A misinformed article from PCWorld seems to insinuate that Microsoft may no longer be a monopoly that requires government oversight. In other words, it's an indication that Microsoft has changed its way, which it clearly has not. It only hides its anti-competitive actions slightly more effectively. From the article:

But whether because of the antitrust suits or because of other market factors, Microsoft doesn't seem to be using its power to muscle competitors off the desktop. The very fact that Dell is selling Linux machines at all is one example. And when I recently bought a Dell desktop for home use, it came preloaded with products from two of Microsoft's most formidable competitors--Google's desktop search service and Mozilla's Firefox.

This is of course escaping all the main issues. Come to discover what Microsoft has been doing to Dell since the previous ruling (and during its probation period). Behind the scenes, Microsoft sabotaged Dell's attempts to sell GNU/Linux.

As we pointed out some weeks ago, the Department of Justice is still in Microsoft's pocket (surprise, surprise! The government is not truly honest). A couple of days ago came this article:

US Justice Department objects to states' effort to extend Microsoft oversight to 2012

"There is no basis for the court to order a five-year extension of the final judgments," the Justice Department said in a court filing Friday, citing a lack of evidence provided by the states that such oversight is justified.

To avoid repetition, you are urged to read our previous post on this topic and learn more about the DoJ-Microsoft link. It sheds light on the issues that misinform articles such as the one from PCWorld.

Of course Microsoft still abusing and bullying the market. Need one go further than the Mandriva story that was mentioned yesterday? Even the Managing Editor of LinuxToday called it bribery.

So, even as Microsoft claims superior quality over Linux, they act as if they don't even buy their own FUD. If they really believed that Windows was superior to Linux, they wouldn't have to bribe people with “marketing help” to get them to choose Windows.

Speaking of Microsoft 'bribery', you'll find more examples in the following recent stories:

1. Green Party slams Microsoft OLPC involvement



2. Bribing Bloggers



3. Microsoft Hires Programmer to edit Wikipedia Entry For OOXML



4. Interview with Dr Andrew S Tanenbaum (mind the "book story")

These are just 4 among many more examples.

The government (and DoJ especially) chooses to turn a blind eye to some real issues. It wasn't long ago that the following story, which involves the FTC, grabbed a lot of attention.

Microsoft trying to derail Google/DoubleClick deal by lobbying congress

Microsoft has hired lobbying firm Patton Boggs LLC to do work on "competitive issues surrounding Google/DoubleClick [sic] merger."

That is monopoly abuse. Plain and simple. Microsoft was willing to pay twice as much for DoubleClick, but apparently the company's stakeholders rejected Microsoft (they leaned from history). It is just one among a very long series of articles about Microsoft's lobbying in American and Europe. This time, Google is the victim, not GNU/Linux. If we go a little further back, then we also find this:

Gates blackmailed Danish government

Microsoft boss Bill Gates threatened to kill 800 Danish jobs if Denmark opposed the European Computer Implemented Inventions Directive, reports today's Danish financial daily Børsen, quoted by NoSoftwarePatents.com.

That fits nicely with our coverage on software patents and the lobbying (manipulation and sometimes bullying, bribery, extortion, and blackmail) that is used to change the law in Europe.

Not much was said specifically about the PCWorld article, but don't the stories above answer its headline? Judge for yourselves...

Eight Years Later, Is Microsoft Still a[n abusive] Monopoly?