Unrelated to this article, but concerning the government's anti-monopoly crusade against Microsoft in the late 90s (which is relevant because many circles are u

Unrelated to this article, but concerning the government's anti-monopoly crusade against Microsoft in the late 90s (which is relevant because many circles are unfortunately exploring government intervention against tech) ... One common narrative is government intervention proved irrelevant because Microsoft missed mobile and the web anyway. This is correct for mobile but wrong for the web. Imagine no government intervention around the browser. If Microsoft controls the browser, and essentially the search engine, does Google enjoy the same trajectory? It's possible, but improbable. Incidentally, mobile probably looks different with no Android, with Apple possibly even more dominant. However, this mobile assertion is more tenuous because it's two hypothetical steps away from non-intervention. Whether intervention is right or wrong is a separate question altogether. But to claim that intervention had no practical effect on Microsoft undermines the pursuit of the right answer.