Re: Re #3: Scale Economies at Microsoft?

["Norm" <normanmo@clark.net>]

  On Mon, 17 Nov 1997 16:42:47 -0500 (EST), Dave Sieber wrote:
  
  >> It does, and it explains why customer support is increasingly offered in
  >> the form of FAQs and searchable websites where the zero MCOP phenonmenon
  >> holds.
  >
  >Don't forget the "Peer Support" discussion forums on UseNet, CompuServe,
  >etc. Many software companies offer these, and usually there are
  >volunteer (non-employee) expert users that answer questions, unpaid but
  >compensated with free or pre-release software or discount rates or some
  >such. Netscape calls them "Champions", MS calls them "MVPs", Borland
  >calls them "TeamB".
  
  
       Another thing not mentioned so far is that as far as the OS itself
  is concerned M$ considers itself not responsible for supporting it when
  it was bundled with a new machine.  With almost all the 'preloads' M$
  forces the OEM company to support their OS (if you bought a Compaq with
  wintendo95 and you call M$ about a problem they'll tell you to call
  Compaq), so when you consider the high percentage of wintendo95 and NT
  installs that were actually bought that way you can see how the cost of
  support isn't always directly related to the installed base.
  
   ...Cheers,
  
   ...Norm
  
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