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

To: Michael Kucera who wrote (35273)	12/9/1999 11:55:00 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Why would a software company with another product line go into the commodity linux business? Sure msft or psft or any software company could produce a linux kernel... big deal, just like sun,sgi,pyramid (remember them),sequent,data general,tandem etc. etc. produced a unix kernel, there is no money in it - the vendor is stuck with an O/S he can charge $100. for as some sort of loss leader while he tries to sell his real products...rhat is an irrational stock but that doesn't change the business model of a commodity O/S vs. a proprietary one.

To: Michael Kucera who wrote (35273)	12/10/1999 9:22:00 AM
From: John F. Dowd	Respond to of 74651

MK and All: Here is an another area where MSFT is forging ahead. The capacitor of MSFT value keeps getting more highly charged every day: Driveway Rides Along With Microsoft Office 2000 and Internet Explorer users will have direct access to Web-based file storage. by Dan Goodin, The Industry Standard December 9, 1999, 9:26 a.m. PT Driveway is one of more than a dozen services offering Web-based file storage, but this company just might have found the road to success. On Thursday, Driveway is expected to announce its service will be integrated into Microsoft's Office 2000 and Internet Explorer, a move that could give it a strong leg up over its rivals. With competition fierce and revenue still elusive, online storage companies are in a mad race to acquire customers. And many customers are aware of the benefits of storing files online. Many computer users, for instance, work on one machine at the office and another at home, and they need a simple way to manage and transfer large files between the two. Online storage also provides a convenient way to back up important files. Companies that want to succeed at providing online file storage are seeking two of the most important keys to success: designing products that are simple to use and forging partnerships with major players. Driveway is already one of the top contenders. The storage service has nearly 1.7 million users, and partnerships with antivirus software provider McAfee.com and e-mail provider USN.net. But the race is far from over. Competitor I-drive has an exclusive deal with MP3.com and a nifty feature that lets users download files to their computer during off-hours. Another major player has been X:drive, which until Thursday was the only online storage service that was seamlessly integrated into the Windows operating system. Store It, Simply Thursday's deal means that Microsoft users can save files directly onto Driveway's remote server the same way they are able to save to a floppy disk or hard drive. Initially, Office 2000 and IE users who want to use the feature will have to download a patch on Microsoft's Office update page. But Driveway says that its service will be bundled into a future service release of Office 2000 and Explorer, expected in mid-2000--a move that would give the San Francisco-based company unparalleled distribution. Still, Mauricio Bejarano, X:drive's vice president of business development, says Microsoft's endorsement is good news. "It's definitely a validation of our vision in integrating the desktop into the Web," he explains. And if Microsoft's seal of approval is good for the space, it's even better for Driveway. With it, "we've got some assurance that we're going to have some longevity," Driveway's Chief Executive Christopher Logan says. JFD