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

To: Charles Tutt who wrote (30610)	10/14/1999 3:09:00 AM
From: ed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Well, what do you mean by monopoly ? If Microsoft is a monopoly , the days of monopoly will never be numbered as you said. I think it is a result of free market force, the consumers had choice of other OSs from IBM, Apple ...etc, no one put a guns at your head to force you to choose Window, and it is your own choice . Window had the largest base of application programs. The reason you choose Window is because had the largest application programs , so it is the availability of application programs which push the market for Windows. Nowadays, the PC is no longer a isolated , independent machine, it is connected , and people usePC to communicate, to send files so that the receivers can open the file and read it or modify it, that means we need a common standard. Say you are a new PC user and just bought a PC and is trying to figure out which OS to be implemented in your new PC, will you choose Unix which are just being used by few professionals ? Will you choose IBM Os ? which do not have enough application programs to support this OS? and you may have a compability problem when communicate ( by sending files ...etc) with the OS which are used by most of the PC users, i.e window ? So , what is your choice ? the answer is window. So, no one force you , and it is your own decision based on several considerations. If you insisit that Microsoft had a monopoly ( you do not have a strong base to make that claim , but your own wishful thinking. Having a large market shares did not mean you have a monopoly , that are two different things . If a company's product can be replaced by its competitors as a result of technical revolution, then this company does not have monopoly, monopoly and market shares are two different things) , then it is Microsoft's fault , and it is just natural force , the consumers' choice , so who to blaimed ? Microsoft ? I do not think so .Without Microsoft, we probably still live in a world where the OS will cost you $500, and the spread sheet application programs from Lotus 123 will cost you $1000, you probably still remember the number. You probably still remember the days when people pay more than $20k for SUN's SUN4 stations , not untill the PC getting more powerful, SUN started to drop its price of hardware. So , if we do not have PC today, you may see $40k for your Sparc stations from SUN. SUNW hated competition, that is why it cried to the government, and the DOJ just help Microsoft's competitors , and which definitely hurt the consumers. So, can you tell me why do you think Microsoft had a monopoly !!!!