Sir Bill and his dragons-past, present and future

摘要

The announcement this week that Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates, is to receive an honorary knighthood from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II seems fitting. For Bill Gates KBE (only British citizens can take the honorific "Sir") combines knightly philanthropy on an unprecedented scale with a long and impressive combat record. Over the years he has seen off numerous competitors, parrying attacks from all sides and always, somehow, emerging victorious. Microsoft's most notable success-its establishment, with its Windows software, of a monopoly in desktop operating systems-has led to its fiercest battles of all, as antitrust regulators have accused it of abusing its dominant position. The story of the company's epic legal battle with America's Justice Department and 18 states has passed into legend. In 2000, Microsoft was found guilty of illegally exploiting the dominance of Windows (which is installed on over 95% of PCS worldwide) to gain market share for its web browser over Netscape's rival product. The company was ordered to be broken up. But the decision was reversed on appeal and a far milder punishment, in the form of restrictions on Microsoft's behav-iour, was applied instead. The case still produces occasional rumbles, like the death-rattle of a mortally wounded dragon, but it no longer poses a threat to the company's survival.