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

To: miraje who wrote (66589)	4/2/2002 10:22:03 AM
From: John F. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Jim: Terriffic post. I am glad that we have a first hand report. I don't know who is going to do more damage this court case or the words of Rick Sherlund. I am always amazed that they come out with these things when the companies have gone into their quiet period. I believe MSFT reports on 4/18. Thanks for the great post! JFD

To: miraje who wrote (66589)	4/2/2002 11:55:51 AM
From: Dave	Respond to of 74651

What's the matter, you couldn't find any more biased source than that? Maybe if you were to just quote Ballmer. Or Dubya's DoJ. Okay, let's look at these aggregious demands that this silly ranting smear piece claims that Microsoft's competitors are making, and let's try to figure why he says that they would be "at the expense of consumers:" Sun Microsystems: Force Microsoft to distribute Sun's proprietary Java programming language for free even Hmmm, and that would harm consumers how? He neglects to mention. Somehow better quality cross-platform software would be undesirable I guess. Real Networks: They want Microsoft to charge customers extra for versions of Windows that include Microsoft's Windows Media Player while Real gets to give it's version away for free. Nope. That's wrong. Microsoft ALREADY charges more for the latest versions of Windows. This would require them to roll back their prices by offering a version that's not bundled with other Microsoft products. Red Hat: They want to force Microsoft to develop a version of MS Office for their Linux-based operating system because 1) they don't want to spend money to develop their own; 2) the product they currently distribute with their OS, Sun's Star Office is buggy and often crashes. Okay, granted, this one would indeed harm consumers. On my Mac, the only apps that ever crash are Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer. Maybe the remedy should require Microsoft to stop shipping Office until it works? Gateway: They want Microsoft to give them the same price breaks on Windows as companies who sell 2-5 times as many copies. That would harm consumers how? Novell: They are trying to play both sides of the fence by offering to help Microsoft out with its legal problems as long as Novell gets business concessions from Microsoft. If this strategy doesn't work, they want the AG's to expand the case to cover server markets, where Novell is a dominant player. And helping Novell to make network servers work better with new versions of Windows would harm consumers? Palm: Instead of developing their own set of developer tools, they want access to the Microsoft developer tools... No, not "instead of developing their own set of developer tools." Palm already has its own set of developer tools, CodeWarrior, licensed from Metrowerks. Where does this bozo get this crap? Oh wait, probably from the Microsoft PR flack who wrote the article for him. ...This way, developers can write software for the Palm OS and Palm can sell more PDA's to big corporations who support the Microsoft developer tools. Oh boy, that would really harm consumers, being able to run software that was written in a Microsoft development tool. Or not. This article, while couched in very biased language, actually seems to argue the case against Microsoft. All of these horrible demands from Microsoft competitors would benefit consumers. Except maybe the one where Office gets ported to other platforms. Instead of that one, Microsoft should be forced to make all of its current Office file formats public. Dave

To: miraje who wrote (66589)	4/2/2002 4:31:52 PM
From: David Howe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Good article. The ongoing trial is the biggest joke I've ever witnessed. Only a complete idiot (or a MSFT basher) would think that the proceedings have anything to do with the consumer. IMO, Dave << So far, it has been a parade of wealthy Microsoft competitors coming into court looking for sanctions against Microsoft that would only benefit their company, at the expense of consumers. Here is what each company wants: Sun Microsystems: Force Microsoft to distribute Sun's proprietary Java programming language for free even though documents introduced in court show that many of Sun's current customers are dropping Java because of cost and feasibility issues. Real Networks: They want Microsoft to charge customers extra for versions of Windows that include Microsoft's Windows Media Player while Real gets to give it's version away for free. This sanction is meant to protect Real's dominant market position in multimedia software. Red Hat: They want to force Microsoft to develop a version of MS Office for their Linux-based operating system because 1) they don't want to spend money to develop their own; 2) the product they currently distribute with their OS, Sun's Star Office is buggy and often crashes. Gateway: They want Microsoft to give them the same price breaks on Windows as companies who sell 2-5 times as many copies. Novell: They are trying to play both sides of the fence by offering to help Microsoft out with its legal problems as long as Novell gets business concessions from Microsoft. If this strategy doesn't work, they want the AG's to expand the case to cover server markets, where Novell is a dominant player. Palm: Instead of developing their own set of developer tools, they want access to the Microsoft developer tools. This way, developers can write software for the Palm OS and Palm can sell more PDA's to big corporations who support the Microsoft developer tools. It is amazing how bold these companies are in asking for handouts. It will only get worse as companies like AOL Time Warner, SBC and Liberate prepare to take the stand this week. Be sure to stop by the ATL Website to check out Jim's Journal of trial activity. Many, including taxpayers in these 9 states, have asked why these 9 AG's continue to litigate. Bob Novak gives us his perspective in his April 1, 2002 column. >>