GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Last week, an appeals court judge overturned a lower court ruling that would have divided Microsoft into two companies -- one that would develop and market the operating system, which is used by the vast majority of personal computers in the country, and another that would develop and market other kinds of software. Citing biased comments by the district judge who originally heard the Justice Department's lawsuit against the software company, the appeals court remanded the case to a new judge to determine what penalties should be assessed to Microsoft, which, the appeals court agreed, had abused its monopoly of the operating system.
In the wake of this decision, a new Gallup poll finds public sentiment about Microsoft little changed over the past several years. While relatively few people have followed the case closely, most Americans hold a favorable view of the company and think that Microsoft's domination of the software markets has been mostly good for the economy, consumers, and the computer industry. These views are even more positive among the "attentive public" -- those who say they have followed the case closely.
As for the suit itself, Americans show no clear consensus about what should be done. About a third want the federal government to drop the case altogether, while the rest are evenly divided among those who want the government to pursue a settlement, those who want the case to go forward with a new judge, and those who have no opinion on the matter. The good news for Microsoft is that it appears a majority of Americans do not favor breaking up the company, but the bad news is that a majority is not willing to see the lawsuit dropped altogether.
Attentive Public Strongly Favors Microsoft
Overall, 60% of Americans say they have a favorable opinion of Microsoft, while just 17% have an unfavorable opinion, and 23% are unsure. Since 1998, when Gallup first asked this question, Microsoft's favorability has varied from 55% to 67%, with the unfavorable percentages varying between 13% and 18%. Among the "attentive public" -- the 39% who have followed the Justice Department's lawsuit against the software company either "very closely" (10%) or "somewhat closely" (29%) -- the current rating is especially positive, as 79% are favorable and 17% unfavorable.
The attentive public is also more supportive of Microsoft in the lawsuit. Among all Americans, 34% say the case should be dropped, while 22% say the government should pursue a settlement, another 22% say the case should go forward with a new judge, and the last 22% say they are unsure. Among the attentive public, however, 44% support dropping the case against Microsoft, and 30% support a settlement. Another 22% want the case to go forward, while just 4% express no opinion.
| What Federal Government Should Do Now About Lawsuit Against Microsoft? |
 |
Americans are also upbeat about the effect of Microsoft on the economy, consumers, and the industry -- more than six in 10 say the company's domination of the software markets in each area has been positive, and a quarter or less say it has been negative. Among the attentive public, the percent crediting Microsoft with positive contributions is from eight to 10 percent higher for each area.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,014 national adults, aged 18+, conducted June 28-July 1, 2001. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
Thinking about Microsoft -- the computer software company that produces Windows and other products -- do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Microsoft Corporation?
|
Favorable |
|
No opinion/ |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
|
|
2001 Jun 28-Jul 1 |
60 |
17 |
23 |
|
2000 May 5-7 |
65 |
18 |
17 |
|
1999 Nov 4-7 |
67 |
16 |
17 |
|
1999 Mar 30-31 |
60 |
14 |
26 |
|
1999 Feb 26-28 |
58 |
16 |
26 |
|
1999 Feb 8-9 |
66 |
16 |
18 |
|
1998 Nov 13-15 |
55 |
17 |
28 |
|
1998 Mar 6-9 |
58 |
13 |
29 |
|
1998-2000 WORDING: Thinking about Microsoft -- the computer software company that produces Windows 98 and other products -- do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Microsoft Corporation? |
|||
How closely have you been following the news about the Justice Department lawsuit against Microsoft -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all closely?
|
Very |
Somewhat closely |
Not too closely |
Not at all closely |
No |
|
|
2001 Jun 28-Jul 1 |
10% |
29 |
26 |
35 |
* |
|
2000 May 5-7 |
10% |
41 |
30 |
18 |
1 |
As you may know, last year, a district court judge ruled that Microsoft should be split into two companies. This past Thursday, an appeals court overturned the ruling and ordered the whole case sent to a different judge, because the original judge had been biased against Microsoft.
What do you think the federal government should do now -- [ROTATED: drop the case against Microsoft altogether, seek a settlement with Microsoft, or go forward with the case against Microsoft in front of a new judge]-- or don't you have an opinion on this matter?
|
|
|
Go forward with new judge |
|
|
|
2001 Jun 28-Jul 1 |
34% |
22 |
22 |
22 |
All in all, would you say the fact that Microsoft dominates its software markets has been positive or negative for -- [RANDOM ORDER]?
A. The economy
|
Positive |
Negative |
No opinion |
|
|
2001 Jun 28-Jul 1 |
68% |
19 |
13 |
B. Consumers
|
Positive |
Negative |
No opinion |
|
|
2001 Jun 28-Jul 1 |
63% |
24 |
13 |
C. The computer industry
|
Positive |
Negative |
No opinion |
|
|
2001 Jun 28-Jul 1 |
62% |
25 |
13 |
*Less than 0.5%
