Microsoft: Difference between revisions

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==Consumer impact summary==

===Anticompetitive practices===

*'''Monopolistic bundling''': Forcing OEMs to preinstall Microsoft software such as Internet Explorer (IE) with Windows, making it difficult for competitors like Netscape to compete.

*'''Exclusionary contracts''': Blocking rivals' distribution channels by signing exclusive deals with PC manufacturers and ISPs.

*'''Sabotaging competitors''': Deliberately degrading interoperability of competing software (e.g., Java, ''Netscape'') with Windows.

*'''Predatory pricing''': Offering IE for free to undercut ''Netscape'', later ruled anti-competitive.

===Cloud computing monopoly abuse===

*'''Discriminatory licensing''': Charging higher fees for running Windows Server on rival clouds versus Azure, stifling competition.

*'''Lock-in tactics''': Making it costly or technically difficult for customers to migrate data from Azure to other platforms.

*'''Settlements under pressure''': Facing EU and UK lawsuits, Microsoft settled with some cloud vendors but retained practices criticized as unfair.

===Anti-consumer software and hardware policies===

*'''Forced online activation''': Requiring internet connectivity to set up Xbox consoles or install physical game discs, even for single-player modes.

*'''DRM overreach''': Xbox Series X/S games demand online verification for disc-based installations, rendering offline play difficult.

*'''Recurring billing traps''': Defaulting users into subscription auto-renewals while making cancellation processes opaque.

===Privacy and data exploitation===

*'''Collaboration with surveillance''': Working with the NSA and FBI to bypass encryption (PRISM program) and access user data (Skype, Outlook). <!--[11]

*'''Unauthorized data collection''': Contractors reportedly listened to Xbox/Skype/Cortana audio without clear user consent.

*'''Dark patterns in Windows''': Manipulative UI designs to nudge users toward data-sharing opt-ins.

===Ethical and legal controversies===

*'''Censorship compliance''': Removing content from Bing/LinkedIn to appease authoritarian regimes (e.g., China). [

*'''Military contracts''': Developing ''HoloLens AR'' tech for the U.S. Army to "turn warfare into a video game," contrary to employee expectations.[

*'''Patent aggression''': Threatening open-source projects like calling Linux a "cancer" and suing small entities such as MikeRoweSoft.com.

===Market manipulation and stifling innovation===

*'''Artificial price inflation''': Overcharging consumers by $20–30 billion for Windows licenses in the 1990s by hiding costs in PC bundles.

*'''Acquisition dominance''': Buying competitors like GitHub, VS Code, and LinkedIn to absorb markets and limit alternatives.

*'''Delaying competitors''': Intentionally slowing development of rival products like IBM and Apple through contractual or technical barriers.

===Monopolization===

*Exclusive licensing agreements with ''IBM'' and other PC manufacturers ensured that ''MS-DOS'' became the dominant OS.

*Priced ''MS-DOS'' significantly lower than competitors, making it the default choice for PC makers.

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===Xbox 360 Defect - The "Red Ring of Death"===

In 2005, Microsoft released the ''Xbox 360''. Not very long after, consumers started reporting problems with their consoles- three red flashing lights on the ring around the power button. This was coined by consumers as the "''Red Ring of Death''", and by 2007, ''Xbox''<nowiki/>'s hardware engineers eventually discovered that the reason for it was a defect in the ''Xbox 360''<nowiki/>'s GPU.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Power On: The Story of Xbox {{!}} Chapter 5: The Red Ring of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?~~v=z2d6IMBS8oY~~ |url-status=live |access-date=June 4, 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref>

In 2005, Microsoft released the ''Xbox 360''. Not very long after, consumers started reporting problems with their consoles- three red flashing lights on the ring around the power button. This was coined by consumers as the "''Red Ring of Death''", and by 2007, ''Xbox''<nowiki/>'s hardware engineers eventually discovered that the reason for it was a defect in the ''Xbox 360''<nowiki/>'s GPU.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Power On: The Story of Xbox {{!}} Chapter 5: The Red Ring of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch? |url-status=live |access-date=June 4, 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref>

For the first several months of this incident's height of prevalence in 2006, consumers had to pay to get their consoles fixed by Microsoft if the console was outside of its one year warranty. However, by September 2007, they chose to extend the warranty to three years from the date of original purchase, and refunded anyone who had previously paid to get this issue fixed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Peter |date=2007 |title=Open Letter from Peter Moore |url=http://xbox.com/en-ca/support/petermooreletter.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023004948/http://xbox.com/en-ca/support/petermooreletter.htm |archive-date=23 Oct 2007 |access-date=4 Jun 2025 |website=Xbox}}</ref> Judging from current and former employees' comments in the ''Xbox'' documentary, ''Power On: The Story of Xbox'', Microsoft seemed to have primarily done this to rescue the ''Xbox'' brand.<ref name=":2" /> Nonetheless, this was still beneficial to consumers who had made an investment in and enjoyed games from Microsoft's console.

