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Technology Stocks : Microsoft - The Evil empire -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Winchell who wrote (1210)	6/5/1998 10:11:00 AM
From: rudedog	Respond to of 1600

Robert - That's exactly what CPQ did - and MSFT backed down. According to a story circulating at the time in CPQ, they told MSFT that they thought they would get just as many sales if they shipped with NO windows and let the channel or customers do the integration. Probably a bluff but MSFT couldn't take the chance.

To: Robert Winchell who wrote (1210)	6/5/1998 1:50:00 PM
From: Dragonfly	Respond to of 1600

Yes, the practice was illegal and it has stopped. Not completely. They are still using their monopoly power to force higher prices to people who allow their customers to choose an OS and don't just pay for a license for Windows for every box they ship. Why did companies like Dell and Gateway sign contracts that forced them to pay for Windows even on machines that didn't have Windows on them? Why didn't they just say "Forget it, we won't ship with Windows at all?" Because Microsoft has an effective monopoly. Dragonfly