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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems

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To: Kal who wrote (5006)	10/20/1997 11:31:00 PM
From: LKO	Read Replies (1) of 64865

> > But, in the long term the release of Windows98 will render > > this issue moot when the IE browser will be part of the "core > > applications" that get shipped with the OS bundle. At that > > time Netscape browser will have to stand on its merits. ------ > The DOJ might change that. MSFT might be asked to ship IE > unbundled, or charge for it, or not force vendors to not ship > navigator, I do not think so. Because DOS was an empty shell and you paid for anything and everything as an "application", that is the culture in the PC land. In other OS's do come with "core applications" and they satisfy the minimalist user. [ On SUn you read online SGML documentation ]. However there is always a competetive market for other vendors who add value and there is no culture of "hidden interfaces" for use by specific applications. So I do not think MSFT can be prevented from bundling a browser in WIndows98 as part of the core OS license [ and by definition the unbundled product just goes away ]. I am not a significant PC user. My heresy sources tell me that Microsoft also makes it hard to install competetive products or put other barriers in their way or use hidden interfaces designed just for its applications. Detecting that kind of anti-competetive behavior requires technical sophistication (or maybe will) that has been lacking in Justice department in the past and maybe the found the skills (or the backbone) to stand up now. Still it is only a short term issue in the Windows 95 timeframe where IE also exists as a separate add-on product license. When that gets bundled, it would be am issue of how many hoops you have to jump to use Netscape instead. There was similar preference for MSN added to Windows95 early on till AOL and friends screamed and Microsoft backed down. In my personal opinion they do indulge in anti-competetive practices and deserve the scrutiny they get. Also in my opinion, their interest in JAva was only to buy them time and tools to kill Netscape who had threatened their world rule. Ofcourse things got a little complicated with the Java thing and they may dump it now and try to build a parallel-universe around Visual basic or something called J++ or something else since they have a significant (if not dominant) browser share now and Netscape is tamed. Netscape will have to distinguish itself as a multi-platform and better executed product and compete on other differentiators. Summary, DOJ may slow them but I doubt has done anything to significant dislodge a de-facto monopoly that constantly DOES indulge in subtle and highly technical anti-competetive practices. In the Java context, I wonder if DOJ will ever understand what an "object signature" is and how devilish it is to add methods to a language class (instead of the sane way of definiing a subclass with new methods). I do not see anything changing much.

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