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

To: Dave who wrote (71412)	7/20/2002 9:40:01 PM
From: Dennis O'Bell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

The best engineers are as motivated by the opportunity to do good engineering as by the lottery tickets that we call stock options. I've observed a certain shift in thinking during the 90's, especially toward the blowoff, concerning making money versus doing engineering as the priority. But the bursting of the bubble is resetting priorities, and it was only really bad right near the top of the bubble where any nose-ringer could get a job doing software if it had to do with the web. I've avoided getting into management (which is more lucrative for most people) precisely to avoid getting away from what I do best, and I know a number of others who've behaved similarly. The best companies to work for make this possible. Concerning Microsoft, I know some good people working there, obviously there are components of their software that are well done. But as the Russian proverb goes, "A fish always rots starting from the head", and the MS orientation toward making quality of product a very low priority comes straight from we know who.

To: Dave who wrote (71412)	7/22/2002 2:37:40 AM
From: David R	Respond to of 74651

I meant what I said, which was neither of your interpretations. RE: ... Lottery tickets that we call stock options For a few distorted years, options seemed like free handouts. Now, we have the reality check. Options carry some risk (opportunity costs), but they remain a tremendous motivator for those who are not content to be a cog in the Apples, Suns, or IBM's of the world. I myself work at a pre-ipo startup. Developing leading-edge software is certainly rewarding inits own right. However, I also am motivated to build a company so that I can retire earlier than most. I am taking risk. I mitigate that risk by working hard. Those who work hard and take risks should have an upside opportunity.

To: Dave who wrote (71412)	7/22/2002 1:16:42 PM
From: David R	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

RE: Motivation The original Excel team claimed that their primary motivation was to put "The world's largest spreadsheet provider" out of business. While this may seem harsh, if you were a user of Lotus 1-2-3 in the late eighties, you will remember that the company was not exactly striving to make the product better. Excel was developed first for the Mac. The team then was faced with the challenge of moving it to the PC. Unlike MS-Word, they were unwilling to give up the Windowed UI. Hence, Windows (remember the old Windows runtime that shipped with Excell??). Lotus had 4 years to learn how to do a Windows UI, and to restructure 1-2-3. They did not, and they lost. WordPerfect followed the same mis-steps. Neither had a Windows-UI until the early 90's, by which time, it was too late. The shift was complete. How different history might have been, had WorPerfect and Lotus embraced the Mac.