One things' for sure: Those sales reps know relatively little about the products they sell, and certainly know absolutely nothing about the contractual agreements that the executives make.
Sure, Sal. None of us know what goes on in the OEM negotiations. There's NDA's involved, but more importantly the OEMs are scared. And from everything I can gather, there's good reason to be scared. Plus, I wouldn't put much stock in what's written in the contract as the totality of the terms and conditions involved. People know plenty well what shouldn't be put in writing, though they sometimes mess up with email.
As to cheap shots, I guess it's pop quiz time again.
Microsoft currently hold 90 percent of the operating system market share with its popular Windows system, but Gates refused to characterize that as monopoly, insisting instead that Microsoft products have a very short shelf-life and are constantly threatened by competitors.
He said a bright innovator could replace Windows "in a day."
McNealy and Jim Barksdale of Netscape Communications, however, said they doubt the Windows operating system could be replaced in their lifetimes because it is so widely used around the world.
"That would be about as easy as switching the national language from English to Dutch," McNealy said.
We got a little hyperbole on both sides, but who's got some semblance of truth behind what they say? Rome wasn't built in a day, but Windows could be replaced in that time eh? Talk about rip and replace, somebody out there apparently has the answer to my old prayer from The Economist, "Oh lord, delivers from Windows..."
Nothing personal against Bill. I think the PR guys are doing him a disservice, or maybe it's just the internal attitude Microsoft has that they can PR their way out of this one. I don't know if that attitude comes from Bill, like the legal strategy, or from people being too much in awe of him to be able to tell him how the company lines might sound from the outside. I know Slate had a good analysis on that a while back.
As an alternative strategy, I'd offer what I wrote to Gerald Lampton in 17830. Follow the Intel lead, get some good antitrust lawyers and let them do their job, lay off the PR front for a while. Bill's certainly a brilliant businessman, but that doesn't make him magically a convincing witness or, despite his (insincere, I'd guess) disclaimer, a legal expert.
Cheers, Dan.
P.S. Buying opportunity for INTC? I don't have the mental block on owning them that I have with MSFT, but Intel's got this little problem with pricing and competition too. I don't see that abating short term, but I'm no expert. I like cheap PC's though! I don't know if there's any going back at this point. |
