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Technology Stocks : MSFT Internet Explorer vs. NSCP Navigator -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Reginald Middleton who wrote (15411)	12/23/1997 11:17:00 AM
From: Justin Banks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

Reg - Thier bundled apps did not encourage end users to (as the ilk would put it) "to make choices." Reg, I sure wish you'd bother to learn what the f*k you're talking about before you open your mouth. NSCP provides hooks in the browser to allow people to user their own applications for other things. For example, when I click on the mail thingy, xemacs vm-mode* comes up for me to read and send mail. When I click on the news thingy, xemacs gnus mode comes up for me to read and post news. It could just as well be elm, pine, zmail, nn, xrn, rn, or anything else I choose. Netscape bundled some applications, but provides the means to use other things instead. If I click on an embedded URL in Win98, will I be seeing Netscape? No, I'll be seeing IE. Can I change that? Does MSFT provide a choice? No. -justinb

To: Reginald Middleton who wrote (15411)	12/23/1997 9:19:00 PM
From: Schiz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

NSCP controlled 92% of the market. They dictated nearly every major change in the market up until very recently. Thier bundled apps did not encourage end users to (as the ilk would put it) "to make choices." This is a mirror situation to MSFT, except that NSCP had the bulk of the market share. I gave you the reference to the defintion of monopoly, according to the dictionary, NSCP was a monopoly. So I still don't see the convincing portion of your argument. Computer users didn't have a bunch of applications that needed netscape to run. If they decided they wanted something else they could go and get something else without having to spend $1000 buying new software that will run on the new browser.

To: Reginald Middleton who wrote (15411)	12/23/1997 11:07:00 PM
From: Keith Hankin	Respond to of 24154

No, NSCP never had a monopoly. The reason that they set the standards was because no one else was trying to. Thus, until MSFT competed, NSCP's ability to control standards was never tested. Yes, they had 92% of the market, but they never demonstrated the ability to control this market. When they attempted to do so, it became clear that they were in no situation to do so against MSFT's power. However, in the absence of MSFT, they may have been able to demonstrate monopoly power since there may not have been anyone with the power to challenge their direction. When NSCP had 92% market share, the Internet software market was still a fledgling industry. So to say that NSCP had a monopoly is simply not true. Remember, the key to defining a monopoly is not market share but the ability to control, at will, the industry. And NSCP never had control over the industry. Yes, NSCP demonstrated itself to be the leader initially, and this allowed them to create products that became the standards for the industry. But there was no barrier for entry of other companies from usurping this role. This is due to mainly two facts: 1. The industry was still fledgling. 2. There existed at least one company with the resources and will to enter as competition. And I would argue that NSCP's inability to control the industry was almost inevitable once MSFT began to compete, because they were up against the leveraging of the MSFT monopoly, which was strong enough to muscle in on the action, regardless of NSCP's market share or anything that NSCP did. However, in the absence of MSFT, it is possible that NSCP might have had enough power to maintain control over Internet standards, and thus would be considered to be a monopoly.