Re: MS monopoly

Posted by AVH on June 11, 1998 at 16:57:22:

In Reply to: Re: MS monopoly posted by Robert Duggan on June 10, 1998 at 18:14:01:

: : : : : :
: : : : : : Go ahead bring the "richest man in the world" down a
: : : : : : few pegs - make my day.
: : : : : :

: : : : : Andy,

: : :
: : : : Wow! What a response! Why on earth does MS [read Bill Gates] elicit such
: : : : strong opinions. All the more reason to reign him before he morphes
: : : : into God - or worse.

: : : : I have nothing personal against him or free enterprise but his buisness practices
: : : : left a LOT to be desired. I [and many others] however, are glad to note that
: : : : he obviously agrees with us and decided to relent and give other people a chance.

: : : : I think this speaks volumes about the character of the man behind the enterprise.

: : : : Good luck MS [& HP & Netscape & Gateway, etc, etc]

: : : : P.S. If I was a US citizen I would vote Republican every time [believe it].

: : : My friend you still miss the point, why on earth is our(my) government involved at all with Microsoft?
: : : The idea of being "reigned in" sends chills down my spine, the principles of free enterprise are not voided when you reach an arbitrary level of success. They apply to all, all the time.
: : : And then the concept of "giving others a chance", well my friend the "others" have had "a chance" and still have "the chance". I personally use four different operating systems daily: Unix, Novell DOS, OS2, and Win95. I use products from dozens of companies(I'm in netscape right now), I use the product that fit my needs. Bill Gates has not stopped anyone(well me anyway) from programing or forced anyone to "use" his stuff.
: : : The very success of Ms is that they gave everyone a "chance" to write programs that would run in windows and they've made computers accessible to the non-professional user. Xerox, Mac, Texas Instruments ...etc. had that "chance" and blew it.
: : :
: : : I'm afraid we're back to the start of this thread, taking shots at an easy target, and worse our(my) "liberal" government attacking a successful company for being successful.

: : : P.S. Hurry up and get your citizenship, we've got an election coming up!

: :
: : Oh Gawd, Wizard, you really are a hard sell!

: : We could easily agree to disagree at this point, but what the hell...I'll jump in again. Remember the point of the anti-trust case was that Ms "allegedly" used strong arm tactics to force resellers into NOT allowing buyers the software of their choice. Now I don't pretend to know all the facts [or maybe even most of the facts] but if what they say is so - even a diehard like you must agree that just ain't nice. Put yourself in the position of the "struggling underdog" and see what I mean.
: : I myself use Ms products almost exclusively, I find they work, they're fun and well written! But darn it, I WOULD like some more choices! Could you imagine everyone driving Fords - for Pete's sake! [Shit, I hope you're not a Ford lover now, I'm not ready for a round of thinking up auto arguments when we haven't even finished this one!]

: : NOW on a related topic. No I don't envy BG his money but I also don't think its fair that one guy [whoever the hell he is] should have so much - of course I include by extension all the other financial Top Guns!
: : I mean he don't have to give ME any but why can't he pass a couple a' million to you! OK, I'm being flippant but that's basically the way I feel - there's a lot of real need out there.

: : P.S. Who knows, I might just see you in the year 2000 - if the millenium bug [or Microsoft] doesn't get me first!

:
: I am the small businessman you mention. My only chance to compete is to create and market a better product. Build a better mouse trap... As for myself I have tried that IBM mistake and got warped. I also have plugged away on a few Mac machines. I am not impressed with what the "competion" has to offer. I am proud that BG came along and like what he and MS are doing. I use MS because it works. And it has put a computer on every flat surface you see. This will allow me to market my wares to a larger crowd. WE ALL WIN!! Take MS away and what have you got?

Pul-eeeease, Bob

I'ts great that you can do your stuff and make a living. But that's being creative... NOT! Now, if it happened that you had managed to rack your fertile brain and come up with a competing product! How would you feel then if Sir Bill got hold of you and muscled you out simply because he had more moola! If I know anything I'm sure you would NOT be pleased.

