how a AT&T / Microsoft deal might impact Sun Microsystems
abstracted from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and CNNfn
from CNNfn 05/05/99 ..... "Microsoft would like a role in providing software that would help ... set-top boxes run. ... AT&T Chairman Michael Armstrong ... said if AT&T and Microsoft link up, it would not include an exclusive vendor arrangement. 'We will not have a discussion or transaction that would be exclusive.'
from NY Times 05/06/99 ..... "AT&T is adamant that Microsoft will not get an exclusive arrangement to supply its Windows CE software on the set-top boxes of AT&T's expanded network. But Microsoft is negotiating hard to get AT&T to allow Windows CE to be introduced in at least one large cable market as an early proving ground for Microsoft's set-top box technology, according to the people close to the talks."
... "Before being acquired by AT&T, TCI had agreed to use Java software from Sun Microsystems Inc. in its advanced set-top boxes. Executives close to the negotiations said that agreement would not be affected by any AT&T deal with Microsoft."
from Wall Street Journal 05/06/99 ..... "Microsoft wants a commitment from AT&T to use a version of the Windows operating system in the set-top boxes that will deliver digital television, telephone service and high-speed internet access. ... But even Microsoft's cold cash may not be enough to persuade AT&T to set aside the cable industry's deep suspicion of the software giant's ambitions. ... Observers say Microsoft may be forced to settle for an informal agreement that AT&T will use the Windows CE operating system in some, but not all, of the millions of set-top boxes that will be deployed in the next several years."
"Microsoft did get a preliminary agreement from TCI to use the Windows CE operating system in five million set-top boxes but was infuriated when TCI adopted Java-based technology from Sun Microsystems, Inc. The deal between Microsoft and TCI was never finalized and expired last year.
'The cable operators are very savvy about Microsoft's business practices and the risks associated with them,' said Mitchell Kertzman, chief executive of Network Computer Inc., a Microsoft rival in the market for cable software. 'Exclusivity is a tough concept for them.'
"... a consultant with Envisioning Group in Seaford, N.Y., predicted AT&T will use Windows CE in a significant share of its set-top boxes, but without a formal commitment. ... Windows CE has matured more rapidly than rival systems and was more likely to be adopted by AT&T even before the current maneuvering." |
