Re: convicted monopolist"
> Do you think browsers would be free if not for MS?
Before IE there were several web browsers available for various systems.
Mosaic was free, and there was a Windows port. """While often described as the first graphical web browser, Mosaic was preceded by WorldWideWeb and the lesser-known Erwise[5] and ViolaWWW.""" these were also free.
Netscape's browser was free for non-commercial use but commercial users were expected to purchase Netscape's web server on which the business was based.
IE was written by Spyglass on the basis that they would be paid $5 for every copy sold. By giving it away for free they avoided giving money to Spyglass, though later court action had MS have to give some anyway.
The basis for free was to drive Netscape to bankruptcy. Netscape had announced that the web could support web based applications that would replace desktop computers. These would run Java and Javascript and would bring back centralised computing. By killing Netscape MS managed to hold back computing for 15 years (1995 - 2010) and the industry is only now realising what Netscape intended.
But, of course, IE is not free at all. It is simply a part of what you pay for when you _buy_ Windows.