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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Go ahead bring the "richest man in the world" down a : : : : : : : few pegs - make my day. : : : : : : : : : : : : : Andy, : : : : : : : : : Wow! What a response! Why on earth does MS [read Bill Gates] elicit such : : : : : strong opinions. All the more reason to reign him before he morphes : : : : : into God - or worse. : : : : : I have nothing personal against him or free enterprise but his buisness practices : : : : : left a LOT to be desired. I [and many others] however, are glad to note that : : : : : he obviously agrees with us and decided to relent and give other people a chance. : : : : : I think this speaks volumes about the character of the man behind the enterprise. : : : : : Good luck MS [& HP & Netscape & Gateway, etc, etc] : : : : : P.S. If I was a US citizen I would vote Republican every time [believe it]. : : : : My friend you still miss the point, why on earth is our(my) government involved at all with Microsoft? : : : : The idea of being "reigned in" sends chills down my spine, the principles of free enterprise are not voided when you reach an arbitrary level of success. They apply to all, all the time. : : : : And then the concept of "giving others a chance", well my friend the "others" have had "a chance" and still have "the chance". I personally use four different operating systems daily: Unix, Novell DOS, OS2, and Win95. I use products from dozens of companies(I'm in netscape right now), I use the product that fit my needs. Bill Gates has not stopped anyone(well me anyway) from programing or forced anyone to "use" his stuff. : : : : The very success of Ms is that they gave everyone a "chance" to write programs that would run in windows and they've made computers accessible to the non-professional user. Xerox, Mac, Texas Instruments ...etc. had that "chance" and blew it. : : : : : : : : I'm afraid we're back to the start of this thread, taking shots at an easy target, and worse our(my) "liberal" government attacking a successful company for being successful. : : : : P.S. Hurry up and get your citizenship, we've got an election coming up! : : : : : : Oh Gawd, Wizard, you really are a hard sell! : : : We could easily agree to disagree at this point, but what the hell...I'll jump in again. Remember the point of the anti-trust case was that Ms "allegedly" used strong arm tactics to force resellers into NOT allowing buyers the software of their choice. Now I don't pretend to know all the facts [or maybe even most of the facts] but if what they say is so - even a diehard like you must agree that just ain't nice. Put yourself in the position of the "struggling underdog" and see what I mean. : : : I myself use Ms products almost exclusively, I find they work, they're fun and well written! But darn it, I WOULD like some more choices! Could you imagine everyone driving Fords - for Pete's sake! [Shit, I hope you're not a Ford lover now, I'm not ready for a round of thinking up auto arguments when we haven't even finished this one!] : : : NOW on a related topic. No I don't envy BG his money but I also don't think its fair that one guy [whoever the hell he is] should have so much - of course I include by extension all the other financial Top Guns! : : : I mean he don't have to give ME any but why can't he pass a couple a' million to you! OK, I'm being flippant but that's basically the way I feel - there's a lot of real need out there. : : : P.S. Who knows, I might just see you in the year 2000 - if the millenium bug [or Microsoft] doesn't get me first! : : : : I am the small businessman you mention. My only chance to compete is to create and market a better product. Build a better mouse trap... As for myself I have tried that IBM mistake and got warped. I also have plugged away on a few Mac machines. I am not impressed with what the "competion" has to offer. I am proud that BG came along and like what he and MS are doing. I use MS because it works. And it has put a computer on every flat surface you see. This will allow me to market my wares to a larger crowd. WE ALL WIN!! Take MS away and what have you got? : : Pul-eeeease, Bob : I'ts great that you can do your stuff and make a living. But that's being creative... NOT! Now, if it happened that you had managed to rack your fertile brain and come up with a competing product! How would you feel then if Sir Bill got hold of you and muscled you out simply because he had more moola! If I know anything I'm sure you would NOT be pleased.