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 : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (91920)	11/8/1999 8:00:00 PM
From: Dan3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

Re: what do you think should be done to Microsoft? Break 'em up. And the consensus is that Microsoft stockholders would get more for the resulting 3 companies than the present one, so everybody should be happy. Regards, Dan

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (91920)	11/8/1999 10:47:00 PM
From: Andy Goett	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 186894

<Using your hindsight of IBM, what do you think should be done to Microsoft (if anything) that will benefit both consumers and the American economy?> I can answer that question. Make Microsoft unbundle the browser and other non-essential components from the operating system and sell each one separately at a price above average variable cost. Make them design the operating system and stand-alone components so that performance of the basic OS function is not degraded or inefficient because the other components are missing. For example, I should be able to run the OS without the browser and should not sacrifice performance or waste disk space. The price of the browser can be very low because the variable cost of providing the browser is so low, but it cannot be free. By the same token, the price of the OS cannot be subsidized from revenues of non-operating system software. One way to make sure this happens would be to force the company to break up into an OS company and an applications software company. I would give them that option or require them to subject their licensing and pricing to on-going review.