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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James Sinclair who wrote (7019)	9/25/1999 10:23:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Respond to of 54805

James, Regarding Citrix, you mentoned: Remember that one of the things that makes a gorilla is the cost of converting over to anything else. It's important to remember that Citrix greatly reduces the total cost of ownership. Realizing that Citrix has no viable competitors at the moment, switching from Citrix increases total cost of ownership. In that context, I don't believe I've seen a higher cost of switching than exists for Citrix customers. --Mike Buckley

To: James Sinclair who wrote (7019)	9/25/1999 10:47:00 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

MONKEY A company that makes the gorilla's product and sells it for less I should have said that Red Hat, selling Linux, and Sun, selling Java, were functioning as "monkeys" rather than chimps, James. Actually what I'm looking at is a scenario of incremental steps that could break Microsoft's gorilla status. Even if the scenario you propose happened, I don't think it would affect softy's Gorilla status. It will be interesting to see if Citrix wants to piss off softy by going in with Sun. I wonder if it would be worth Citrix's time to spend any effort on Java. Mike, on Gemstar's lawsuit status, the appearance of trouble there is certainly holding Gemstar back. I am not an expert on the suits, obviously. Your post strongly infers that you think they have crossed the chasm. Are you at that point?

To: James Sinclair who wrote (7019)	9/25/1999 11:35:00 AM
From: Brian K Crawford	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

James, We know not that Citrix is at least talking to, if not working with Sun. All that's missing is for someone to develop a really good replacement for Office that runs on the Sun platform and the company could change the servers in the Citrix server farm. James, I saw a press release from Sun on this very idea. Sun just began giving away an office suite called the Star Office productivity suite. They want to seed the desktops with it, and also offer it in an Application Service Provider mode. You can download it from the link below. The FAQ's indicate it has interoperability with all files created in Microsoft Office. sun.com Microsoft immediately responded that they will begin offering Microsoft Office in an Application Service Provider environment. (They did not say they would begin giving away free downloads of Office, however. :-) ) It will not surprise me to see some version of this bundled with future versions of the Netscape Navigator. I can imagine a lite version of this bundled with AOL... Some of the product description from the Sun Website follows, if any one is interested Brian ================================================================ StarOffice 5.1 -- Do Everything in One Place StarOffice is a premium office productivity suite which runs native on all major operating environments and platforms including SolarisTM, Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT, Linux, OS/2, and JavaTM. It has a fully integrated set of powerful applications which provide word processing, spreadsheet, graphic design, presentations, database access, HTML editor, mail/news reader, event planner, and formula editor. StarOffice features a very familiar and intuitive user interface which allows experienced Microsoft Office users to be productive immediately. In addition, StarOffice includes excellent document filters that provide seamless and easy interoperability with Microsoft Office and other legacy office products. Fully Integrated Work Environment Noticeable improvements in office productivity has been attributed to the innovative integration of the components in StarOffice. This new concept in task and workflow management has tremendous advantages over the "puzzle" office suites which combines several individual applications for word processing, spreadsheet calculation, graphics, database management, and scheduling. Do Everything in One Place - StarOffice is setting new standards in the field of application software. StarOffice was designed with open and homogeneous workplace that delivers a consistent task-oriented workflow. Best of Breed Components StarOffice provides powerful and intuitive tools for nearly every task. It can be used to create elegant word processor documents, sophisticated drawings, professional presentations, and HTML documents. A feature-loaded spreadsheet program can solve complex problems. The scheduling program can be used to manage appointments and exchange information with the popular palm sized devices. Also, a practical database can efficiently store and provide data to all the components of StarOffice. E-mail client and web browser are also built into StarOffice and designed to work with all the other components. StarOffice components were designed to optimize communication in a team-oriented environment with a powerful workflow management which is extremely easy to use. The Internet is fully integrated as a common element in the daily work. In addition, StarOffice can be extended or modified with new functions and applications with StarOne, the programming interface in StarOffice. Interoperability and Migration StarOffice supports a variety of document types and provides the easiest process for application conversion. With the ability to link external programs, StarOffice becomes the center for your organization's application environment. Due to the sophisticated import/export document conversion filters seamless migration from Microsoft Office and even the daily data exchange with Microsoft Office users is ensured. Furthermore, the intuitive user interface minimizes the adjustment period and removes the need for special training for those users familiar with other office suites. The PDF files with the full lists of interoperability filters for several StarOffice components are available on the filters page. IntuitiveUse With StarOffice's built-in IntuitiveUse technology, it provides users with powerful functions that are easy to use. The IntuitiveUse technology always provides you with exactly those functions appropriate for the respective situation. Even the functionality of tools like the Navigator and Stylist, which are available in all StarOffice components, adapts to the corresponding context. Powerful wizards with sophisticated AutoFunctions are also provided, ranging from AutoCorrection as you type, to the automation of complex tasks with the aid of the intelligent AutoPilots. Drag & drop support throughout the entire suite enables an intuitive exchange of information within StarOffice. Structuring your personal information environment in the Explorer, Beamer and Desktop is done in a wink with drag & drop. Thanks to various predefined templates in StarOffice your work is easier and flows more automatically than ever before. Open World Approach With the availability of StarOffice for all major operating environments StarOffice is ideal for use in heterogeneous IT environments, enabling users to work beyond operating system boundaries. Furthermore StarOffice for Java presents entirely new possibilities, by providing the full functionality of a powerful office suite even for Network Computers. Due to the support of open Internet and established industry standards StarOffice insures that company's soft and hardware investments are secured. Since no dependence on one company's imposed operating system or standards are necessary, due to the cross platform availability of StarOffice, firms can focus on their core competencies.