From: discar@nosc.mil (Joe Discar)
Subject: Re: FCC will proclaim Microsoft is run by Communists! :)
Organization: Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 16:53:37 GMT

In article <9212213006@ritz.mordor.com> ritz@ritz.mordor.com (Christopher Mauritz) writes:
>Joe Discar (discar@nosc.mil) wrote:
>: 
>: You are right.  Your analogy is no different than MS's and the bundling
>: except that MOST PC buyers WANT "Uniroyal Tiger Paws" on their Porche.
>              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>: In which case, it is better (in terms of profit) for the vendor to
>: acquire "Tiger Paws" for the cheapest amount possible.
>
>And who is to decide what "MOST PC buyers WANT?"  The Ziff-Davis crowd
>who MSoft has put in their pocket through advertizing $$$???  No thanks.
>I think it should be up to the individual customer to CHOOSE what operating
>system they want rather than deal with the heavyhanded and monopolistic
>practices of Msoft.  I look forward to the FTC taking a bite out of Bill
>Gates.  

I absolutely agree with you: Microsoft's marketing strategy has, basically,
brainwashed the industry.  But keep in mind, the individual customer
DOES get to choose what operating system he wants.  He can (I just tested
this, BTW) go to a vendor and ask that OS/2 be pre-installed.  The only
thing is, he doesn't discount the system because I don't want DOS (which
is okay by me, because the least expensive "bare" system in town was still a few
dollars more than the vendor's "bundled" system)... and I end up with a
DOS+manuals that I can sell to someone else (if he didn't discount it, I
WANT it anyway).

You own an import/export company, no?  If one of your shippers gave you
CD players for free, and you likewise use it as a marketing tool for your
customers (i.e., any order over $500 gets a CD player).  What will your
reaction be if a client said "I don't want a CD-player, take the price
of the player--$100--off the cost of my order."  Would you do it?  The
situation with MS is a almost identical--except instead of getting a
CD player for free, you're getting a $79 DOS package for ten bucks.  The
agreement is as if your shipper said "we manufacture those CD-players,
we'll sell them to you for $8 each AND ship your products for 10% of the
normal rate AS LONG AS YOU GIVE A CD-PLAYER WITH TO EVERY CLIENT AND YOU
ONLY SHIP WITH US."  Would you do it?  I would--until my clients don't
want me to use that shipper (i.e., Apartheid or because it destroys the
ozone layer :) ) or it becomes more expensive to use that shipper than
anyone else.


>Just remember how expensive long distance service was before the 
>government forced a more competetive market on Ma Bell...or should I say
>before Bill McGowan (former chairman of MCI) tricked the federal government
>into forcing a more competetive market on Ma Bell... :-)

And rates still went higher--and service has gotten poorer (subjective
opinion).  Overall, one could say rates have gone lower, if you take into
account "If you dial between 8pm and 2am when the Moon is Blue on Tuesday..."

Sorry, I just had a run-in with a long distance company regarding my bill.

>
>Cheers,
>
>Chris
>
>--
>Christopher Mauritz                 | My views reflect those of my
>ritz@ritz.mordor.com                | company since I own the company.
>{backbone}!rutgers!spcvxb!ritz!ritz | Ritz International, Inc.
>OS/2 OS/2 OS/2 OS/2 OS/2 OS/2 OS/2  | Import/Export Consultants

Joe
My Opinions

Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy