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

To: rudedog who wrote (12058)	11/5/1998 8:33:00 AM
From: ToySoldier	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Rudedog, I would agree with you to some extent that Linux is a bigger threat currently to other Unix vendors than to MSFT, but only as it pertains to the application server market. The reason it would not affect MSFT as much is because NT has not yet penetrated the LOB server market to a great extent. Once NT proves t be much more reliable (similar to the reliability of the Solaris, AIX, etc.) as an Application Server then MSFT will be trying to take marketshare away from Linux (who will be grabbing/stealing marketshare from the current Unix vendors). But Linux is after much more than the server market. They want to penetrate MSFT's desktop market. So, any penetration they get in that market will more often than not be at the sacrifice of MSFT marketshare. Toy

To: rudedog who wrote (12058)	11/5/1998 2:49:00 PM
From: DownSouth	Respond to of 74651

I agree, rudedog. MSFT is causing some level of FUD in the UNIX camps already. LINUX just adds to the FUD and becomes an alternative that may save a company some money and the Unix guys/gals their jobs. The desktop market is driven by apps. The competitive edge that MSFT has there is not the OS. Its the apps that run on the OS, even third party. Frankly, I believe, as objective as I can be, that in 18 months we will laugh at all of this talk about NOVL, LINUX, etc., as MSFT continues to do what it does best--grow, dominate, and grow some more. They are after the mid-tier server market and they will succeed. The companies that don't adapt will be in the same position that many (not all) big NOVL shops are in now. They are asking "when do I switch?", not "what do I switch to?" (IMHO, of course.)