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.

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

To: Jill who wrote (9788)	11/6/1999 6:29:00 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 54805

How I make an investment decision Some of you are going to make a decision on what to do with your Microsoft stock on Monday, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to go through and demonstrate how I would decide what to do. Lets assume that, like Downsouth, I was thinking about selling Microsoft and buying Qualcomm. First off, I would divorce my present position in Microsoft from the equation! I would forget about how long I have owned it, how much money I have made from it, and how much I love, (or hate), Bill Gates. This is not a baseball team that I am rooting for, good or bad, this is an investment decision! Lets assume that, on Monday, Microsoft has dropped 10 points to 81 and 9/16th, and Qualcomm is at 295. I would compute the amount of money that my Microsoft was worth, and assume that I had that much cash, instead of the stock. Then, ya gotta ask your self, should I take the cash and buy Microsoft at 81 and 9/16th, or buy Qualcomm at 295? Which one is the better buy? Use your own criteria. I would ask the question, which one do I think will go up the most in the next few months? For me, this decision is a "no brainier". Microsoft is going nowhere until the Judge drops the other shoe, or Gates settles. That decision or settlement is a least 3 months off, IMO. Qualcomm made be good for another 25% rise in the next three months. So, I would sell the Microsoft and buy the Qualcomm Monday. But, "wait a minute", you say! "I am down 6 points on softy at this price and I don't want to sell until I am at least even." That's a "P.V.J", folks. What is a "P.V.J"? It's a PUTRID VALUE JUDGEMENT! Don't let your judgement on investments be influenced my your emotional attachment to the company or the stock, or how much you have made or lost. That is why it is so important to detach your present position in a company from your decision. "But Bill, I can't sell my Microsoft, my thread mates on the softy thread will castigate me!" P.V.J.! "But Bill, I can't sell my Microsoft, Moore says you are supposed to hold Gorillas long term!" P.V.J.! When I decide to buy and sell, I "Pull the trigger". Learn to do the same.

To: Jill who wrote (9788)	11/6/1999 11:59:00 PM
From: avanti77	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

Hi everyone. I'm a fairly new poster on this thread, and hope you're up for considering what may be a contrary opinion regarding the Microsoft ruling. I've had a Mac on my desk since the Apple IIe days, but also frequently use a PC. This morning I was reading NBR online, and there was an interesting lure to: "Download NBR's Y2K Countdown Clock" on the home page...so I bit. It sounded like it would be a fun thing to check out, and maybe save for a revisit some years hence, with nostalgia. Unsurprisingly, when I got to the download page, I received a message that Mac Users everywhere are all too familiar with: "The Nightly Business Report Y2K Countdown Clock was written using Microsoft's Visual Basic 6.0 and should run on any Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0 system." Is Microsoft a monopoly? You bet it is. I've encountered the same message, literally, thousands of times over the years. I understand the developer's dilemma, and how time-consuming it can be when it comes to developing cross platform materials. Sometimes the variations are subtle, and at others profound. Lots of tweaks required to customize. The default software for word processing virtually everywhere is Microsoft Word. I wonder if anyone on the thread has encountered any, of the many, anomalous errors that occur when using Word to develop formatted documents. Do we really need all those "tools" in the toolbox? Is this the best product available? Is it quality control checked before being unleashed on the consumer? Have we passively come to accept buggy Microsoft software because 90% of computers come with it pre-installed? How many of you on the thread have never used anything other than a PC? And if this is the case, how easy is it for you to claim objectivity? It's a landmark case and it's ramifications will be felt and talked about for years. I view it as a victory for new, innovative, products to make it to the marketplace for consumer approval. It reminds me of when upstart MCI dethroned AT&T, and basically set the ball in motion for the rapid-fire advances in telecommunications today. Would we be happily rejoicing the acceptance of QCOM's innovative CDMA technology if AT&T were still at the helm? Welcome your thoughts, and many thanks for an outstanding thread. Donna

To: Jill who wrote (9788)	11/7/1999 5:04:00 PM
From: StockHawk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

>>By endorsing the Justice Department's allegations that Microsoft bullied rivals and that the bullying significantly harmed consumers, Jackson has taken a long step toward setting tough rules for dominant firms in the booming technology sector, experts say...Jackson's opinion could immediately influence the course of high-tech commerce...He effectively put large companies on notice that they'll have to restrain themselves when dealing with smaller rivals. "This is going to cause dominant firms to think twice before throwing their weight around," said Lawrence Ausubel...<< Certainly a decision against Microsoft - if there is ultimately one - will have an effect on other companies under the precedent-setting rules of our court systems. But I think the effect will not be as significant as many seem to be writing about the last few days. In some ways the MSFT trial reminds me of the Leona Helmsley trial. Leona did what many incredibly rich people do. For example, she had work done at her mansion and told contractors to charge it to her real estate ventures. But she was caught, tried and convicted, not because her crimes were so egregious, but because of the way she did things caused her to be hated by many people. MSFT has elicited similar loathing from a variety of sources. Much more, imho, than other dominant companies. I read two PC magazines consistently. These are written by people who are obviously big users and big fans of PCs, and most of the writing is in a positive vein - cheering computer innovation. However, I would estimate that 80% or more of the articles mentioning MSFT are negative. We've all heard the complaints - bloated software, system crashes, etc. etc. It is a much different feeling than one gets reading about any other company, including say, Intel. Rather than being a terrible threat to gorilla companies I think the MSFT ruling will likely effect MSFT and then slowly fade into the background. StockHawk