Re: Intuit's CEO calls for 'OS neutrality

[Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org>]

At 11:31 PM 12/30/98 -0500, Mitch Stone wrote:
 
>--- From a message sent by Eric M. Bennett on 12/30/98 5:50 PM ---
>
>>Well, this strikes me as a bit odd coming from a company that seems to
>>enjoy dropping products for the only non-Microsoft operating system it
>>'supports' (Mac OS).  Maybe they should consider helping the situation by
>>increasing their support for alternative operating systems.
>
>Exactly. How do you spell O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-S-M?

Actually, according to his testimony, he apparently thinks 
it's more a matter of S-U-R-V-I-V-A-L. Note that Intuit DID 
support other platforms (DOS and Mac, at least), but 
eventually felt (correctly or not) that it couldn't keep
doing this. Here's the CEO's rationale in his own words 
(Thank Heaven for Caere OmniPage, which read it perfectly
out of Acrobat.)

--Brett

------- Exerpt from testimony of William Harris -------

23. The operating system is the essential foundation upon which all other
software functionality is built. It controls the basic operations of a
computer, and it defines and regulates what can be done and how it can be
done. Intuit, and other software application developers, are dependent upon
the operating system for the basic facilities necessary for the operation
of our products and services. Without the operating system, none of our
applications can run.

A. Microsoft Windows is the Dominant Personal Computer Operating System

24. Windows, the proprietary operating system developed by Microsoft, now
operates an overwhelming majority of the personal computers operating
worldwide. I thus believe, and it is my experience, that consumer software
vendors such as Intuit have no practical choice but to focus software
product development primarily -- if not exclusively -- on software for use
with Windows.


25. This is so because the economics of software development make high
volume sales critical to profitability. The fixed costs of developing
software -- including, among other things, research, development,
programming and testing -- are very large and can only be offset by high
volume sales. By contrast, the variable costs of manufacturing software
once it has been developed are quite low. Thus, it is essential for
profitability of most PC-based software products that the product be
compatible with Windows. At Intuit, compatibility with Windows is so
critical that the company will focus on such compatibility even if this
requires slowing or abandoning development of software for use with other
operating systems.

26. For example, Intuit has discontinued DOS-compatible versions of its
major software products (Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax), has abandoned
development of Macintosh compatible versions of QuickBooks, and has
dramatically reduced development of Macintosh-compatible versions of
Quicken and TurboTax. In our most recent fiscal year, more than 95% of
Intuit's revenues came from users of the Windows operating system. Intuit
is therefore highly dependent upon Windows from a business, as well as a
technical, point of view.

27. The development of software that is compatible with the Windows
operating system itself reinforces the dominance of Windows, because
consumers seek to purchase the operating system that is compatible with the
greatest number of software applications. In turn, software producers want
their products to be compatible with the operating system that is most
widely used by consumers. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle (sometimes
referred to as a "network effect"), which tends to perpetuate and enhance
the dominance of the leading operating system.

28. Intuit's dependence on the Windows operating system creates additional
dependence on the supplier of the operating system, Microsoft. We depend on
Microsoft for the information, specifications, training, development
assistance and development tools necessary to develop our products in an
effective and timely manner.

------- End of Excerpt -------