize the market for Internet browsers by including a default version of the Internet Explorer with their operating systems, and the last allegation being that the company bundled the said Internet browser with all its operating systems, an act that is illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act (Economides, 2001). After an analysis of the allegations listed above, it is completely agreeable that Microsoft Corporation was trying to gain a monopoly over the market, because the acts that it performs can be deduced to be too competitive. This conclusion is arrived at after considering the fact that the company introduces barriers of entry to the market by making sure that all their products (operating systems) are bundled with their own Internet Explorer. This fact will ensure that new software producers have steep barriers of entry into the browser software market. Another fact that concludes that Microsoft Corporation tried to monopolize the software market is that the company is the main competitor in the market for operating systems, so, having contractual agreements with Internet Service Providers effectively means that the company controls the market for Internet browsers. However, monopoly market structures are not always bad, though they restrict the competitive effect of the market by increasing their market power and introducing barriers to entry. A Pure Monopoly has many characteristics, the main one being the lack of competition because the company operates alone in a market. In this case, the monopoly market structure is not bad because the pure monopolist controls the price structures in the market,

James m. mcpherson crossroads of freedom antietam Essay

James m. mcpherson crossroads of freedom antietam - Essay Example McPherson lay out a chronological account of this battle starting with the events that prompted the war, how the battle was fought, and its aftermath. This paper seeks to explore how the battle of Antietam changed the course of America’s Civil War in accordance with McPherson views. The battle of Antietam is indeed remembered as the deadliest and bloodiest day in America’s history. However, this day also has a lot of significance in civil war since it changed the course of the war completely as pointed out by McPherson (2). This is seen right from the first chapter where McPherson lays out shifting fortunes witnessed during the early years before the conflict. Here, McPherson reveals how both the Union and Confederate and European powers were affected by the events of the first years of the battle. In this regard, McPherson Juxtaposes the success of Union forces in the early months of the conflict to Lincoln government’s poor handling of ‘Trent Affairâ€⠄¢ and failure of Union forces to conquer the Southern Army. Reflecting the failed Union efforts in the ‘Trent Affair’, McPherson argues that the failure of Confederates to use King Cotton to mount a blockage marked the turning point of the war in its early years of 1862. This is because it gave the Union soldiers the opportunity to repel the Confederate invasion of the north. In this regard, McPherson mentions the usual sources, which included Mary Boykin Chesnut, John B. Jones, Charles Francis Adams, and Elizabeth Blair Lee (McPherson 6). Chapter two of the book gives accounts of the increasing southern fortunes and the tensions that resulted thereof. McPherson titled this ‘Taking off the Kid Gloves, June-July of 1862’ (McPherson 17). In this regard, McPherson gives an account of how growing support for the views of Confederates among European powers turned the course of the battle. McPherson argues that failure of Federals to succeed increased the commit ment level of Union forces to wage a different war. This is because the failure by the Federals pointed the weakness of the confederates thereby increasing the morale of the Union forces to continue waging a strong battle, according to McPherson (19). In fact, McPherson noted that the battle of Antietam gave signs of Union’s victory in the war with many Confederate forces perishing in the war. McPherson argues that the battle of Antietam also changed the course of the war since it marked the point where the European powers began seeking for diplomatic recognition, which later resulted in a negotiated settlement leading to the recognition of independence. McPherson also argued that the victory of the Union soldiers in the battle of Antietam also changed the course of the war in the sense that it resulted to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln, which changed the war into a war against slavery (McPherson 26). According to McPherson, Emancipation Pr oclamation increased the need to re-ignite Northern enthusiasm through radicalization the war. In fact, McPherson argues that the establishment of an army under Union General John Pope was a move towards a total battle on the interest of the Southern, particularly property. McPherson noted that this entirely changed the course of the civil war to war against slavery and property (McPherson 41). McPherson explains this giving an account of the events that took place in the