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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael F. Donadio who wrote (8084)	3/6/1998 10:32:00 PM
From: Scotsman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

My basic problem with Microsoft is that they did not come to dominance through "fair competition." I am in no way taking anything away from Gates. He had the vision of the PC and its potential far before anyone else, and made all the right moves to bring it to fruition. But if you look at how they came to power, they did it through a form of extortion. It is the same technique that Rockefeller used with Standard Oil. Microsoft used its operating system liscenses to force computer manufacturers to use Windows almost exclusively. When it came to either not having Windows at all or marketing some other OS which did not have as large a market share, Windows won out. Worse yet, at its height of taking over, Microsoft started the practice of charging computer manufacturers fees for ALL computers sold, whether they used Windows or not. This was the equivelent of Rockefeller making railroads charge a fee to other competitors to ship their oil. This fee, of course, went straight into Rockefellers pocket. So the smaller oil companies were not only being squeezed to ship thier oil, but were paying their main competitor a fee for the privilige. This was one of the basic points of the DOJ's consent decree with Microsoft. It is in violation of anti trust law. However, the two cases had very different results. Standard oil was broken up. Microsoft got a slap on the wrist. I fear that this attitude is dominant in Microsofts entire being. So now they will find some way, probably through their operating systems, to do this again when needed. One other point about Microsoft. It will be difficult for any corporation that has already made a large commitment to Microsoft to change. Currently, the NC seems to be the major challenge. But you can bet Microsoft is working on figuring out a way to stop it, and it may not be through direct competition. Probably it will involve some form of extortion again. For instance, something to the effect of " if you want to be able to upgrade your computers, you had better not look at NC unless its through us." Veiled, of course. But that has been their history, and I doubt they will ,or even can, change. JMO