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

To: Tech Bull who wrote (16365)	2/18/1999 5:09:00 PM
From: John F. Dowd	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Dear Tech Bull: I agree with your overall assessment of their poor defense. I think their lack of preparedness is due more to a coupling of arrogance with naivete. They did not appreciate the deviousness and conspiratorial effort that has gone into the trap awaiting them in the courtroom. But anti-trust laws are meant to protect the consumer not assist the competition. Damage to the consumer has not been proven at all. And even NSCP would have a hard time of proving damage as it was bought out at a pretty healthy price. It would appear that MSFT is now truly defending itself against some of the more inflammatory accusations made by NSCP. The emergence of Linux and the deal with IBM is timely in behalf of MSFT and the beauty of Linux is that it will harm MSFT's adversaries more than MSFT. On top of that I believe the following write up on 2000 provides great promise for future gains. Windows 2000 Finally, a mainstream version of NT! Windows 2000 (formerly NT 5.0) tears down the most onerous entry barriers erected by previous NT versions-steep hardware requirements and a high level of PC expertise. A natural evolution to both Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0, Win2000 marks the end of the line for DOS and 16-bit Windows. Its inherent reliability, Plug-and-Play hardware configuration, support for advanced hardware such as DVD, ATM and Device Bay, and the abundance of cheap, powerful PCs that meet its expected requirements, make Win2000 the logical next OS for new business PCs. Even in beta, Win2000 is attractive enough for desktop users to consider chucking any previous version of Windows. However, Active Directory and other network features of the Win2000 server products are still undergoing intensive development. Mobile users should also maintain a healthy dose of skepticism. Because Win2000 is based on a later version of ACPI than Win98, you may need a new notebook to capitalize on its power management features (see "Ten Things You Need to Know About NT 5.0," Features, December 1998). To remedy this, Microsoft may add limited Win95-style power management support. If there's one aspect of Win2000 that could activate our Hype Meter, it's the ship date, or rather the lack of one. Some sources say anywhere from June to December; others say early 2000. Bottom line: Win2000 is hot, but until it actually ships, the Hype Meter will be in perpetual quiver mode. Microsoft is staking the future of its entire OS and server businesses on this merger of NT reliability and Windows 9x Plug-and-Play functionality. It's do or die for Microsoft, and if the past is any yardstick, we'd bet on "do." JFD

To: Tech Bull who wrote (16365)	2/18/1999 10:43:00 PM
From: t2	Respond to of 74651

MSFT, including the legal team, has done a horrible job defending itself & the major reason is ARROGANCE: thinking they're so smart & can't do any wrong. I can't believe MSFT thinks everyone IN THE WORLD is so STUPID that they try to argue that IE can't be removed from the OS (pleez!), that they think they can pull phoney videotape demos past everyone (double pleez!!), that they get caught not knowing when an icon will be created on the screen (aaagghh!) and that they let their attitude problems permiate the trial. The world is SMART (believe it or not you haven't hired ALL the smart people), especially everyone interested in this trial. MSFT, stop playing GAMES and build a real TIGHT, CREADIBLE, PROFESSIONAL case!! PS - I'm long on MSFT. The system will "fail" & let them off. I have to agree with you ---- and I agree with you on final point about them being let off. This is how I see it playing out.