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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ed who wrote (7097)	5/14/1998 1:42:00 PM
From: Hal Rubel	Respond to of 74651

Microsoft Monopoly RE " Price is decided by the market, not set by the government, of course, if this is a country of communism, things will be different !!!! I smelled more and more smells of communism !!! It is really horrible !!!!" Such a juicy comment. Where to begin. Hummm ... Could someone please explain to me the competitive market forces at work determining the price of Windows? Box makers free to switch to some other supplier for a PC OS, like DOS or NT? Consumers to switch to Mac, UNIX? Well, then what ? I think the main "competitive" factor is the number of consumers and box buyers that would delay the upgrading when considering the price. Probably, Microsoft simply multiplies the total sales expected from each point in a range of possible price points and picks the price that maximizes profits, all with out regard to external competitive pressures. This is like a king optimizing taxes in relation to what the economy can bear. Its nice to be King. In any event, as we all know, its not being a monopoly that is a call to action. It is an exercise of monopoly powers that acts as a Red Flag. So, by not stepping in, isn't it ultimately the government that is setting the price by its inaction? HR PS: I think the danger here is Feudalism, not Communism. The issue seems to be a lack of social consciousness, not too much of it. Just a thought.