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

To: paul who wrote (10641)	9/10/1998 3:10:00 AM
From: ed	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74651

Pls do not be so naive to think Microsoft will choose itself to be a loser, just like I said business is business. NSCP will not choose itself to be a loser either, the problem is that NSCP can't compete in the market because it did not offer a product which is so superior that all the users, no matter what, would like to install one copy onto their computer . That is the problem for NSCP. So the only way NSCP can have a chance to win is crying for help from the government. Do you think it is a fair competition in a free market with government's power to interfere the function of free competition ? I do not think so. As to innovation, I do not think only NSCP can innovate, even NSCP's capability of innovation is also questionable. There are lots of things can be innovated, even on word processor, example, with the integration of IE onto window, we can probably copy portion of an excel file from another computer thousands miles away onto my excel file through the IE ( IE will find that file for me through the internet ). It is naive to say that only NSCP can innovate, or only Microsoft can innovate. If they can not innovate, they can not be what they are today. Everyone always thinks he himself is the great innovator in this world, but do not forget there are always someone in this world whose IQ is higher than you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a stock holder of NSCP, however, I think this company is hopeless, it did not know how to market its products, it did not concentrate its time on developing new products, and implement new ideas into its product, but just crying for help from the government all day long. Just like a crying baby, cry to the parents for help. Do you have confidence in such compaanies ? I do not. The final result is NSCP being bought out , the founders get their money so that it won't cry anymore !!!!

To: paul who wrote (10641)	9/10/1998 11:28:00 AM
From: Phil Melemed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Please tell me how you define innovation. Must new features or approaches be successful in their first round to be considered innovation? Must they appeal to your personal tastes to be considered innovation? Is innovation, for you, the primary issue for product growth and corporate success? Is innovation, for you, the reason you recommend one product over another for your company or your clients? Word Processors, Spreadsheets, and Project Management Software are all relatively mature products, i.e., they have been around for many years and have reached a level of sophistication and feature-richness that makes innovation more difficult. Until we get a significantly new usage or interface model for these products, they are all fundamentally the same. Innovation in these areas can hurt, especially if that innovation violates current standards or usage patterns, making document sharing difficult and requiring significant retraining of users. (There are innovative word processors being developed, check into what Dan Bricklin is doing these days.) Innovation in Desktop Databases? I am still waiting for a good desktop version of a Client-Server database. I do not need innovation there, I need parity with the big systems. Otherwise, most spreadsheet products meet my desktop database needs. In this arena, there are relatively few real database designers and many database users. I believe the innovation needed is on the programmability and design side. Maybe a Java database would be innovative here. Would it sell? Innovation in PIMs is still happening, especially with the growth of products like Hand Held and Palm Top computers, or General Magic's Portico and the like. It's not just a market based on ACT! anymore. This is remaining a fresh and dynamic market, with a long way to go, and the big winner is anyone's guess. Browsers are also innovating, it just looks like Microsoft and Netscape are innovating, or at least adding features, in very similar directions. Other browsers exist and innovate in different ways. If Netscape goes down, due to product, marketing, management issues, whatever, there will still be other folks who get into the market, unless of course there is no market need. And if there is no Market need, then why is there even a need for Netscape? If the idea is to use a browser, any browser, as long as it is not Microsoft's, then there will always be someone willing to build that market. (Office 98? I guess you are a Mac user then. Or do you use Japanese Office?)