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

To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (17107)	2/5/1998 1:12:00 PM
From: Daniel Schuh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

Microsoft pricing: For everybody who says software prices are "going down" or "stable", here's a little contrary evidence. Not something you'd normally see directly of course, since it has to do with OEMs and bundling. But, the evidence is pretty direct. From zdnet.com Microsoft made it plain to IBM: fall in line and do what we want or you are going to pay $100 for every copy of Windows 95. Do what we want and the price is $35. This presumably is circa the Win95 launch in summer '95. Now, 2+ years later, we have, from zdnet.com Hardware vendors who okayed the whole list of Microsoft Windows 95 marketing criteria got a "bargain" rate of, on average, $60 to $70 per Windows 95 copy. That's for those who were considered tier-one hardware makers, committing to move a lot of Windows 95 copies. But there were then-and are still now-only a handful of tier-one vendors, including Compaq Computer Corp. and Gateway 2000 Inc. So in a time span where hardware plummeted and volume soared, the price of Windows95 to OEMs doubled. That's what a monopoly will do for you. Or maybe it's just the price of "free" IE. Who can say? Somebody ought to ask Bill about it the next time the subject of falling software prices comes up, I'm sure he'd respond with the TRUTH. Cheers, Dan.