[IncPen]

The Ma Bell monopoly was directly and completely responsible for the transistor that made this all this stuff possible.

Yes, 40 years previously. And then silicon chips replaced them. But because the entirety of Ma Bell's business was built on land lines, there was no incentive to innovate. It was other companies that drove the cell and internet revolutions, not Bell. Who even has a land line today?

But it's easy to forget the enormous contributions of the Microsoft monopoly.

If by Microsoft you're referring to enormous contributions like 'swiss-cheese security, marketing schemes that lead to dead-end upgrade paths, hostage-ware, theft of technology and design (the entire Microsoft empire was built on the theft of Gary Kildall's CP/M), and products like the Zune... well, you got me there...

Take your history lectures elsewhere.

[palmer]

You are wrong about both. Bell Labs produced breakthroughs continuously after inventing semiconductors. Their monopoly gave them unlimited funds for blue sky research. In the case of MS they produced a useful system that anyone could use, that ran on any hardware including the widest range of peripherals. And yes, they stole the design and ran with it, and they created lots of holes. That's part of what makes them easy to surplant.

Unlike the statists on this thread who believe government to be superior to the monopoly (when government in fact creates or sustains many monopolies), it is the capitalists that are on the side of the people. Many people love posting and reading their Facebook crap and whether they are getting screwed or their private information is being sold is irrelevant.

My final history lesson for you: government sucks, always!

[Mears]

“Who even has a land line today? ‘”

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Me,and three of my five middle aged kids.

.