> longstanding relationship between Ed Iacobucci and Microsoft management would prevent that. Now, with Iacobucci gone...... <
Sure, Microsoft ultimately wants to clobber the universe, when it thinks it can -- which is not a bad thing in a competitor. But Bill Gates & Co do not seem primarily motivated by friendship. I doubt if Microsoft's aggressiveness was going to be deterred by Iacobucci or anyone.
I think the good news is ---
- Microsoft is going to try to clobber CTXS the first chance it gets, sure, but the first chance might be awhile off, at least until M's legal situation is resolved. Figure at least a year, maybe two, and that's assuming appeals and remands and new appeals don't take much longer, and that M wins down the line. It could lose, and if it may not be so quick to bundle CTXS-like products with its operating systems, at least not for free (isn't that the fear?).
- The interesting thing about M is that is sucks. It's not a coincidence, either -- (1) its system of burning out new generations of youthful programmers makes the company's expertise shallow, and the sheer power of a company to deploy "bodies" only partly makes up for that; (2) the fact M is accustomed to deference out of fear of its abuse of its monopoly power has made it sloppy and 2nd rate (Linux, BEOS, and off-PC all the other than CE systems are better at what they do than Windows), which will catch up to it sooner or later (granted, this has been wishful thinking for 10+ years, but eventually it'll be true). I have a small software client who is occassionally told by giant companies "we will bury you!"; but in fact they can't duplicate its software; it's too good.
- M has been helped as much by the mistakes of its competitors as it has by its own greatness. For example, I see WordPerfect as more a suicide victim (it abandoned its eccentric keystroke structure which everyone knew, and in so doing abandoned its key strength) more than a M Word victim.
All of which mean that CTXS has a little time -- time to keep its product best, time to further develop non-Microsoft lines, time to figure out how it can use *its* niche to expand. The more money there is in CTXS's market, the more guns will be focused on it -- but such is the way of the world. CTXS is not exactly a sitting duck.
- Charles
(lotta opinions I got! is there anything in 'em? I would be interested to hear reactions either way). |
