When someone mentions monopoly, most immediately think Microsoft or Bill Gates. And, when most think monopoly, they think Windows. However, Microsoft has been gaining market share in many major software areas. Here are some examples: office applications, financial software, tax software, database software, Internet browser, greeting card software, web server, web building, etc.

Software programs all have learning curves, and Microsoft has figured out that if it gains most market share in a category, people will become used to that software program and buy the next upgrade so that they don't have to have much of a learning curve. Nearly every area that Microsoft has gone into it has succeeded.

However, there are some noticeable areas that Microsoft hasn't done well at or hasn't attacked yet. The online services ISP business hasn't been so good for Microsoft. AOL has still been dominating because they offer better customer service and quality than MSN. The business is different from software, because unlike most of Microsoft products, you can't start an online service with weak customer support. With software, Microsoft has been known for having 1-900 technical and support lines. This doesn't work with online services. AOL CEO, Steve Case has said some negative things about Microsoft, though, so it seems like we will see more of a fight by Microsoft in the future.

The professional CAD, video production and drawing market has also been ignored by Microsoft. These markets have products such as Photoshop, Autocad, and Premiere that make billion dollar companies. Monopolizing these markets so that the products work seamlessly with other Microsoft products might be a possibility.

Industrial software is also an area that Microsoft needs to work on. This market is a huge potential for Microsoft. Assembly lines software, and related software are huge markets that have yet to be tapped.

Besides software, Microsoft is also going after the Internet and hardware markets. Microsoft may not be able to control the major Internet sites, but it can sure try and touch it in some way. Some of Microsoft's sites are Expedia which is a travel and map site that competes with the very popular, AOL owned Mapquest.com. It also has Carpoint, where cars are sold online. The intention is to get about $200 for every vehicle sold. That's not bad for never touching inventory if they can do it. MSN is another and their search engine.

However attractive these are, it is the underlying foundation that these sites are built on that really is a great opportunity. Some say that you can't monopolize the web, but I'm not so sure about that. Microsoft has developed .asp (Active Server Pages) which is like html, database and Java combined. It allows website builders to create dynamic websites much easier.

A dynamic webpage is one that offers flexibility, and interaction with the customer. When a user is greeted by name and allowed to pick and choose different options and get results back right away, that is dynamic. Static is the opposite. The web is becoming increasingly dynamic and Microsoft is becoming a big player in this. They might as well change the extension to .msft. Most major sites now such as Dell, Buy.com and many others use .asp technology. The comparable alternative involves doing alot of handcoding in javascript and SQL (database stuff language). Most web builders can't handle this.

With Microsoft's majority share in the browser market, it could eventually modify its .asp and browser technology so that they only work together, thus, making the web proprietary.

To add to this possibility, Microsoft also has a pretty decent share in the keyboard, mouse, and joystick market. If you want a nice keyboard, or mouse, chances are that it will be Microsoft.

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