Microsoft, antitrust, and incompentent management:
Look, Reginald, read what I wrote. I didn't say, and I don't think
anyone claims, that the competence of Novell's management was an
issue in DOJ's interest in the Microsoft/Intuit merger. DOJ's
interest was in the fact that it was, pretty obviously, anticompetitive. Microsoft chose to try to give away Money to
Novell; it doesn't really matter who they tried to give it to.
Would it have been effective competition in anyone's hands?
If Money in Microsoft's hands couldn't compete effectively against Quicken
(and this is pretty evident in Microsoft offering $2billion, plus
giving away Money) how in the world can you argue that Money in
anyone else's hands could effectively compete? Remember, Microsoft
is the best-managed company in the world, to quote a frequent
contributer here.
Anyway, this is far afield from what you and Sal were originally
arguing, that it was unfair to allow Intuit to merge with AmExp,
because DOJ didn't allow Microsoft to buy Intuit. My point was
that there were more compelling and direct reasons for DOJ's
interest in the Microsoft-Intuit merger than the hypothetical
entry of Microsoft into banking. |