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 ==Consumer impact summary==
+===Anticompetitive practices===
+*'''Monopolistic bundling''': Forcing OEMs to preinstall Microsoft software such as Internet Explorer (IE) with Windows, making it difficult for competitors like Netscape to compete. <!--[6][8]-->
+*'''Exclusionary contracts''': Blocking rivals' distribution channels by signing exclusive deals with PC manufacturers and ISPs. <!--[6]-->
+*'''Sabotaging competitors''': Deliberately degrading interoperability of competing software (e.g., Java, ''Netscape'') with Windows. <!--[6]-->
+*'''Predatory pricing''': Offering IE for free to undercut ''Netscape'', later ruled anti-competitive. <!--[8]-->
+===Cloud computing monopoly abuse===
+*'''Discriminatory licensing''': Charging higher fees for running Windows Server on rival clouds versus Azure, stifling competition.<!--[13][15]-->
+*'''Lock-in tactics''': Making it costly or technically difficult for customers to migrate data from Azure to other platforms.<!--[15]-->
+*'''Settlements under pressure''': Facing EU and UK lawsuits, Microsoft settled with some cloud vendors but retained practices criticized as unfair.<!--[13]-->
+===Anti-consumer software and hardware policies===
+*'''Forced online activation''': Requiring internet connectivity to set up Xbox consoles or install physical game discs, even for single-player modes. <!--[10]-->
+*'''DRM overreach''': Xbox Series X/S games demand online verification for disc-based installations, rendering offline play difficult. <!--10]-->
+*'''Recurring billing traps''': Defaulting users into subscription auto-renewals while making cancellation processes opaque.<!--[12]-->
+===Privacy and data exploitation===
+*'''Collaboration with surveillance''': Working with the NSA and FBI to bypass encryption (PRISM program) and access user data (Skype, Outlook). <!--[11]
+*'''Unauthorized data collection''': Contractors reportedly listened to Xbox/Skype/Cortana audio without clear user consent. <!--11]-->
+*'''Dark patterns in Windows''': Manipulative UI designs to nudge users toward data-sharing opt-ins.<!--[11]-->
+===Ethical and legal controversies===
+*'''Censorship compliance''': Removing content from Bing/LinkedIn to appease authoritarian regimes (e.g., China). [<!--11]-->
+*'''Military contracts''': Developing ''HoloLens AR'' tech for the U.S. Army to "turn warfare into a video game," contrary to employee expectations.[<!--11]-->
+*'''Patent aggression''': Threatening open-source projects like calling Linux a "cancer" and suing small entities such as MikeRoweSoft.com. <!--[11]-->
+===Market manipulation and stifling innovation===
+*'''Artificial price inflation''': Overcharging consumers by $20–30 billion for Windows licenses in the 1990s by hiding costs in PC bundles. <!--[6]-->
+*'''Acquisition dominance''': Buying competitors like GitHub, VS Code, and LinkedIn to absorb markets and limit alternatives. <!--[11]-->
+*'''Delaying competitors''': Intentionally slowing development of rival products like IBM and Apple through contractual or technical barriers. <!--[6]-->
 ===Monopolization===
 *Exclusive licensing agreements with ''IBM'' and other PC manufacturers ensured that ''MS-DOS'' became the dominant OS.
 *Priced ''MS-DOS'' significantly lower than competitors, making it the default choice for PC makers.
@@ Line 44: / Line 74: @@
 ===Xbox 360 Defect - The "Red Ring of Death"<!-- I don't know for sure if we should have a dedicated Company article for Xbox, or if we should just redirect red links for Xbox to this article (Microsoft). Personally, I think what they do is MS's responsibility because MS is the parent company, so Xbox's issues should be mentioned here. Either way- I'm just going to place this info here for now for folks to edit or change appropriately. -->===
 {{Main|Bumpgate}}
-In 2005, Microsoft released the ''Xbox 360''. Not very long after, consumers started reporting problems with their consoles- three red flashing lights on the ring around the power button. This was coined by consumers as the "''Red Ring of Death''", and by 2007, ''Xbox''<nowiki/>'s hardware engineers eventually discovered that the reason for it was a defect in the ''Xbox 360''<nowiki/>'s GPU.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Power On: The Story of Xbox {{!}} Chapter 5: The Red Ring of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d6IMBS8oY |url-status=live |access-date=June 4, 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref>
+In 2005, Microsoft released the ''Xbox 360''. Not very long after, consumers started reporting problems with their consoles- three red flashing lights on the ring around the power button. This was coined by consumers as the "''Red Ring of Death''", and by 2007, ''Xbox''<nowiki/>'s hardware engineers eventually discovered that the reason for it was a defect in the ''Xbox 360''<nowiki/>'s GPU.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Power On: The Story of Xbox {{!}} Chapter 5: The Red Ring of Death |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch? |url-status=live |access-date=June 4, 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref>
 For the first several months of this incident's height of prevalence in 2006, consumers had to pay to get their consoles fixed by Microsoft if the console was outside of its one year warranty. However, by September 2007, they chose to extend the warranty to three years from the date of original purchase, and refunded anyone who had previously paid to get this issue fixed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Peter |date=2007 |title=Open Letter from Peter Moore |url=http://xbox.com/en-ca/support/petermooreletter.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023004948/http://xbox.com/en-ca/support/petermooreletter.htm |archive-date=23 Oct 2007 |access-date=4 Jun 2025 |website=Xbox}}</ref> Judging from current and former employees' comments in the ''Xbox'' documentary, ''Power On: The Story of Xbox'', Microsoft seemed to have primarily done this to rescue the ''Xbox'' brand.<ref name=":2" /> Nonetheless, this was still beneficial to consumers who had made an investment in and enjoyed games from Microsoft's console.