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 : Wind River going up, up, up! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bargain Hunter who wrote (4557)	4/2/1999 4:32:00 AM
From: Codfish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10309

I don't think it was exactly like that Bargain. As you note,IBM did not understand that there was a PC software game. When they licensed DOS from Microsoft, it never occurred to them that a small operation in Gates' garage could cause them any problem. Then Gates began to license the product to all PC makers. Although Gates did not know the magnitude of what they had you're right, he did parlay it into an incredible force. IBM simply opened the door to Microsoft's monopoly. Apple ensured that Microsoft would succeed by not licensing their O/S to allow cloning. Like Xerox, IBM was blind and didn't realize how the world was about to change - it was the small cutting edge players like Gates, Jobs, and Wozniak that were ultimately going to come out on top. Hell, Xerox gave their icon based e-mail system to Apple. Apple knew what Xerox had even if Xerox didn't. But it was licensing that set Apple apart from Microsoft. And that is all that I am saying about Wind and other established players in any market - do not dismiss competition out of hand or your hand may get bitten off. Here's an excerpt from an article I mentioned earlier: Beyond the PC Who wants to crunch numbers? What we need are appliances to do the job--and go online Gates and Grove are right to think beyond the PC. The high-tech industry is on the cusp of a new era in computing in which digital smarts won't be tied up in a mainframe, minicomputer, or PC. Instead, computing will come in a vast array of devices aimed at practically every aspect of our daily lives. Unlike complex desktop PCs, these information appliances--following on the lead of 3Com Corp.'s (COMS) handheld Palm computer and Microsoft's WebTV--will be simple and convenient. Think divergence instead of convergence. To become as ubiquitous as VCRs and microwave ovens, analysts say, information devices have to be much simpler than today's PCs. Rather than rolling more features into computers, newer devices need to be designed to perform only a few specific functions. After all, who needs a desktop PC that could land a spaceship on the moon if all they want to do is send E-mail? ''The PC is so general-purpose that very few of us use more than 5% of its capability,'' admits Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Lewis E. Platt. Now, everybody from startup to industry giant is answering the call. The resulting scramble could turn high-tech's pecking order on its head. Until now, the PC was the only route to cyberspace--and PC makers had only to ride the Wintel standard based on Intel chips and Microsoft software to get in on the action. The future won't be so easy. Winning in the digital-appliance business will depend not on the latest geek-specs, like megahertz and gigabytes, but on identifying consumer needs--and satisfying them with products that hide their complexity. businessweek.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One guys opinion Bill C.