In the case of Google and Apple you are correct- the real loser is Apple who will no longer rake in billions of dollars.
Consumer's were not locked into using Google- they can change the default to any other search engine such as Apple's Safari or an off-brand such as Duck-Duck-Go (favored by my oldest son).
The Microsoft case is similar, except that Microsoft didn't pay another company. They merely bundled Explorer with their software package to make it the default. Netscape pushed for the court ruling. But back then too many consumers were less tech savvy to download and make another engine default. We had Netscape on our computer, but I think I was ahead of most consumers at that time. Netscape also didn't innovate well and was already losing market when the court ruled against Microsoft.
I think far more consumers are more tech-capable than in the past and suits like these distract from the REAL monopolistic issues!
For example, if one goes to the Wikipedia [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Meta_Platforms] Meta/Facebook has acquired 101 other companies some of whom could have been direct competitors to Facebook such as Instagram and Whatsapp. Meta bought "theFind" which was an online marketplace that could compete with Facebook marketplace.
Google (Alphabet) acquisitions can be found on Wikipedia too- over 258!! [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Alphabet ]. Picassa is a cross platform digital image platform for organizing and editing. Genius Labs which had a blogging platform. Orian was a search engine. In June 2013, Google acquired map & Navigation competitor Waze. While Waze would remain an independent entity, its social features, such as its crowdsourced location platform, were reportedly valuable integrations between Waze and Google Maps, Google's own mapping service,.
Not only do these tech giants pursue consolidation, our whole telecom ecosystem is rife with it. We used Sprint for twenty years and then they got bought by T-mobile. Not only did the COST to our phone bill not decrease with this consolidation, the cellular service isn't any better and the customer service is positively terrible. We always had good customer service with Sprint.
The medical industry is undergoing the same consolidation with hospital after hospital getting gobbled up by larger corporations. In the Grand Rapids area we had indendent hospitals Butterworth, Blodgett and Mary Free-bed. Blodgett and Butterworth merged with other concerns to become Spectrum and then merged again with an already merged chain in the Kalamazoo area (Beaumont) to become Corewell with 22 hospitals under its control.
Other medical facilities in the area are now gobbled up by Trinity Health is an American not-for-profit Catholic health system operating 92 hospitals in 22 states, including 120 continuing care locations encompassing home care, hospice, PACE and senior living facilities. Based in Livonia, Michigan, Trinity Health employs more than 120,000 people including 5,300 physicians.
Teddy would, I think, be rolling over in his grave.
In the case of Google and Apple you are correct- the real loser is Apple who will no longer rake in billions of dollars.
Consumer's were not locked into using Google- they can change the default to any other search engine such as Apple's Safari or an off-brand such as Duck-Duck-Go (favored by my oldest son).
The Microsoft case is similar, except that Microsoft didn't pay another company. They merely bundled Explorer with their software package to make it the default. Netscape pushed for the court ruling. But back then too many consumers were less tech savvy to download and make another engine default. We had Netscape on our computer, but I think I was ahead of most consumers at that time. Netscape also didn't innovate well and was already losing market when the court ruled against Microsoft.
I think far more consumers are more tech-capable than in the past and suits like these distract from the REAL monopolistic issues!
For example, if one goes to the Wikipedia [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Meta_Platforms] Meta/Facebook has acquired 101 other companies some of whom could have been direct competitors to Facebook such as Instagram and Whatsapp. Meta bought "theFind" which was an online marketplace that could compete with Facebook marketplace.
Google (Alphabet) acquisitions can be found on Wikipedia too- over 258!! [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Alphabet ]. Picassa is a cross platform digital image platform for organizing and editing. Genius Labs which had a blogging platform. Orian was a search engine. In June 2013, Google acquired map & Navigation competitor Waze. While Waze would remain an independent entity, its social features, such as its crowdsourced location platform, were reportedly valuable integrations between Waze and Google Maps, Google's own mapping service,.
Not only do these tech giants pursue consolidation, our whole telecom ecosystem is rife with it. We used Sprint for twenty years and then they got bought by T-mobile. Not only did the COST to our phone bill not decrease with this consolidation, the cellular service isn't any better and the customer service is positively terrible. We always had good customer service with Sprint.
The medical industry is undergoing the same consolidation with hospital after hospital getting gobbled up by larger corporations. In the Grand Rapids area we had indendent hospitals Butterworth, Blodgett and Mary Free-bed. Blodgett and Butterworth merged with other concerns to become Spectrum and then merged again with an already merged chain in the Kalamazoo area (Beaumont) to become Corewell with 22 hospitals under its control.
Other medical facilities in the area are now gobbled up by Trinity Health is an American not-for-profit Catholic health system operating 92 hospitals in 22 states, including 120 continuing care locations encompassing home care, hospice, PACE and senior living facilities. Based in Livonia, Michigan, Trinity Health employs more than 120,000 people including 5,300 physicians.
Teddy would, I think, be rolling over in his grave.