Re: CFA: Microsoft overcharges consumers $10 billion in 3 years

[Steve Cohen <stevecoh@mcs.com>]

Mitch Stone wrote:

> --- From a message sent by Steve Cohen on 1/12/99 6:42 PM ---
>
> >One thing I guess you can credit Windows for - making mass computing possible
> >and forcing the demand for more powerful machines, and therefore the supply
> >of them.  Without it would the 486 be the majority machine of choice today?
> >What would a Pentium cost?
>
> I don't suppose Moore's Law would have been suspended if Microsoft hadn't
> been driving the need for more processing power to run its bloated
> applications and OSs. The quest for faster crunching is _the_ story of
> computer evolution -- Microsoft has only assured us that we'd get less
> raw benefit from the astonishing increases in power we've seen over the
> last few years. That's why I find Gates' remarks so ironic.
>
> Mitch Stone
> mstone@vc.net

Yes, it's VERY ironic.  We get less raw benefit (because of the bloated and
unreliable OS and apps), although possibly at a lower cost (because of the large
number of machines sold) than we might otherwise have.