To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (15690 ) 12/30/1997 8:18:00 PM From: Daniel Schuh Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Calling Bill's Bluff upside.com But "FUD" (fear, uncertainty and doubt) is a limited weapon, and Microsoft may find that blunt instrument to be a stumbling block in the future. Take its moves into the cable television industry, for example. Its reputation precedes it. "There's no way the cable companies will let Bill Gates control their industry the way he has the computer industry," says Christopher Dixon, a media analyst at Paine Webber in New York. "They want his money, but they also want to keep him at arm's length." "For as crafty a company as it is, Microsoft just doesn't seem to get it when it comes to cable," Envisioneering's Doherty says. "It's cable that's the real gatekeeper. They're the ones that say 'give us a cut or we're going to shut off your datacast.' Then everyone but Worldgate's plans would be dashed."
