GPL Sued For "Software Price Fixing"

[Kurt Wall]

On Wednesday 04 May 2005 15:41, Bruce Marshall enlightened us thusly:
>
> And what about MicroSoft giving away a free browser?  Netscape
> couldn't compete with that but would you call it price fixing?  Seems
> to me to be the same situation.

This is comparing apples to moon rocks. Microsoft used its monopoly
power in operating systems to "innovate" Netscape into oblivion. Of
course, it wasn't price fixing. Then again, IE is losing share to 
Firefox. If both IE and Firefox are free, they aren't competing on
price.

Moreover, and more to the point, Microsoft wasn't accused of price
fixing the browser; they were accused of using their monopoly power
to compel PC makers only to ship Windows and to prevent PC makers
from pre-loading Netscape.

Kurt