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: Pink Minion who wrote (21916)	5/2/1999 4:53:00 PM
From: Sir Francis Drake	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Mshater - get ahold of yourself. Your hatred of MSFT and Bill Gates blinds you to reality. For the sake of argument, lets assume that indeed MSFT has been an unfair competitor who unethically, even illegally destroyed countless companies, stole technology, exploited their monopoly etc, etc, etc. Point one: the history of industry, including hi-tech is replete with "robber barons". Railroads. Steel. Telephony. Do you really think that MSFT's competitors didn't want to do exactly what Gates has done? Do you think it's Billy the Devil against a field of angels? The most persistent, luckiest and savviest won - Gates. So, be careful when you shed tears for MSFT's early competitors - you are not crying for angels, you are crying for Devils that didn't get to be THE BIG SATAN. Point two: MSFT has done some good. They established a de facto standard. This is helpful. The same way that it is good that there is a standard of the same size electric outlets. Can you imagine if every manufacturer had their own standards? Point three: many of the competitors were simply less adroit. Apple had a great O/S, dominance of the market place, great name recognition. Why didn't they manage to dominate for long? Not because Gates is evil... they made serious mistakes. IBM - they had tremendous power and resources - why didn't they manage to establish a dominant O/S - not because Gates is evil... they made serious mistakes. Think about this: MSFT was a baby shark, swimming in a sea full of baby sharks as well as huge monster sharks. MSFT was of no worse "moral character" than anybody else. But MSFT managed to outplay the other baby sharks, as well as the big monster sharks. It's as much the fault of the competition as Gates wrong-doing. Try to look at this in a balanced way. Blind hatred is not a good guide - please adjust your coaxial to reality.