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

To: Valley Girl who wrote (41710)	4/10/2000 5:09:00 PM
From: johnd	Respond to of 74651

VG, MSFT has thought through all these and did, wil do what is best for long term value for stockholders. Take advantage of short term opportunities.

To: Valley Girl who wrote (41710)	4/10/2000 5:13:00 PM
From: John F.	Respond to of 74651

I think the DOJ's fast track program precludes a breakup of Microsoft. Assuming the markets stabilize at these levels and move sideways for the next few months, I would expect Microsoft to bottom out (at the level it is at now or a few percentage points lower) sometime in the next month or two and move higher from there. Unfortunately, my crystal ball is wrong almost as often as it is right. Hopefully the Nasdaq's fall today is not a sign of things to come.

To: Valley Girl who wrote (41710)	4/10/2000 5:38:00 PM
From: John F.	Respond to of 74651

Corel chief Michael Cowpland says: "Don't break up Microsoft" Ottawa Citizen ottawacitizen.com Don't break up Microsoft: Cowpland Microsoft: Cowpland Split would lead to multiple monopolies, says Corel chief The Canadian Press TORONTO -- Michael Cowpland, the maverick chief executive of Ottawa-based software maker Corel Corp., believes breaking up Microsoft Corp. would be a big mistake. In a Globe and Mail opinion piece published yesterday, Mr. Cowpland insists that although his company competes with Microsoft -- in the mid-1990s he embarked on a disastrous business strategy to end the computer giant's domination of the office software market -- he also considers the software giant built by Bill Gates to be a "partner" to Corel. Mr. Cowpland said that news reports have suggested Corel and its competitors would be clamouring for a Microsoft breakup, a possible penalty since a U.S. federal judge found Microsoft guilty of anticompetitive behaviour on Monday. "A Microsoft breakup would only split one huge monopoly into multiple monopolies working in tandem," Mr. Cowpland said. "A breakup is unlikely to weaken the company's position in the marketplace. In fact, some analysts have argued it will only make Microsoft more nimble and stronger in the mid-term." Rather than split Microsoft into a collection of "Baby Bills," he said, a better solution would be for the U.S. Justice Department to set up rules that prohibit backroom deals, which suppress competition. Mr. Cowpland also recommended: - Authorities should demand greater transparency and accountability from Microsoft in its business practices. - Cross-bundling of products -- when Microsoft offers computer makers a cut-rate deal on Windows software if they agree to buy it with their hardware package -- should be put to an end. "In this environment, it becomes impossible for other software vendors, such as Corel, to market their products competitively," Mr. Cowpland wrote. "More importantly, consumers are deprived of the choice without even knowing it." - The U.S. Justice Department should ensure the software industry adheres to the standards required in a fair and open competitive landscape. Mr. Cowpland believes that consumers want alternatives to Microsoft and points to the success of Linux, an open operating system that can be downloaded for free from the Internet, as proof. Corel and competitors such as U.S.-based Red Hat have seen their stock price soar over the past year as they began to develop Linux products. "While ordering structural changes to Microsoft may satisfy many people who seek vindication for past wrongs, it wouldn't address the fundamental issue," he concluded. "The U.S. Department of Justice must ensure that innovation and ideas are encouraged and supported, not stifled by the backroom deals of a corporate giant."

To: Valley Girl who wrote (41710)	4/10/2000 5:56:00 PM
From: Frank Ellis Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Probably not a break-up (if it does turn out to be a break-up, then look out below). But the towering unknown now is the class-action flak, which calls earnings forecasts into question. Remember, most of us have very little faith in the legal system to produce a just outcome here, and zero belief in a political fix<< I believe that one of the disputed remedies is the amount of air that Bill Gates and Steve Balmer will be permitted to breathe. The DOJ and the 19 states can't seem to agree on who is breathing a lot of hot air?. It was proposed that Bill Gates inhale no more than 10 times per minute and Steve Ballmer 13 times per minutes. If found breathing more than agreed serious injunctions may occur and expedition hearings will be refereed to the Supreme Court. My stock in Sun Microsystems cut their hair cut today after making that obnoxious jesture about Microsoft over the weekend. I will have to talk with their Ceo about stopping this horsecrap. The antagonists better wake the F**k up and learn that if Microsoft goes down so does everyone else and that you can carve in stone. Day traders and margin holders may be the cause for todays volatility but tomorrow could be worse unless Motorola changes todays sentiment. Frank