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

To: mozek who wrote (11738)	10/24/1998 11:56:00 AM
From: rudedog	Respond to of 74651

Mike - The potential big losers from Linux are SCO and X86 Solaris. Linux is nearly as good as those products, with a similar installation and administration model, and a roughly equivalent base of installed apps. If Linux begins to grab a significant share of the NT base, I would expect a smaller NT product to appear pretty quickly, targeted on that market space. Since MSFT is already watching the use of Linux (and SCO) in the 'generic server' space, I suspect that the development of an appropriate NT based product is already well underway, and it is more a question of market positioning and final feature set and distribution model than technology. MSFT has shown themselves to be nimble in addressing new market opportunities, and this particular space is no exception. There has always been a significant share of 'other' OS in the low end server space - Novell 3X and SCO come to mind, with millions of units installed in the 10 user mom-and-pop space. MSFT's Small Business Server was a (misguided IMHO) attempt to address this market, right in concept but too complex in its final incarnation. It is important to realize that this is a space in which MSFT has not had much presence, so a move here would be an incremental addition to their market rather than a competitive threat.

To: mozek who wrote (11738)	10/24/1998 12:28:00 PM
From: Rusty Johnson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Mike I respect your views ... I want everyone to make money in the market. MSFT will continue to make money. Their dominant position on the desktop will continue. The real threat to MSFT (and Bill knows it) is change. Not the DOJ ... not Toy or Rusty. But really ... using "Microsoft" and "innovation" together is laughable. I use NT at work and calling it "reliable" is absolutely ridiculous as any IT professional will agree. Hearing Neukom say that Netscape lost market share due to their "technology" is asinine. He lost all credibility with that comment. With all due respect by the time NT 5.0 "really cooks" the world should be using robust, 64 bit operating systems. I can't send a buddy an e-mail via HotMail because of NT. I've called a rental car company only to have their computer be "down". UNIX isn't going away. SUNW is doing very well. You can afford to reboot a PC on your desktop. The blue screen is now costing business real money. Microsoft's strength is writing contracts ... not technical innovation. And there continues to be plenty of money to be made doing that. There's nothing wrong with that in my view. Was it P.T. Barnum? "A sucker is born every minute." I just prefer to use better products. I've never heard a Microsoftian defend the quality of their products. I admit that my bias as an engineer leads to great design and quality products being almost a religious experience. It's fun hearing from all points of view. Thanks. Continued good luck.