Brian --
ditto the simple and humble. Maybe we'll inherit something...
I think that Win 98 is a strategic upgrade. Ms needs to wean lots of
users from their 16 bit applications, and Win 98 will push people in that direction. You'll need more CPU horsepower and more RAM to run it, but since none of us wants to be left behind, we'll upgrade someday, if not June 26th. Next we'll be running some release of NT and there will be no more 16 bit apps, no Win 98, 2000, or anything like it.
I think alot of people concentrate on MS operating system products, and overlook the fact that MS has many irons in many fires, all contributing to continued, and likely accelerating, success
(though it hardly seems possible).
Somebody said double the share price by 2000. I don't think it will be
that long. Some of those fires will flare up and MS will be successful
in more areas, I think. Even if DOJ were to split apps and OS, they would prosper. Microsoft will fade only when they stop seeing the future and taking part in shaping it. T.J. Watson Sr. (who made IBM) once said that he thought the world would only need 5 or so computers. Tom Jr. knew better, and bet the farm on the 360. They cruised until they didn't see the PC coming. Even though IBM is no longer dominant, they are still very strong. So far Billy Gates has been good at seeing what's ahead. Even when he misses, he corrects quickly. So hold your shares and feel good about being ahead of the game.
But what do I know? I waited until 1995 to invest, and so my shares have only increased 5X. I just looked at my computer one day, and realized that where I had once had Borland Compilers, WordPerfect, Paradox, and DesqView and DOS, I now had Windows, Word, Excel, Access, MASM, and Visual C++. Not because of marketing, but because they were better products (although I still like Borland for language products, don't like what MS is doing with Java). I thought I'd better buy some of that stock. |
