Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (4978)	2/4/1998 7:34:00 PM
From: Liatris Spicata	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74651

mindmeld- "abuse" and "monopolistic" are your loaded terms. In fact MSFT does not enjoy a monopoly- ever hear of OS/2, Linux, Plan9 etc? Microsoft is engaged in purely mutually voluntary transactions with its customers. If they get too arrogant in the marketplace, that will simply open the door to one of the lurking competitors I've mentioned (or possibly someone else). It is the Defender of Ruby Ridge and her myrmidons who are the aggressors in this act. What you call "monopolistic power" (even when no monopoly exists- or is IBM also a "monopoly" since it has exclusive rights to OS/2? and the conditions under which it is marketed) others might call a competitive free market with a dominant player. In a free society a company would have every legal right to say "we will not sell you our product if you sell our competitor's product". It is you who are allied with the thugs of the world who wish to impose their own version of rectitude on the mutually voluntary transactions of consenting adults and have no compunction about initiating the use of force to do so. Larry

To: RetiredNow who wrote (4978)	2/4/1998 8:35:00 PM
From: Alan Buckley	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

[For MSFT to tell them that they can't have the Netscape icon put on the screen and they HAVE to have the IE icon on their screen, otherwise they will not sell their software to them, well - that's just an abuse of monopolistic power] MSFT does not tell computer makers they can't add Navigator. It just says they can't remove IE, because they want developers to be able to count on built-in web functionality so they can leverage it to make better apps that in turn sells more Windows. MSFTs OSes are MORE extensible by external parties than their competitors which is perhaps the biggest reason for their success. Don't forget that, unlike MSFT, most all of the competitors also ship the hardware the OS runs on. So, ironically, there's not even an independent computer maker involved to argue with about icons. That's a more "open" and "competitive" solution? Hardly. The DOJ suit is about politics, nothing more. SUNW, NSCP, and NOVL, know MSFT is going to eat their lunch with NT and Win98 and are trying to protect their profits by crying to Big Brother.