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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: t2 who wrote (24427)	6/19/1999 1:34:00 PM
From: taxman	Respond to of 74651

"a summary of what he said" Gates calls for education cooperation Microsoft chief says public-private cooperation key to improving education. By Maria Seminerio, ZDNN June 15, 1999 12:28 PM PT Microsoft Corp. CEO Bill Gates joined a chorus of high-tech executives calling on Congress to help improve the nation's elementary schools during a hearing in the Joint Economic Committee Tuesday. While testifying on the second of three days of hearings on the industry's impact on the U.S. economy, Gates touched on many of his usual themes, waxing philosophical about a day when intelligent PCs and other Internet devices will deliver information to "anyone, anywhere, anytime." But, as had been expected, the Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) chief stopped short of making a direct call for antitrust law reform. (In a courtroom just down the road, antitrust proceedings against Microsoft were to resume Wednesday.) Asserting that computers and the Internet are the key to making government more responsive to citizens, Gates also stressed the importance of technology in primary education, a subject that witnesses and lawmakers returned to repeatedly over the hearing's first two days. 'The incredible success of this industry in the U.S. owes a lot to the light hand of government.' -- Bill Gates "In the future, education will be much more collaborative," Gates said. With only a small percentage of teachers using the Internet in classroom instruction today, there is still enormous potential to be realized in improving not only math and science education but also "reading, philosophy, and really any other subject," by leveraging the Web, he said. The Microsoft chief, whose private philanthropic endeavors have made headlines lately, said government on its own can't make major changes in education. "Neither government alone nor business alone can tackle" the challenge of educating a workforce for job opportunities in the 21st century, said Gates, who called for the creation of new public-private partnerships. Antitrust in question When lawmakers began to question Gates, the conversation turned to government regulation of the high-tech industry in general and antitrust law in particular. Asked by Sen. Charles Robb, D-Va., what the government's role in business regulation should be, Gates said such regulation and the health of the economy are directly linked. "The incredible success of this industry in the U.S. owes a lot to the light hand of government," Gates said. Areas where government should step in include education reform, bolstering research and development tax credits, allowing immigration of more skilled foreign workers, and liberalizing encryption policies, he said. Laissez-faire's fair But overall, he called for a laissez-faire approach to regulation. "The basic philosophy of letting the marketplace work has been vindicated" by the nation's strong economy, Gates said. "You wouldn't advocate any changes in the antitrust laws at this point?" Robb asked. The Microsoft chief demurred at the question, saying, "There are people who know more about this than I." He added that the current legal framework encourages competition and should not be tampered with. "You can see the results of having the ability to let companies innovate freely," Gates said. Following Gates' testimony were comments from a panel of other industry executives including Novell Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVL) CEO Eric Schmidt and Lotus Development Corp. CEO Jeff Papows, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Charles Vest. Also speaking was Business Software Alliance President Robert Holleyman, who said the alliance on Wednesday will unveil a report on the impact of the U.S. software industry on the nation's economy. Schmidt, Papows, Vest and the other speakers largely echoed the themes touched upon by Gates and Monday's witnesses, urging more support of math and science education, and calling for an end to encryption export controls. The hearing concludes tomorrow with testimony from Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW) CEO Scott McNealy, America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL) chief technology adviser Marc Andreessen, eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman, and Edventure Holdings CEO Esther Dyson. Copyright (c) 1999 ZDNet. regards zdnet.com

To: t2 who wrote (24427)	6/19/1999 1:36:00 PM
From: Jim Lamb	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

t2000. He didn't talk much about the trial specifically,more about anti-trust laws in general. He said he thought the laws were basically O.K. It was a replay from Tuesday and I saw it the other day so can't remember specifics. My main read on the interview was that Bill has been sent to CHARM SCHOOL. And he is a fast learner. He was smoozing those politicians like a reincarnated Dale Carnagie. What a show!! I have never seen him like that. Here is a brief Reuters take on it. Gates Supports And Interprets Antitrust Law Full Coverage Microsoft Antitrust Trial By David Lawsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Chief Executive Bill Gates told a sympathetic congressional committee Tuesday the nation's antitrust laws are fine and interpreted them as backing his company's actions. Gates appeared before the Joint Economic Committee's High Tech Summit, where he waxed optimistic about the future of computing. Gates' optimism dovetailed with remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in an appearance one day earlier. Both men agreed that computers would continue to help increase productivity, an engine of prosperity. Gates avoided any mention of his company's antitrust trial, which was in a one-day recess, but Sen. Charles Robb, a Virginia Democrat, asked Gates to talk generally about the role of government in competition and antitrust. ''I think the laws as they're currently written are fine,'' Gates said. At the same time, he argued that ''everything that's strong in the technology industry has come about because things like integrating new features in is one of the freedoms that all companies have.'' The Justice Department and 19 states argue that Microsoft's decision to integrate its Internet Web browser into its Windows operating system amounted to unfair competition. Gates, whose company won a decision against the Justice Department in an appellate court about one year ago, said that the freedom for companies to enhance their products ''has been upheld again and again, whether it's for large companies or small companies.'' At another point, Gates was told that Greenspan had given the committee a warning that ''this productivity increase that has taken place as a result of technology can't go on forever.'' In fact, Greenspan said that the country could not expect ever-rising rates of productivity growth. But he left room for the high rate of productivity increases now occurring, and Gates endorsed that concept. ''We will absolutely see productivity increases coming out of this technology for many, many years to come,'' said Gates. ''We are very much at the beginning of what can be done with these devices.'' Gates predicted ''radical progress'' in the next five years, through a streamlining that would include such things as the curtailing of paper for paying bills and improved information flow to workers as they make decisions. He said that although technology stocks would of course fluctuate in value, ''underneath that, the actual efficiency and benefit for consumers will continue to advance year by year.'' As Gates spoke, a small group of people stood against the wall of the hearing room, wearing T-shirts of protest with phrases, such as ''Bust the Trust,'' ''Full liability for Y2K,'' ''Limit Wealth,'' and ''Microsoft/Intel: Corporate Predators vs. Democracy.'' They were protesting a bill expected to be voted on in the Senate later in the day that would protect companies from lawsuits stemming from the year 2000 computer problem. ''We're against a corporate giveaway,'' said Deborah Fleischaker, one of the protesters.