On June 4, 2020, Elon Musk publicly called for "Break up Amazon". over the past year, Hi-tech giants -- including Amazon, Alphabet Inc. (i.e., Google), and Facebook are facing anti-trust lawsuit in the US. So what is the implication about the Antitrust lawsuit? Let us have a very short review about the Antitrust Case of Microsoft back in the 1990s. You can get more background about the case here from the linke. Now you may explore some implications about ethical behavior, innovation, and the government's role in monitoring business practices. Microsoft The basic idea behind the case is that (1) Microsoft stifled competition by imposing stiff penalties on computer manufactures that chose to install operating systems other than Windows on some of their machines; (2) Microsoft tried to put Netscape out of business by incorporating Internet Explorer into the operating system; and (3) Microsoft has an unfair advantage in the applications programming area because its programmers have access to the source code for the operating system. There were other issues as well, but these were the major ones. The judge in the case found that Microsoft did violate antitrust laws and that it continued to operate in a monopolistic fashion. He ordered the break-up of Microsoft into an "operating system" company and an "applications" company. The judge also ordered that Microsoft allow programmers from the Company's competitors to come to a secured location and view the source code for Microsoft Windows. Microsoft contended that this would allow other companies to determine the direction that Microsoft is moving with its software and eliminate the competitive advantage that its research and development has afforded the company. Microsoft appealed the ruling in November 2000. The appeals court had harsh words for the judge in the original trial, primarily for remarks that he made to the media. In June 2001, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia agreed that Microsoft did maintain a monopoly but rejected the order to break the company into two parts. It ordered a new judge to determine an appropriate remedy. Microsoft appealed to the Supreme Court to overrule the antitrust ruling, but the request was rejected. A deal was reached with the Department of Justice in November 2001, but several states opposed the settlement. Talks continued until November 2002, when the judge finally approved a settlement between Microsoft and the government. Most of the states that opposed the earlier settlement dropped their opposition. Microsoft appealed to the Supreme Court to overrule the antitrust ruling, but the request was rejected. A deal was reached with the Department of Justice in November 2001, but several states opposed the settlement. Talks continued until November 2002, when the judge finally approved a settlement between Microsoft and the government. Most of the states that opposed the earlier settlement dropped their opposition. Some features involve the restructuring of pricing to level the playing field for resellers, sharing technical data, and allowing for the removal of Microsoft icons from the desktop in Windows XP. With the review of the brief history, let us think about the implications about monopoly and anti-trust laws in the presence of our economy. +++ This discussion is worth 30 points. You need to finish your initial post on Wednesday, February 3, and give comments/feedback on two other students' posts. Response posts are due on Sunday, February 7, 2021. You need to respond to 2 follow students to get a full credit. Initial post and follow-up responses cannot be finished on the same day, and hence you need to work on the discussion assignment earlier. Make sure to check out the Discussion Rubric before posting your message. Now if you are ready, click on the link to log-in to Discussions forum. See you there! On June 4, 2020, Elon Musk publicly called for "Break up Amazon". over the past year, Hi-tech giants -- including Amazon, Alphabet Inc. (i.e., Google), and Facebook are facing anti-trust lawsuit in the US. So what is the implication about the Antitrust lawsuit? Let us have a very short review about the Antitrust Case of Microsoft back in the 1990s. You can get more background about the case here from the linke. Now you may explore some implications about ethical behavior, innovation, and the government's role in monitoring business practices. Microsoft The basic idea behind the case is that (1) Microsoft stifled competition by imposing stiff penalties on computer manufactures that chose to install operating systems other than Windows on some of their machines; (2) Microsoft tried to put Netscape out of business by incorporating Internet Explorer into the operating system; and (3) Microsoft has an unfair advantage in the applications programming area because its programmers have access to the source code for the operating system. There were other issues as well, but these were the major ones. The judge in the case found that Microsoft did violate antitrust laws and that it continued to operate in a monopolistic fashion. He ordered the break-up of Microsoft into an "operating system" company and an "applications" company. The judge also ordered that Microsoft allow programmers from the Company's competitors to come to a secured location and view the source code for Microsoft Windows. Microsoft contended that this would allow other companies to determine the direction that Microsoft is moving with its software and eliminate the competitive advantage that its research and development has afforded the company. Microsoft appealed the ruling in November 2000. The appeals court had harsh words for the judge in the original trial, primarily for remarks that he made to the media. In June 2001, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia agreed that Microsoft did maintain a monopoly but rejected the order to break the company into two parts. It ordered a new judge to determine an appropriate remedy. Microsoft appealed to the Supreme Court to overrule the antitrust ruling, but the request was rejected. A deal was reached with the Department of Justice in November 2001, but several states opposed the settlement. Talks continued until November 2002, when the judge finally approved a settlement between Microsoft and the government. Most of the states that opposed the earlier settlement dropped their opposition. Microsoft appealed to the Supreme Court to overrule the antitrust ruling, but the request was rejected. A deal was reached with the Department of Justice in November 2001, but several states opposed the settlement. Talks continued until November 2002, when the judge finally approved a settlement between Microsoft and the government. Most of the states that opposed the earlier settlement dropped their opposition. Some features involve the restructuring of pricing to level the playing field for resellers, sharing technical data, and allowing for the removal of Microsoft icons from the desktop in Windows XP. With the review of the brief history, let us think about the implications about monopoly and anti-trust laws in the presence of our economy. +++ This discussion is worth 30 points. You need to finish your initial post on Wednesday, February 3, and give comments/feedback on two other students' posts. Response posts are due on Sunday, February 7, 2021. You need to respond to 2 follow students to get a full credit. Initial post and follow-up responses cannot be finished on the same day, and hence you need to work on the discussion assignment earlier. Make sure to check out the Discussion Rubric before posting your message. Now if you are ready, click on the link to log-in to Discussions forum. See you there