Dwight,
I've noticed, over the past few months, that MSFT supporters
have acquired a siege mentality that has replaced the former
unbridled optimism of the 1995-1997 era. It's turning into
an "Us against the World" diatribe and the tendency is to
lump many MSFT competitors into the same boat & call them
whiners, complainers, & sore losers.
Ok, fine, but SUNW, for its part, is not letting the grass
grow underfoot. While McNealy takes his shots at MSFT in the
press, SUNW continues to pursue its course of action to gain
marketshare in corporate computing while expanding into
consumer electronics, internet, electronic commerce, & home
computing markets unfettered by the legal problems that have
beset MSFT.
Why do you think it is, Dwight, that so many computer companies
seem to go about their business without any major legal problems
and some, like MSFT, get sued left & right??? Is it that success
breeds contempt & envy?? MSFT isn't the only successful
corporation in America. In fact, their gross revenues aren't that
much higher than SUNW's, which is also true of their eps. SUNW
doesn't have anything to gain by the DOJ's insistence that MSFT
change its boot-up screen or include NSCP browsers in Windows 98.
In fact, SUNW is NOT interested in seeing MSFT enjoined for their
publication of a non-compatible Java in Windows 98. Instead, they
would like to see Windows 98 shipped & sold with a 100% compliant
Java. The sale of Windows 98 isn't going to hurt Solaris sales &
its success would be a success for BOTH companies, as long as MSFT
abides by the terms & conditions of their contract with SUNW.
I believe that MSFT is running into legal problems because more
and more people just don't like the way they conduct their
business. Their shenanigans have been going on as long as I can
remember, and finally the chickens have come home to roost. Sure,
everyone plays hardball, but if you cross over the line one time
too many, word gets around, & people get pissed off and start using
you as a punching bag. In the mid-term and long-term, this is
going to hurt their company. It's too bad that the heavy-hand of
the Federal Government had to be called into the fray, but MSFT
have only themselves to blame.
Remember the TCI negotiations?? MSFT & SUNW were both vying for
access to the set top box market. MSFT had the inside track with
Windows CE & MSFT was set to invest, I believe, around $1 billion
in TCI, just to insure their success against SUNW. John Malone,
of TCI, was wary of MSFT, however. He didn't want anyone coming
into the cable business & taking over. At first, he tried to give
equal access to both SUNW & MSFT by awarding contracts for Windows
CE & Java-built set top boxes. Later, however, as the negotiations
with MSFT continued & their legal problems mounted, Malone started
leaning toward SUNW & eventually awarded the contract for some
20 million set top boxes to the underlying Java VM. Windows CE-
built set tops will HAVE to be compatible with SUNW's Java. |
