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

To: Rusty Johnson who wrote (60753)	8/20/2001 12:27:28 PM
From: dybdahl	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

It's an easy calculation to do: If a school has 100 computers with Pentium 200 and lower, what they need is: - One AMD Athlon 1GHz computer with 1024MB RAM - 10Mbps Ethernet - One Linux CD, value $1 ...and all their computers can suddenly be used to access the latest software. Total hardware and software investments are below $1500 for an entire school. Since many schools use computers run by teachers (at least around here), it's pretty hard to argument against a switch if some teachers know Linux administration, and once they've tried it, they probably won't ever switch back. Lars.

To: Rusty Johnson who wrote (60753)	8/23/2001 12:25:56 PM
From: Rusty Johnson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

I love MSFT ... no matter how many times they get caught lying, breaking the law or funding "consumer interest" groups ... they never give up. latimes.com Lobbyists Tied to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters By JOSEPH MENN and EDMUND SANDERS, Times Staff Writers Letters purportedly written by at least two dead people landed on the desk of Utah Atty. Gen. Mark Shurtleff earlier this year, imploring him to go easy on Microsoft Corp. for its conduct as a monopoly. The pleas, along with about 400 others from Utah citizens, are part of a carefully orchestrated nationwide campaign to create the impression of a surging grass-roots movement. But it may be backfiring. The targets of the campaign, attorneys general of some of the 18 states that have joined the Justice Department in suing Microsoft, have figured out the campaign's origins, and they're fuming. The campaign, orchestrated by a group partly funded by Microsoft, goes to great lengths so that the letters appear to be spontaneous expressions from ordinary citizens. Letters sent in the last month are printed on personalized stationery using different wording, color and typefaces--details that distinguish those efforts from common lobbying tactics that go on in politics every day. Experts said there's little precedent for such an effort supported by a company defending itself against government accusations of illegal behavior. Microsoft Reportedly Helping to Fund Letter-Writing Campaign in Antitrust Case Dow Jones Online News, Thursday, August 23, 2001 at 12:02 Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft Corp. has been helping to fund a letter-writing campaign to pressure various state attorneys general to go easy in their antitrust lawsuits against the software giant, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. Two letters sent earlier this year to Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff contained the names of dead people, the newspaper said. However, the names of the two dead people on the letters had been crossed out and signed by other family members. The letter-writing campaign targeted some of the 18 attorneys general whose states have joined the U.S. Justice Department in a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against the company. No two letters are identical, but some contain similar wording and appeared to be written spontaneously by ordinary people, the newspaper said. "It's sleazy," said Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch, whose office received about 300 pro-Microsoft letters. "This is not a company that appears to be bothered by ethical boundaries." Microsoft (MSFT) officials said they are responding to the lobbying efforts of competitors who have waged political campaigns against the company. "It's not surprising that companies and organizations that support Microsoft are mobilizing to counter that lobby," Microsoft spokesman Vivek Varma told the Times. The campaign was orchestrated by a group partly funded by Microsoft called Americans for Technology Leadership, the Times said, adding it wasn't known how much money the organization receives from the software giant. The group's executive director, Jim Prendergast, said people are called and asked to sign letters in support of Microsoft. "We'd write the letter and then send it to them," he said. "That's fairly common practice." A federal judge last year found Microsoft guilty of antitrust violations. Earlier this month, an appeals court cleared the way for a new judge to decide the penalty. Microsoft...whatever it takes. Did Bill Gates write the song "Shameless"?