Arguably, Microsoft's real portal is Windows, complete with integrated browser. A lot of people just won't change it. Justice is zeroing in on Microsoft's strict rules limiting how computer makers customize the opening screen on the Windows machines they sell, and on the demands Microsoft places on Internet service providers and on Web sites that want to be on the channel bar. These demands include ordering them not to use or advertise Microsoft competitors. U.S. Rep. Dick Armey complains that Justice is out of line with this demand.
Consumers make the best decisions for themselves.
But Armey may be confused about who the consumer is. Computer makers license Windows from Microsoft and sell their machines to end users. This hyperpowered version of Windows, built for corporate networks, could make or break Microsoft over the next few years. The company aims to replace networked Unix servers and workstations made by the likes of Sun and IBM, as well as IBM's minicomputers and mainframes, with networked PCs. Microsoft's ambition is nothing short of ruling the computing world, from the biggest cross-border corporate transactional processing jobs to the tiniest wrist radio.