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

To: M31 who wrote (8136)	5/29/1998 12:32:00 AM
From: Chung Lee	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

>>> M3-Like this memo excerpt?<<< Does it mean, even in strategy sessions within a company's internal meetings, that you have to treat your arch rivals with kid gloves and kind words, everything politically correct? instead of bouncing ideas around strengthening your market and weaken your enemy's, who if given a chance, would bite your head off. If these internal emails were so incriminating as some here believe, then I would very much like to see those internal emails zapping around Sun and Oracle, with those two hot heads there, they would probably like to hogtied bill gates and stick pins in him.

To: M31 who wrote (8136)	5/29/1998 12:37:00 AM
From: Dwight E. Karlsen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

I wrote, <<You see, the DOJ has broad and vague powers vested in it with the Sherman anti-trust act. They can make up new laws as they go along, designed to fit an occassion which has already taken place.>> you wrote <Now who's paranoid? I have read quite a few articles, and the DOJ does have sweeping powers. I read that they can simply deem something "illegal" under the vague anti-trust laws, and as long as the judge agrees, then it flies. Re the memo, <<And, allegedly from Windows product manager Christian Wildfeuer: "It seems clear that it will be very hard to increase browser market share on the merits of IE 4 alone. It will be more important to leverage the OS asset to make people use IE instead of Navigator.">> On the face of it, one might think they've found the "smoking gun". Yet it's not quite that simple. A few facts: 1) That the Netscape did position itself as an MSFT killer; hence the sign at Netscape headquarters "Kill Microsoft". I obviously haven't seen this sign, but I heard about it. If it existed, then Microsoft can be cut a little bit of slack concerning memos discussing how to deal with this new competitive threat. It's certainly not in the anti-trust law that market leaders have to roll over and die if an upstart targets them for termination. 2) In the Netscape IPO prospectus, you will find that Netscape's strategic plan was to give away the browser for free, which they did. Ironically, it was only after attaining an ~85% market share that Netscape began charging for the client browser. Textbook monopolistic behavior! But on the part of Netscape. Since the Netscape plan to give away the browser for free was executed, one cannot unilaterally condemn Microsoft for the same exact method. 3) I'm not going to assume that "leverage the OS asset" is necessarily illegal. Certainly corporations use many methods to move product. What about Pepsi and Coke's method of moving fountain syrups? They buy whole restaurant chains! And then FORCE them to use the company syrup. That's like Microsoft buying Compaq, then forcing them to toe the parent company line. Where's the DOJ? 4) Even if MSFT did "leverage the OS asset" by "encouraging" exclusive use of the IE browser, it's a moot point: Whether you like it or not, the Win98 product has complete internet functionality built-in. As is Microsoft's duty and right. What about calculators? I don't see HP complaining that MSFT is unfairly targeting them by "bundling" the calculator into Windows product. 5) As has been mentioned ad infinitum, what about Symantec Corp.? MSFT bundled a bunch of utilities into Win95, yet Symantec products are flying off the shelves. Five out of ten top selling retail software products in Feb 1998 were Symantec. 6) Last but not least, Netscape at the time of the DOJ complaint still had 60% narket share. If Netscape can make a superior product than MSFT, then some people still might buy it. If not, then they have to find some other product, or else keep trying. The government simply should not be stepping in on behalf of companies who are seeing their 85% market share go down to 60%. That seems obvious to me, but then I prefer a free market as much as possible.