The Microsoft File

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This extraordinary fly-on-the-wall account reveals Microsoft's intent to monopolize the computer industry. Wendy Goldman Rohm takes readers inside Microsoft, providing access to meetings with key customers and competitors while detailing the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice's struggles against serious market manipulation charges. The narrative is informed by multiple "Deep Throats" and internal documents that expose predatory marketing and pricing behaviors contradicting Microsoft's claims of fair competition. Key revelations include how Microsoft eliminated a competitor's operating system that could have challenged MS-DOS, the discovery of bugging devices in a partner's hotel room prior to a critical meeting, and the insertion of hidden code in Windows 3.1 that instilled market fear about competing products. The account also discusses Apple's near abandonment of the Macintosh for Windows and Bill Gates’ $250 million investment in Apple. Additionally, it highlights how Microsoft, despite nondisclosure agreements, acquired and utilized competitors' technological secrets. As the software industry faced significant mergers, Microsoft's competitors struggled against the growing power of the Gates juggernaut. The narrative raises questions about whether Microsoft's rise exemplifies free market success or if other forces influenced its dominance.