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

To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (17696)	3/1/1998 9:20:00 PM
From: damniseedemons	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24154

I'm sure this will be a controversial post... I have always said that I thought Netscape had excellent management and that I admired Jim Barksdale (and his team). I was wrong. I think Barksdale has been way over-glorified by the media, his peers, and myself. The man certainly had a great track record before going to Netscape. But because of Barksdale's "aura," judgement on his performance at Netscape has been skewed very favorably. Everyone has given him the benefit of the doubt and overlooked his serious mistakes. Barksdale is overrated. Some of these mistakes: 1) Trying to make Netscape get too big too fast. Many aspects here, and its much more than simply hiring too fast and letting expenses get out of control. Netscape stretched itself too thin while trying to build a very wide-range of products. While focusing on becoming "the next Microsoft," they lost focus. 2) "To Hell with the client and consumer markets, we're gonna be an enterprise server company!" Unfortunately, it was the client that put Netscape on the map. Microsoft's "Free IE" notwithstanding--Netscape virtually abandoned their client, and as a result, quickly lost marketshare. In losing client marketshare, the enterprise customers that they target become wary of the company, questioning its viability. In doing so, Netscape loses sales. 3) To go with numbers 1 and 2, we have Netscape's lack of a definitive strategy. First its client, then server, then messaging/groupware, then tools, then Java, back to server, exploiting their website, client again with no Java, E-commerce...??? 4) Antagonizing Microsoft. Barksdale let Netscape have a deathwish from a beginning, by effectively saying things like: "We're gonna put Microsoft out of business. Our browser is going to be the new computing platform, rendering Microsoft Windows irrelevant. Etc., etc., etc." What purpose did all the trash-talking serve except to rally the troops in Redmond? In short, I think Barksdale (and his team) deserves the blame for Netscape's woes. And its too bad that nobody realizes it.

To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (17696)	3/2/1998 4:27:00 PM
From: Daniel Schuh	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24154

The mythology of Windows NT 5.0 wcmh.com For many users--including IS managers charged with a frustrating "We're going to NT" mandate from their corporate executives and the obvious competitors Novell Inc. and Unix vendors--NT 5.0 so far is mostly a huge pain in the not-very-mythical butt. Hey, it's NT2k, the OS for the Next Millenium. What did you expect? I've had several conversations in recent weeks with IS management types who have stated matter-of-factly that they don't expect to see NT 5.0 until the middle of next year at the earliest. Microsoft still says that it will ship a product called NT 5.0 sometime later this year, although what will be in that product remains a mystery, maybe even to Microsoft. This climate of delay and suspicion means that those managers I talked with won't be greeting NT 5.0 with smiles and handshakes when it arrives, but rather will circle it, smell it, and poke it for quite awhile before trusting that it really is what they've been waiting for. Meanwhile, you'll hear more trumpeting from Microsoft and get more demands for NT standardization from the suits. The myth grows. Bill and the Dilbert's bosses of the world will get us yet. Who knows what it's going to be, but you better standardize on it or you're dead meat. Cheers, Dan.