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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (7062)	9/6/2003 12:26:28 PM
From: Cary Salsberg	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

RE: "...a growth business, and a killer app..." Thank you for the reference. I don't invest in software. I believe barriers to entry are small, market saturation occurs quickly, marginal costs approach zero, and replacement cycles grow very long. New software that opens new niches produces attractive returns, but the companies are usually priced as if the results can be maintained long term, and they can't. The most successful software companies depend on the inherent difficulty in their product's use (a Chevy driver needs 2 weeks of training to drive a Ford) and illegal competitive practices (maintain high monopoly prices and drive out competition by giving away the competitive product, i.e. bundling)