Re: "MS is the American Way!" <LOL> Steve, tell us another one!

[Christopher Blizzard <blizzard@AppliedTheory.com>]

  In message <348B58DB.6FB20F58@wmich.edu>, Christopher Pall is rumored to have s
  aid:
  :Read my analysis all the way through. I promise to talk about
  :"pink-polka-dotted sailboats" at some point.
  :
  :http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,17081,00.html?latest
  :
  :Here's my dissection of Steve Balmer's Remarks:
  :
  :                "I think what we're doing is right, lawful, moral,
  :                proper, and competitive. I might even say it's the
  :                American way. We're innovating, adding value,
  :                driving down prices, competing, serving our
  :                customers, and we're doing it well. A lot of other
  :                companies in the United States are benefiting
  :                because they're building on top of our platform and
  :                thriving," he vaunted. "I might start playing the
  :                "Star-Spangled Banner" if I went too long."
  :
  
  I love the way that MS puts the spin on things.  There is half truth to
  just about everything that Steve says here.
  
  Are they innovating?  Not really.  Most of the larger components in IE -
  Java, Jscript, even MS' COM technology isn't new.  There's very little
  there.  About the only thing that "innovative" is the chanel format. 
  That's just trying to turn the web into TV, something MS has been trying
  to do for a long time now. 
  
  They aren't really adding value as near as I can tell.  For personal use I
  can still download Netscape for nothing.  I would suggest that they are
  actually taking away value from their products.  As a consumer if I buy a
  copy of Windows 95 I am paying for IE whether or not I want to.  How does
  this benefit me?  It doesn't.  I can't call up a reseller and say "I want
  windows 95 but I don't want to pay for IE.  I have something that I'm
  happy with, thank you."  About the only thing that they can do is say that
  they can remove IE ( they can't with MS' licensing but that's a different
  issue ) but they can't do anything about the price.  As a consumer how
  does this benefit me?
  
  This also applies to their server products.  If I didn't want to use their
  web server I can't seperate it from the operating system.  I can't _not_
  pay for it.  Tying their products to the sales of the operating system is
  terrible.
  
  They certainly aren't driving down prices.  Through volume they are
  driving down hardware prices but their prices aren't going down.  They are
  only going up.
  
  Dos: $5 per copy
  Windows: $30 per copy (I'm not sure about this but it was in this range.)
  Windows95: $200 per copy ( new )
  WindowsNT "Workstation": $300 per copy
  WindowsNT "Server": $700 per copy
  
  They aren't competing either.  If they wanted to compete fairly they could
  unbundle their web server and then I could buy it if I thought it was the
  best, not because I'm forced to.  I can't run a web server legally with
  their software without getting their bundled server.  I would really like
  the Justice Department to stand up to this.  It's just plain unfair to any
  other company from any way that you look at it.
  
  --Chris
  
  ------------
  Christopher Blizzard
  AppliedTheory Communications, Inc. 
  http://odin.appliedtheory.com/
  blizzard@appliedtheory.com
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