Microsoft Lawsuit Didn’t Compute

It’s odd that The Times, which worked long and hard to achieve and maintain a huge dominance in its market, would be perturbed that Microsoft has been allowed to do the same thing (“Alas, Microsoft Wins Again,” editorial, Nov. 2). It would have been a better use of the editorial space to deplore the considerable number of taxpayer dollars wasted by the Justice Department -- and the additional dollars Microsoft was forced to spend on defense -- on this matter.

Mike Mathews

Palm Desert

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Re “Microsoft Wins Major Points in Antitrust Settlement Ruling,” Nov. 2: A monopoly is impossible in a free market. Microsoft has cornered the software market because Bill Gates was a visionary who revolutionized not just computer software but the way we conduct business. His software allowed computing to be mass-marketed, affordable and reliable. Antitrust laws are un-American in that they penalize ability and success. Gates should be honored and revered, not vilified and scorned. Ayn Rand wrote that the consequence of antitrust is the “sacrifice of productive genius to the demands of envious mediocrity.”

Pat Nicholson

South Pasadena