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

To: Flair who wrote (16237)	1/18/1998 10:19:00 AM
From: Bill Jackson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24154

Flair, Win95 and NT are the defacto standards, with 95% + of systems using them. The Apple, Sun, DG, etc are small niche markets compared to the PC market. Each maker of a PC must buy an OS from MSFT. MSFT could enter the PC market, and it would have a $50 price advantage over any other maker right away. If the average price falls and competition makes the average profit $25, then MSFT could enter and make money while all the others lose money. It would be the same if a certain patented power supply became the standard and no other would work. Now we see MSFT making palmtops. If they make CE convergent with Win95B and a browser style then in a while CE will become the de facto palm top standard. If they sell it for $30 per, they will have a $30 prica advantage on all others, because at the OEM level it is free to them(MSFT) and not to the others. If they charged $1 it would not matter. That $30 will fund a lot of innovation, and making 3com pay it will remove that much money from them that would broaden innovation in the market. Back in the 1890's and later, power monopoloies would build a gas station next door to yours and sell gas under your costs until you went broke. This can still happen. Watch 3Com and MSFT over the next year or so as they battle for this segment. The convergence and ability of CE to say "windows" will be a huge advantage to MSFT. There will also be the undocumented calls etc that MSFT will use even if they sell CE to 3Com(it is now a certainty that the palm pilot from 3Com will be forced to add CE as an option, and their internal PALM OS will wither, how soon will they see this?, or will they fight and die?) Bill