OK.... Since Microsoft lost the case, answer me this......

[NavyDood_ F/A18_Mech]

Is MS really gonna get taken down? Their stocks dropped to 85 a share roughly 2 weeks after the verdict. And today they closed at 113 a share with a peak of 115. Are they stoppable? I don't think so. Like someone said before. Only 2 things will survive a Nuclear Holocaust..... Cockroaches and Microsoft.

Let the Flames begin. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Jim

[Target]

I don't think anyone really anticipates MS being "taken down".....nor is that really what is warranted. Breaking them up isn't really a good solution either as it would end up simply more dis-serving to consumers who already use their products.

Simply forcing them to compete on a level playing field will do more harm to them than any other government sanctions could ever do!

Are they stoppable??? Probably not, but if you think about it, who really wants that anyway? Wouldn't it be better to have them as a true competitor to everyone else, attempting to drive innovation and be first to market with new products/ideas/etc.?

Certainly on a level playing field (ie: no interference from MS to competitors) MS will fail miserably at times, and yet, they might still come up with something new and usefull once in a while.

As long as the "rules" are followed, and no one company tries to hinder another, we as consumers will all benefit and have a multitude of choices that we never had before.

[This message has been edited by Target (edited 12-17-1999).]

[Apostle 83]

Microsoft is, of course, appealing their case. They will most likely exhaust their effort in '01 or 02 (ha! the y2.1k bug), with the worst thing (for them) being that they get broken down into little companies (games, os's, etc) that would be federally monitored.

Just a quick question: Can someone explain to me the logic between seperation of church and state as opposed to the seperation of business and government?

[BluMoose]

In general I think the Government should interfere in things where they can lessen harm done to people - when comparing one instance of "harm to people" to another, both degree and number would need to be taken into account. Of course freedom of thought, such as it is, should be encouraged, merely actions and effects harmful should be acted against. As such a business and religion should be treated the same in this regard. This does not happen however since people tend to take anything done to a religion very personally, while the same is not true (to a similar degree) for businesses. Hence religions get off easy.

-BluMoose

[Wiz]

i think must of the hatred towards microsoft is the envy. dont get me wrong, not everyone is envious, just 99% of us. Think about if you had designed win3.1. looking back, it is not all that difficult, and we all missed it. Gates took advantage of an opportunity and now that ******* is a multi-billionaire. i need a drink.

[BluMoose]

Except he didn't design it, he basically stole it, from Sun Microsystems I believe. The only thing Gates is good at is marketing and manipulating, and this more or less follows for Microsoft in general (though they do have good mice).

-BluMoose

[Zotzmein]

Unlike software companies who market their own products, Microsoft is a marketing company who just happens to sell software they assimilated, created, licensed, purchased and or gained through other means not normally discussed in legitimate business schools.

They’ve done it very well and will continue to do so for many decades to come.

This “loss” so many speak of is a relative term, yes a judge in some court, some where in the world, found Microsoft to be an illegal monopoly but the loss has only helped to reaffirms Microsoft’s marketing dominance and has done little to harm their bottom line.

In the end I believe Microsoft will face no real punitive damages and will continue to grow and insinuate itself into every facet of our daily lives.

Instead of spending our time railing against the failure of the legal system to stem the growing Microsoft tidal wave, we ought to expend our energies building mountains dedicated to alternative operating systems to hopefully survive the flood.

I encourage you to use anything but Windows.

Regard to All,

Zotz Mein

Firing up the Atari 800…

[BBA]

Where does all this come from?

It really started with BG in his garage with his geek friends! They created DOS, personally, IBM didn't care so BG and crew took it and ran! And they paid for it even!

90% of the LAWSUIT is jealuosy and not contributing to Bill Clinton and 10% is because of market share!

Get it right! Or would you rather the EVIL EMPIRE disapear tomorow? Not where do you want to go today, but Where do you want to work tomorrow? Or do you want to work?

[Wiz]

yes, get rid of windoze, and then try to find a sofware selection for linux. i would use linux, but there is nothing out there for it! make more software for linux and watch windoze go down in flames...

[stylin19]

was talkin with an MS server Op out of Redmond awhile back re: the hazy history, and who did what to whom and how often. and near as i can remember:

Microsoft was originally called Micro-soft
- Which was hired by Jobs ( who built THE Apple out of his garage...Gates was a Harvard drop-out, having already built a command interpreter = BASIC, for the Altair)
- Jobs had already stolen the GUI & Mouse from Xerox
- Gates BOUGHT DOS for $50,000, to service the IBM contract he won, to supply an OS for the PC(an OS which MS didn't have at the time)
- Gates, in-turn stole the GUI from Jobs and released Win 1.X...ugly ! Licensed 2 versions of DOS - PC-DOS ( for IBM only )and MS-DOS for everything else.

Bill Gates had a tremendous business sense, plus a belief in what the future was going to be, before others could see it.
BG had put a restriction on the # of licenses for BASIC for the Altair and, I believe for PC-DOS. When that number was met, PC's couldn't ship no more. The contract for MORE licenses had to be re-negotiated. It was the demise of the original developer of the Altair, an I forget how they resolved the issue with IBM.

I think, either way it goes, Microsoft becomes stronger.
Nobody went broke by keeping their stock, or making the stock value trade-in's when ....MA BELL was broken up.

As long as there are a few bugs in each newer release, there will be a need for SysOpt.com....Think of it...if there were no bugs in nothing, i wouldn't have met all you knowledgeble/smart/witty and helpful people.

What i am most P.O'd about is: When the DOJ announced against MS, I had the phone in my hand, to call my broker to buy MS...AND I COULDN'T PULL THE TRIGGER !..agh......

Have Fun, Play Fair and Be Nice To Each Other

[cyphen]

separation? How about the combination of church, state, and business - that's the next logical step for Microsoft!

A sample Microsoft Memorandum:
1: get all the money
2: buy everything

allow me to conclude with a [modified] Simpsons quote:
"I, for one, welcome our new [software] overlords!"

Hail Microsoft!!

http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif