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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (13277)	3/3/1998 1:17:00 PM
From: jhild	Respond to of 22053

Defiant Gates Says Microsoft Is Not a Monopoly 12.50 p.m. ET (1751 GMT) March 3, 1998 WASHINGTON - A defiant Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates on Tuesday rejected charges his company holds a monopoly in computer operating systems and is seeking to turn the Internet into a private "toll road.'' Speaking to a packed Senate hearing, the richest man in America said it was "preposterous'' to think that any one company could ever control access to the the vast Internet. "Microsoft does not have monopoly power in the business of developing and licensing computer operating systems,'' Gates said in long-awaited testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Justice Department has charged that Microsoft's popular Windows computer operating system - used on more than 90 percent of personal computers - holds a monopoly position in a key technology market segment. But Gates strongly defended Microsoft, saying that there were none of the barriers to entering the computer software business that characterize industries such as manufacturing or mining. "As you know, a monopolist, by definition, is a company that has the ability to restrict entry by new firms and unilaterally control price. Microsoft can do neither,'' Gates said. Critics accuse Microsoft of trying to use its Windows operating system to gain control of the Internet and extract a royalty for every transaction on its booming web of information. "I can say without hesitation that it is not, nor has it ever been, the intention of my company to turn the information superhighway into a toll road,'' Gates said. But a bitter rival in the competitive Internet browser market, Netscape Communications, accused Microsoft of trying to drive it out of business. "I and many others have become increasingly concerned that Microsoft's abuse of its monopoly power, unless addressed through enforcement of our anti-trust laws, will adversely affect the course of American commerce and communications in the information age,'' Netscape President Jim Barksdale told the hearing. "It appears Microsoft's ultimate goal in its acts was not just to market competitive Internet products but to put Netscape out of business,'' Barksdale said. Netscape said in January it would begin giving away its Internet browser because its market share had dropped to around 50 percent. Top executives of Sun Microsystems, Dell Computer Corp. and Great Plains Software Inc. also testified at the hearing. Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and frequent Microsoft critic, said the hearing was not meant as an orchestrated attack on Microsoft. "I think there is a single basic question underlying our inquiry: is there a danger that monopoly power is or could be used to stifle innovation in the U.S. software industry today and perhaps more importantly looking forward?'' Hatch said. The Justice Department is in litigation against Microsoft over the latest versions of its Windows 95 operating system that integrates the company's Internet Explorer web browser. The federal government has alleged that integration amounts to product bundling and is aimed at stifling competition in the web browser market, particularly against Netscape's Navigator product. But Microsoft argues that the 1995 consent decree allowed it to integrate and develop its products. The company has appealed a District Court ruling forcing it to offer versions of Windows 95 to computer makers without the browser. But the Justice Department may have to fight a new battle against Microsoft's Windows 98 version of the operating software. Gates said Monday that program would be ready for release by the middle of the year. c Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved foxnews.com

To: DMaA who wrote (13277)	3/3/1998 4:10:00 PM
From: Moonray	Respond to of 22053

Greenspan Sees Slight Threat in Asia Crisis 02:56 p.m Mar 03, 1998 Eastern WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday there was a slim chance that Asia's problems could spread to hurt the economy of the United States guide-p.infoseek.com o~~~ O