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Technology Stocks : InfoSpace (INSP): Where GNET went! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Rose who wrote (13781)	11/4/1999 6:18:00 PM
From: RTev	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 28311

Allen is still on the MSFT board of directors. It's interesting to watch Allen's wired world develop in a way that might eventually put it into competition with some small part of Microsoft. The early Allen ventures were cooperative enterprises: Asymetrix released one of the first 32-bit Windows programs. The internet sites developed by StarWave (now Disney properties which have finally removed that name from the sites) used Microsoft servers and promoted IE as their preferred browser back in the days when that was a big deal. That's not the case anymore. Go2Net, for instance, seems decidedly non-Microsoft-centered. Several of the sites they run have been converted to Unix when moved to Seattle. There's a Java focus to much of their development. Although they use Microsoft web servers, IQC developed their subscription client in Java. GameSite is Java-based. The new backend for SI is Java-based (judging from the error messages.) Some of Allen's ventures like LiquidAudio compete directly with Microsoft in areas that the company has identified as important. But it's the Broadband Partners that may finally bring the competition too close for comfort. If they plan to offer services only for Charter's subscribers, then there would be no problem. Microsoft has existing relationships with companies (AT&T, TWX, and Comcast) that serve over three-quarters of cable subscribers. They could safely ignore (and "borrow" good ideas from) offerings on a relatively small system like Charter. But if Allen's group plans to follow the cable programming model and offer its broadband services to other systems, then they would come into direct competition with Microsoft which would have to compete with them for AT&T and other settop customers. Until it becomes clearer what Broadband Partners is doing, it's impossible to say that will happen. But it is one of several possiblities. If there is ever an announcement that Allen is resigning from the MSFT board, then we could expect that even more attention would be paid to the companies that he's betting his vision on.