Justin; Think of the death of a 1000 bytes. As the small cheap stuff takes the low ground(small systems, consumers cameras etc) then an increasingly smll pyramid will support you. Cross subsidization is OK in a monopoly, but in a wide open consumer market no one has ever been able to stay long term winner. Can you find new niches to support you and your OS on an ever declining base and a narrower pyramid.
It is all too well to speak of an all encompassing business model that will solve all iils, however we have all seen SGI/SUN etc unable to keep a good successful model for more than 2-3 years. The mammals eat the dinosaur eggs.
I remember a mining compant in Timmins that would routinely send out teams for staking rushes. They would win a few and lose a few. I went there a couple of months ago and asked what their plans were for the Mattagami rush(hundreds of new claims, like a wild west land rush) They could not do it, it would take a committee meeting, and approval from budgeting etc etc, and by that time the rush would be over.
In the same way large companies have this problem in. No-one is given the trust to do it all, the ass coverers get in the way of speedy approvals, as they might get fired. Same at IBM, APple, SUN, SGI and on and on. Gates though can say "let us drive over that cliff right now", and away goes MSFT. I suppose the head honcho at SUN can bet the company, but does he have time when dollies beckon? Mercenary Dollies??
So we all wait and see, the only thing we are sure of is that Gates and Windows will have a minimum 5 year run from now as there is no threat on the horizon. Some say the Apple Rhapsody will make inroads??, Apple always finds a way to aggravate the public with their horroble ads stressing artsie types, not realising how it hurts them, and so again and again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.
What would constitute a threat to the Wintel hegemony??
All the splinter processors menace Intel, who is biting at gates heels?? Who is getting his head kicked by Gates heels.?
Once Gates has it all, are we like cars and roads? Gates owns the roads and we have cars? What if the browser/OS matures and gates is on the outside because he drives MSFT off some cliff(as only he can)
As a mind exercise envision a method of making a threat to MSFT that has some kind of chance.??
Bill |
