Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Offshore who wrote (16549)	2/20/1999 11:13:00 AM
From: Brant Garber	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Offshore: I agree with your points and I hope you are correct. My questions to you/anyone who has indepth knowledge about LINUX are: 1. How big of a threat is LINUX to MSFT? Is it only to NT5.0? 2. What are the pros and cons of LINUX? 3. Is LINUX targeted at consumers or just enterprise? 4. Is LINUX user friendly? 5. With your answers...how certain are you? Thanks

To: Offshore who wrote (16549)	2/21/1999 1:14:00 AM
From: Bearded One	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

If Microsoft had tried to defend their actions, rather than denying them, then perhaps they could have made a stronger case. However, they denied them, and then their denials got discredited. This, by the way, is only partially the fault of the lawyers. It is pretty clear that Microsoft was not listening to their lawyers and was not letting them handle the case. The greatest doctor in the world can't cure you if you refuse to take your medicine. I leave it for the legal experts to decide whether or not Sullivan and Cromwell should have refused to take the case or quit it once they found out that Microsoft wasn't going to follow their recommendations. I've been busy and stayed away from this thread for a while. The fact is, and I've been saying this for months, is that Microsoft lost the case the moment that Reno declared the lawsuit--it was just a question of how much they were going to lose, so they should just settle. If they settled early, they would have gotten off with some more agreements with the DOJ, perhaps a bit more strongly enforced, and some loss of face. Now, no reporter in the Western World will believe any press anouncement of theirs for years. They may lose a great deal of control over the code to their OS, they are going to be liable for many billions of dollars in lawsuits, they will not attract the best and brightest like they used to, and they may even have to sell off divisions at cut-rate prices. And don't think that tying up the courts in appeals is going to do much of anything. In case anyone still doesn't get it, this is the government we're talking about taking on Microsoft. The politics of the situation has moved decidedly against Microsoft-- nobody will defend them now. So even if Microsoft has some legal trickery up their sleeve, the government will just move to the legislative branch to fix things. You can spread butter on Microsoft cuz their toast.