To: greg nus who wrote (27217 ) 12/28/1997 5:39:00 PM From: Buckwheat Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Greg, I think you have hit on a key item in brand recognition. Saw a lot of machines Christmas (Intel, AMD, Cyrix, and the like). I must admit that Intel does a better job of ensuring that the Intel Inside logo gets on all their machines; however, I did not see a single machine that didn't have a WIN 9X compatable or designed for WIN 9X logo attached. The business of IBM or Intel compatability is becoming a non-issue. Probably the biggest and most over-looked factor is that of MSFT. MSFT is in the business of selling OSs and mainstream applications and cannot continue to grow off upgrades. It's not in MSFT's best interest for anyone (CPU maker) to go broke or to get a decisive advantage over the other. What you've seen in CPU pricing over the past 6 months has been a boon to MSFT and I'm sure Bill quickly took notice of this (maybe even played a part in it). These delays in MSFT's release of OSs and apps are not related to fine tuning and bug erradication, they're adding more last minute hooks for all hardware makers. It's in MSFTs best interest to provide hooks for all and further promote competition. (ex: 3D and MMX features being implemented by all .... Intel, AMD, Cyrix, IDT) I don't think MSFT will allow any hardware maker to ever again stagnate the computer industry growth (and MSFT's profits) with proprietary designs. MSFT has recently pursued getting in everyone's TV and other appliances; however, it would be foolish to think they have given up on the 60% or better of the population that still doesn't have a PC. Now the question is... which CPU makers recognize: where the market really is; who can really influence the market for the next few years; and which companies are best poised to take advantage of this?
