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 : The New Qualcomm - a S&P500 company -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Curbstone who wrote (11932)	6/9/2000 8:15:00 PM
From: Maurice Winn	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 13582

Aloha, Q! absolutely has a monopoly. They have essential patents on CDMA in mobile phones. Nobody can get around that monopoly. You have drawn a very, very broad "Wireless Technology" boundary and compared that with Microsoft's narrowly defined boundary "Operating system for the Intel x86 processor with more than 80% market share". There is a vast amount of "Software Technology" and "Wireless Technology". You think "Software Technology" too broad? Okay, "Operating System Technology". Oh? Still too broad - yes there are heaps of operating systems. Okay, "Operating System Technology for Intel products". Oops, still too broad because there are lots of those. Okay, "OS for x86". Damn, still too broad. Okay, "OS for x86 with a big market share". Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Do the same for "Wireless Technology". You need to narrow it down to "Wireless Technology using Q! CDMA in ITU defined 3G standards". Then you find a monopoly and Q! has 100% market share! Oops. Naughty Q! AND they are leveraging and bundling that into SnapTrack, Globalstar, etc. Consumers will not be able to buy just SnapTrack. They'll have to take the Q! bundled software with it. Oh dear. It's obviously consumer-damaging because they have to pay money and paying money is damaging. It's also innovation-limiting as it stops unlicensed companies from developing products to compete with 'free' SnapTrack bundled with Q! ASICs and software. Looks as though it's time to slice Q! into 40 different companies and stop Irwin owning shares in all of them except one. Q! shareholders better watch out! The good thing is they are mates with George Bush, Al Gore and the Establishment [for the most part] so they should be okay. But don't be too sanguine about Q! road to $1tn market cap if Joel Klein needs more for the gravy-train. Incidentally, since an aspect of monopolies is allegedly to rip off consumers, how come MSFT OS software has always been so absurdly cheap? Let's hope the USA judicial system overturns Judge Jackson's 'finding of opinion' and 'split this sucker up' crazy idea. Mqurice