Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: blankmind who wrote (29151)	9/5/1999 12:38:00 AM
From: ed	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74651

No one will pay to rent software. It should be either free or one time buy. I remember, not long ago, CPQ came out the idea of sub $1000 PC, and now it is sub $500. See What happen? CPQ hurt itself big time.I bet CPQ will be the next to close the door. The same for Sunw, If it offered free star office, pretty soon, sun's customers will get used to free software, and anytime when SUN charges for software, no one will pay , i.e no customers at all, because , after Star office , which is free from SUN, people will get used to free software from SUN, whenever SUN charge for its software, people will not just buy, because they are used to that SUN's software should always be free. With free software, you do not have have revenues for your products, then how can you get the money needed for your R&D and contunue improve the products so that you can continue to compete in the free software market? So, after couple of years, Sun's free software will lose competition even it is free, because , people would rather pay couple of hundred dollars every couple of years for the most advanced software, even it is not free. Once you get into the model of free software, you can never get back to the non free model anymore. SUN's hardware business is very vulnerable as Intel's 64 bit CPU is in the pipeline, and which is cheaper and more powerful. With MSFT's NT for Mercede, it will give another choice for the customers besides the UNIX + Sun's Sparc. Pretty soone, you will see WORD, EXCEL ...ext available in UNIX. So SUN is fearing to death at this moment. Comparing the business MODEL of CPQ and DELL, you will see the difference, in people's mind, CPQ is always selling low end PCs, and will not pay for more than $500, but for DELL, people think it is selling the high end PCs , and would like to pay couple hundred dollars more. Unfortunately , SUNW is taking CPQ's business model . Pretty soon, we will see SUNW can't generate any revenue from its software business, and INTEL's mercede based workstation will take its hardware business. SUNW is heading toward the death road.

To: blankmind who wrote (29151)	9/6/1999 2:41:00 PM
From: Gerald Walls	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

- who the heck would pay to rent software? Application Service Providers (ASPs) are the next Big Thing on the horizon. Once a significant number of people have Big Fat Pipes running into their homes you'll start to see companies offering yearly subscription access to a whole slew of products, probably individually for expensive packages like Office and in package groups for simpler word processors, encyclopedias and the like. They may even offer pay-for-use. Check out: thestreet.com thestreet.com Names mentioned in the article as present and possibly future players: ISPs reaching out: VRIO, CNCX, MSPG, ELNK, EXDS. Semipure plays: USIX, Corio (Not Yet Public), Breakaway Solutions (NYP), FLNKD. Giants jump in: PER, EDS, Qwest Cyber.Solutions (QWST & KPMG). Hidden Middle Market: REGI. Oh, and of course, the category killer: MSFT