On November 5, 1999, US District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued his findings of fact, finding that Microsoft had “monopoly power and used it to harm consumers, rivals, and other companies (Wired 2002).”

On April 3, 2000, in a two-part decision, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled in Washington, D.C. that Microsoft's dominance of the personal computer operating systems market constituted a monopoly, and that it used its power against competitors in ways that stifled innovation and harmed consumers. Judge Jackson ordered the breakup of Microsoft into two separate units, one to produce the operating system, and one to produce other software components (Wilke 1999).

Judge Jackson's remedy was overturned

I believe Microsoft should be left alone. So far, it has not been proven that Microsoft has done anything horrible. They compete aggressively, but other companies would do the same. Microsoft gives consumers what they want, even if they may charge higher prices. That too is supply and demand. If the demand is great, the prices are going to increase. So what! We have lived with this concept for years.

When Microsoft issued Windows 95, it did it with a new feature, a web browser called Explorer. It signed contracts with personal computer makers, such as Dell and Compaq, to include the browser and other applications it had added to Windows over the years, when installing the Windows software. Microsoft did not charge for this Windows upgrade and added features. The entire Windows platform, with applications in word processing, spreadsheets, databases, publishing, office networks and browsers represents only five percent of the cost of a personal computer system.

The Department of Justice, now under the administration of President George W. Bush, announced on September 6, 2001 that it was no longer seeking to break-up Microsoft, and would instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty. Then on November 2, 2001, the Department of Justice agreed with Microsoft to settle the case. Nine States and the District of Columbia, which had been pursuing the case along with the Department of Justice, did not agree with the settlement, arguing that it did not go far enough to stop or slow down Microsoft's anti-competitive business practices. On August 5, 2002, Microsoft announced that it would make some concessions towards the proposed final settlement of its antitrust case ahead of the judge's verdict

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