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Technology Stocks : MSFT Internet Explorer vs. NSCP Navigator -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bearded One who wrote (21707)	11/24/1998 1:12:00 AM
From: Gerald R. Lampton	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24154

Here's some interesting Boulton Cross-X testimony: Q. OKAY. AND AS YOU TESTIFIED EARLIER, THAT'S NOT THE ONLY COMPETITIVE CHALLENGE THAT MR. KEMPIN IDENTIFIED, IS IT? A. THAT'S CORRECT. Q. OKAY. AND, IN FACT, I THINK YOU CHARACTERIZED WHAT YOU RECALL FROM THIS DOCUMENT ABOUT MR. KEMPIN'S VIEWS ON INTEL; IS THAT RIGHT? A. AS I SAID, I HAD TO DO THIS FROM MEMORY, BUT IT WAS MY RECOLLECTION OF THE LAST ONE, YES. Q. OKAY. COULD WE SEE THAT, PLEASE. AND WHAT MR. KEMPIN SAYS ABOUT INTEL IS, "WE READ ABOUT IT IN THE NEWS TODAY, AND OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, IF THEY DECIDE TO OWN THE OPERATING SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE CPU, OUR BUSINESS WILL GET UGLY." AND YOU UNDERSTAND CPU TO BE A REFERENCE TO INTEL'S MICROPROCESSORS; CORRECT? A. IT'S A CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT, YES. Q. "THIS COULD BE AN INTEL LEAD AND FUNDED COALITION, SAY, WITH COMPAQ AND NSCP." YOU UNDERSTAND THAT TO REFER TO NETSCAPE, SIR? A. YES. Q. "I'M CONVINCED THAT THEY HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR SOME TIME. THEY COULD BUY SUN SOFT OR START A SCOPE WORK PROJECT ON THEIR OWN." WHAT IS SUN SOFT? A. SUN SOFT IS SUN'S SOFTWARE OPERATION. Q. AND AMONG OTHER THINGS, SUN SOFT MAKES A PRODUCT CALLED "SOLARIS 2.6"; IS THAT CORRECT? A. YES. Q. AND THAT'S A DESKTOP OPERATING SYSTEM THAT RUNS ON INTEL'S MICROPROCESSORS; CORRECT? A. YES. * * * Q. OKAY. NOW, HAVE YOU LOOKED, OTHER THAN THIS DOCUMENT, AT INTEL'S ABILITY OR CAPACITY TO ENTER THE MARKET FOR WHAT YOU CALL PC OPERATING SYSTEMS? A. IT'S NOT AN ISSUE I HAVE GIVEN A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT TO. IT JUST SEEMED TO HAVE, AS WE SAY, COME UP TODAY. THE OBVIOUS ANSWER IS, AS AN ECONOMIST, I WOULD SAY THAT INTEL HAS A PARTICULAR ABILITY TO ENTER BECAUSE IT'S PRODUCING COMPLEMENT AND CERTAINLY HAS THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO DO SO SHOULD IT DECIDE TO DO SO. SO, IT HAS THE ABILITY, AND IT HAS A PARTICULARLY STRONG INCENTIVE IF IT SHOULD DECIDE TO DO THAT. BUT BEYOND, THAT I DON'T THINK I HAVE VERY MUCH TO OFFER. Q. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE "MERCED" PROJECT AT INTEL IS, SIR? A. YES. I THINK IT'S THE 64-BIT CHIP. Q. IT'S A CHIP WITH A WHOLE NEW ARCHITECTURE; IS THAT RIGHT? A. IT'S MY RECOLLECTION, YES. Q. AND WHEN YOU'RE SAYING "64-BIT," YOU ARE DISTINGUISHING IT FROM THE CURRENT GENERATION OF INTEL CHIPS WHICH ARE 32-BIT MICROPROCESSORS? A. YES. Q. AND YOU UNDERSTAND THAT AN ENTIRELY NEW FAMILY OF OPERATING SYSTEMS WOULD HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PERFORMANCE OF 64-BIT MICROPROCESSORS? A. I THINK THAT WOULD BE CORRECT, YES. Q. DID YOU TAKE THOSE FACTS INTO ACCOUNT IN JUDGING THE POSSIBILITY THAT INTEL, WHICH IS NOW WORKING ON THE FIRST 64-BIT CHIP, MIGHT ENTER THE OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE BUSINESS? A. I WASN'T FORMING AN OPINION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT INTEL WAS LIKELY TO ENTER INTO THE OPERATING SYSTEM BUSINESS. I THINK THE QUESTION WAS THAT I WAS ASKED, I THOUGHT, WHAT DID MICROSOFT BELIEVE WERE POTENTIAL ENTRANTS INTO THE OPERATING SYSTEM BUSINESS. Q. BUT YOU HAVE, SIR, FORMED AN OPINION ON THE DURABILITY OF WHAT YOU CALL MICROSOFT'S MONOPOLY; IS THAT CORRECT? A. I HAVE FORMED OPINION AS TO--YES, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SUSTAIN--THE DURABILITY OF THEIR MARKET SHARE, YES. Q. HAVE YOU FORMED AN OPINION AS TO THE DURABILITY OF MICROSOFT'S WHAT YOU CALL "MONOPOLY POWER" IN WHAT YOU CALL THE "PC OPERATING SYSTEM MARKET"? A. YES, ALTHOUGH THAT'S INFORMED BY--AS AN ECONOMIST, PARTICULARLY--THE ANSWER IS YES. Q. AND THAT OPINION IS... A. THAT ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT UNLESS SOMETHING SURPRISING HAPPENS--AND I THINK I BETTER LEAVE THAT OPEN-- MICROSOFT WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE A MONOPOLY POWER IN THE OPERATING SYSTEMS MARKET. Q. OKAY. WOULD YOU REGARD WHAT MR. KEMPIN IS TALKING ABOUT HERE AS SOMETHING SURPRISING? A. SURPRISING IN WHAT SENSE? Q. IN THE SENSE OF WHAT YOU JUST USED THE WORD IN YOUR PRIOR ANSWER. A. I THINK IF INTEL WERE TO ANNOUNCE THAT THEY WERE ENTERING THE OPERATING SYSTEM MARKET WITH, IF YOU LIKE, A CLONE OR A COMPATIBLE WITH AN OPERATING SYSTEM WHICH HAD THE SAME API SET AS THE WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM, I WOULD REGARD THAT AS A SURPRISE, YES. I know it's not as sexy or enraging as Bill Gates depo testimony or war memos from Microsoft managers. But it probably has more to do with what will win or lose this case.