This is the second in a new series of commentaries we will be producing. I hope you find it of interest. Antitrust regulation, like all economic regulation, encourages the government to make its case based on these tiny details.
Regulation is about micromanagement, and antitrust is no exception.
But one thing the news coverage has often overlooked is the sheer number of competing browser products available at low or no cost to the Internet consumer. Therein the curious user will find literally dozens of browsers. Some are professional products, created by companies and programmers seriously interested in marketing their products. Others are experiments, done by programmers who just wanted to prove they could make a Web browser. Obviously, not many share the quality of a Microsoft or Netscape browser, but the fact is they exist and while they have very small user bases, they also appeal to a vast spectrum of specialized Web users.