Re: Intuit's CEO calls for 'OS neutrality

[Mitch Stone <mstone@vc.net>]

--- From a message sent by Brett Glass on 12/30/98 8:28 PM ---

>"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."

In order for me to accept this statement, I'd have to see evidence that 
versions of products for other platforms are unprofitable. In the case of 
Quicken, I sincerely doubt this could be demonstrated, especially given 
that that this product is virtually alone in its category. When Intuit 
announced they were dropping Quicken for the Mac, they also said they 
were shifting the dedicated Mac staff to Windows products, not laying 
them off. This suggests to me that a shortage of qualified personnel is 
the main issue, not profitability. Until the supply of programmers 
significantly increases, or the time required to program significantly 
decreases, we're going to see this flight towards the single-most 
lucrative market -- in this case, Windows.

Mitch Stone
mstone@vc.net