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Technology Stocks : Microsoft - The Evil empire -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gerald R. Lampton who wrote (225)	11/10/1997 8:53:00 AM
From: Columbo	Respond to of 1600

Yes, let's review it, but start in the '50's, not the '20's. I like your analogy in a way. I don't think the industry is that mature but it is the main reason why monopolies are bad,(like we need to convince people). I've been trying to think of the best analogy to compare the WHOLE industry to if I was teaching a class. I don't think Microsoft makes cars. They make a "Quick and Dirty Operating Engine" that Billy "Gates" Ford bought from some smuck in Seattle. Billy then licensed the Q-DOE system to International Catapiller Machines. Compaq and Dell make cars and have to pay "Gates" Ford whether they sell cars with MicroPiston engines or not. Gee, I wonder what they would do. At this time the java batteries do not exist. All important parts to the car like air conditioner, radio, etc have to run off the MicroPiston engine. Amazingly, when "Gates" Ford enters this market, their radios run better than the competition. The masses say they are great. They must be geniuses. Intel sells the gas. They like the gas guzzler of MicroPiston hog machine. Etc, etc, etc. MH #0

To: Gerald R. Lampton who wrote (225)	11/10/1997 3:47:00 PM
From: Robert Winchell	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1600

It's already happening. The ossification process is already well under way at Microsoft, which is intent on "Preserving The Windows Monopoly" at all costs rather than embracing the future as represented by Java and the Internet. The reason for this choice is obvious: facing the future means restructuring the company and its products, and facing sharply lower profit margins on their current line of OS and business applications products. Make no mistake: theirs is a "circle the wagons" business strategy. They want to slow down and impede change. Why is Java the future? Because people are blindly following it becase it is "Not-MS". Sun has done a masterful job at coming up with a way to sell their technology - position it as the "Microsoft alternative", and have all the anti-MS people jump on it. My question is, what if they turn out to have been wrong about Preserving The Windows Monopoly (something we won't know for 5-10 years)? What if Java wins the war they have started? What will Microsoft do when they figure that out? Will they retool their whole product line or production process, or will they, like the auto industry before them, go the political route? In what way does Java threaten Microsoft? 1) Java still has to have an underlying OS to operate the computer. Which OS will run Java the fastest? Right now it is Windows95/NT. 2) People haven't discarded their DOS apps yet. What makes you think 150 million users are going to suddenly switch over and use Java apps? 3) Why do you think Micosoft cannot produce the most successful Java applications available?