How Microsoft became a Big Tech choirboy – Computerworld

This didn’t happen by accident. Here’s how the onetime biggest shark in technology, a company that was set on its heels by an FTC suit decades ago, has managed to stay on the right side of the feds — at least so far.

Becoming the tech world’s choirboy

Back in 1998, Microsoft faced its own existential crisis: The DOJ sued it for illegally using its Windows monopoly to kill its competition. The company lost the lawsuit, and a judge ordered the company be broken up. After an appeal, in 2001 Microsoft and the DOJ reached an agreement in which Microsoft had to share code with other companies and had to allow non-Microsoft browsers access to Windows.

It was little more than a slap on the wrist. Despite that, the company went into a tailspin because it was so focused on defending itself rather than aggressively going after the mobile market, expanding into internet search, focusing on social media, or jumping into online retail.