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

To: ToySoldier who wrote (11969)	10/31/1998 12:23:00 PM
From: jim gasparich	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Dear Toy, Does Symbol have the option of using DR-DOS instead of MS-DOS or would the changeover costs be too high? I don't know,that's why I'm asking. Do other companies have to pay the $27 fee who don't get the discount? If so I assume MSFT expects something from the discounted co.s in return but what is actually legal vs. what is just strongarming I again do not know. Is old DOS code a monopoly product? Jim

To: ToySoldier who wrote (11969)	10/31/1998 1:07:00 PM
From: Daniel Schuh	Respond to of 74651

Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! Or maybe it's like that John Dvorak column, Bill's got a death wish. Cheers, Dan.

To: ToySoldier who wrote (11969)	10/31/1998 3:40:00 PM
From: Normandi	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Toy. Re: Credible Postings “The word is that Gates told them that he would like to see Symbol Technology use the Windows CE technology on their newer units. If Symbol doesnt use WindowsCE then MSFT will have to consider removing their discounted $3/licence of MS-DOS and return them to a $27/licence. Basic blackmail. And likely the company will have no choice but to comply because that cost increase is not likely acceptable.” Toy, mind adding just a little credibility to this post, from whom the information came, his title and the date of Bills visit. We will all make sure the DOJ, Microsoft and Symbol Tech is in receipt of your most valuable information source and content. Toy, most people who do not agree with Microsoft's marketing, do not like their products, and hate Bill Gates remain rational and able to discuss the pros and cons with much more dignity. You're self-proclaimed title of “contrarian” to Microsoft “How high Thread?” should more accurately described “contrarian to Microsoft and its products”. Daniel Schuh comes to mind as a viable “contrarian” alternative. Regardless of Daniel's credentials as a stock analyst, I find him much more likable and far more credible. Your obvious weak attempt to forecast MSFT stock movement exposes your lack of knowledge/experienced as a serious investor, more likely, an attempt to gain some credibility. Originally, this thread was generated to discuss and help forecast Microsoft's stock performance. I found the original intent interesting and profitable. Discussions regarding the future of other Tech Stocks have more relevance and appreciation when directed to an audience with similar interests. Good Investing. Cheers Norm

To: ToySoldier who wrote (11969)	10/31/1998 5:25:00 PM
From: rudedog	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Toy - There are several reasons why the assertion stated here seems very questionable. The word is that Gates told them that he would like to see Symbol Technology use the Windows CE technology on their newer units. If Symbol doesnt use WindowsCE then MSFT will have to consider removing their discounted $3/licence of MS-DOS and return them to a $27/licence. Gates has not been involved in license pricing discussions since the early 90's. He not only does not discuss license pricing, he has only a superficial knowledge of the many arrangements that MSFT uses. This work is done by Joachim Kempin and his team. Assuming that for some reason Kempin could not deliver a pricing message to a major customer, the next guy up the ladder would be Ballmer, not Gates. I can well imagine that Gates might want to see Symbol - or anyone for that matter - adopt Windows CE as a DOS replacement, but there are many, many DOS oem applications. Why would this particular customer rate such heavy handed tactics? By the way, the going rate for a volume DOS OEM license is $.50 not $3 so if Symbol was paying $3 they were already getting a pretty poor deal. This OEM has obviously had a long relationship with MSFT (otherwise why a DOS based product in today's world?). Hard to believe they would be paying way over market - one of the few reasons to still do a DOS based system is that the OS is practically free. The wireless healthcare market happens to be one where CE has gained quite a bit of share. Many of the 'real-time' features of CE 2.0 were added specifically to enable a flexible wireless healthcare instrument. I have seen several powerful demos of the capability of this package, one of them at the CE 2.0 launch, which featured an on-stage demo. All in all I rate this as an extremely unlikely scenario - it doesn't add up from any perspective (except possibly the Gates as Satan perspective...).

To: ToySoldier who wrote (11969)	11/1/1998 3:11:00 AM
From: Andy Thomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

>>The word is that Gates told (Symbol) he would like to see Symbol Technology use the Windows CE technology on their newer units. If Symbol doesnt use WindowsCE then MSFT will have to consider removing their discounted $3/licence of MS-DOS and return them to a $27/licence. Basic blackmail. And likely the company will have no choice but to comply because that cost increase is not likely acceptable.<< Someone should get in touch with Symbol and tell them about Caldera. I'm they could work something out with Caldera if the MSFT thing doesn't work out. FWIW Andy