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

To: Jay Rommel who wrote (17701)	3/2/1998 3:17:00 PM
From: Keith Hankin	Respond to of 24154

But other analysts don't see Microsoft's plan as quite so wise or innocent. "Charging a referral fee would be a mistake," said Clare Gillan, a software industry analyst at International Data Corp. Gillan noted that Microsoft is currently heavily reliant on the relationships that it has built with its resellers. "Why complicate matters by charging a referral fee when providing this Web site might threaten resellers anyway?" Gillan asked. Though Gillan doesn't foresee Microsoft completely cutting out resellers in the foreseeable future, others aren't so sure. "With this referral fee, they'll get the resellers to basically fund the development of the site, and then they pull the old switcharoo and go after the whole transaction," posited John Robb, a principal at online brokerage consulting firm Gomez Advisors.