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.

Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: chaz who wrote (52536)	8/23/2002 11:15:49 PM
From: Mike Buckley	Respond to of 54805

chaz and Eric, I've always had a personal policy of, with rare exception, not engaging in PMs about public posts. My thinking is that if the issue involves a public post, communicating about it should be done publicly. That may not work for everyone, but it works for me. Whatever it is that the two of you are engaging in privately, it doesn't appear to be working for either of you so you might want to try it my way. (That includes throwing away your cell phones. :) Maybe both of you should remember that the only thing that is off-topic in this thread is rudeness. Now about something Eric wrote ... helping my fellows avoid a potentially time consuming trap Such as the use of cell phones? :) all of us who converse on what I consider to be my home thread are at intermediate or above users of personal computers Does that really include me? :) Have a good weekend, both of you. --Mike Buckley

To: chaz who wrote (52536)	8/24/2002 1:04:48 AM
From: Uncle Frank	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

>> This is the very sort of stuff that caused Frank to depart and begin his own moderated thread. Nah, I only departed because of a series of personal attacks that my threadmates were willing to overlook. Eric voiced disagreement with your position, but did so in a reasoned and polite manner. >> If I'm off-base, I'm sure you'll let me know. Unless you received prior consent from Eric to make his PM public, you're off base. uf btw, I discovered a new Gorilla today. photosig.com

To: chaz who wrote (52536)	8/24/2002 9:37:41 AM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

re: Microsoft faces yet another open source threat << G&K Threadmates: OT ... Eric L a little while ago posted some stuff about a Microsoft Service Pack that was so far off topic for this thread ... >> On the day that Microsoft is deemed to be off-topic on a thread about Gorilla and King investing, I'm out of here ... but Microsoft is not off topic here so far as I am concerned. As a consequence I will continue to post here and I will attempt to exercise reasonable judgment in regard to what I post about. I will, however, be the judge of what is appropriate on this unmoderated thread relative to my own posts. When Microsoft issues a Service Release to one of their premier products it is, IMO, noteworthy for Gorilla Gamers that either hold Microsoft or are considering it for their portfolio, particularly since the manner in which they do so has been a source of some controversy for a number of years. The timing of this particular release is interesting as it relates to this subject because Microsoft is once again (continues to be) under threat from open source. On the OS side there is of course Linux. Now on the application suite side we have the recent release of all-free OpenOffice.org 1.0 (whoops! make that 1.01 already) that is garnering a considerable amount of attention. As John Dvorak commented in the recent issue of PC Magazine: This open-source spin-off of Sun's StarOffice might become the biggest threat yet to the Microsoft Office suite monopoly. He also comments that: Microsoft should be extremely concerned, and I assume the company will find some way to break this software, perhaps with a service patch to Windows XP that "accidentally" causes weird problems. This will have to be subtle, lest it draw attention to the tactic. The problem for Microsoft is that open-source code problems get fixed rather quickly by hordes of eager programmers. This has been the case with Linux servers, and OpenOffice should be no different. Microsoft has only a few alternatives ... [he goes on to discuss their alternatives] ... and let's not forget the problem of association. If OpenOffice runs beautifully, users may begin to associate open-source software with high quality and gravitate toward Linux and other open-source products. If Microsoft finds ways to keep breaking the software and forcing users to upgrade continually, they may get fed up with the irritation. Microsoft may have foreseen the need to do this. Perhaps that's why the company wants users to accept auto-updating with Windows XP. Coincidentally he wrote this just one week prior to Verizon's announcement that they saved $6 million in equipment costs by moving its programmers to Linux computers. The company cut costs by replacing programmers' Unix and Windows workstations with Linux systems that run OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office Disclosure: * MSFT is today, 12.1% of my equities portfolio. * I have beta-tested numerous Microsoft products for either Microsoft or my corporation. * I recently (reluctantly) accepted an invitation by my corporation to beta-test OpenOffice.org on behalf of our field organization. * I auto update nothing (except anti-virus definitions). Recently you stated: ... how do we get down to practical things and identify the companies that will pick up the "wealth creating capacity of the economy" and run with it. That is the track we should be running on. Let's get on with it. Best, - Eric -