From: philipla@microsoft.com (Phil Lafornara)
Subject: Re: FCC will proclaim Microsoft is run by Communists! :)
Date: 31 Dec 92 05:17:50 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation

In article <8239@lib.tmc.edu> jmaynard@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu (Jay Maynard) writes:
>In article <1992Dec29.205556.10155@microsoft.com> philipla@microsoft.com (Phil Lafornara) writes:
>>    Incorrect, Jay.  Microsoft doesn't "force" manufacturers to
>>sell machines with Windows and DOS preloaded.  We offer an extremely
>>competitive contract that specifies that royalties are paid on
>>all machines shipped - we also offer another contract that pays
>>roaylties on a per OS copy shipped, at a higher price per copy.
>>    I realize that you were just trying to flame, but at least
>>get your facts straight.
>
>They are straight. The difference in cost, if it is anywhere near as
>substantial as others on this group have led me to believe, _is_ force.

    Jay, have you seen _any_ real numbers on this?  All I've
seen on this newsgroup, and I've been following the thread from
the beginning, is supposition and made up figures.


> If
>you're going to charge me more money for the privilege of not bundling DOS and
>Windows with every machine I sell, then you're forcing me to do so. This is
>predatory pricing at its worst.

    This is so patently false it's almost laughable.  Look at it this
way:  Say 50% of your customers don't want DOS/Windows.  You
sell 10,000 computers, 5,000 with DOS/Windows at $20 per copy, and
5,000 with another operating system, also at $20 copy.  You're
spending $200,000 on the system software.
    Now, suppose that only 10% of your customers don't want DOS/Windows.
You sell 9,000 machines with DOS/Windows at $10 per copy, and
1,000 with another operating system at $20 copy.  You pay royalties
on all of the machines for DOS/Windows.  You're now spending
$110,000 on the system software, and you can offer a lower price
to _all_ of your customers.


>>> they use undocumented OS calls in their apps,
>>    Please explain why this is unfair.
>
>Do you think it's fair for MS to break its own rules in order to gain an
>advantage over competitors who follow them?

     If any application is using undocumented calls, it runs the
risk of not working in future releases of the OS.  No one has shown
a shred of evidence that Microsoft apps are somehow immune to this
effect.


> This puts your competition in a
>difficult spot: either break the rules in the same way, and risk having your
>software break with the next release of Windows, or do you stick to published
>interfaces, and give away some performance?

    There also isn't any evidence that any Microsoft application uses
an undocumented call to gain any significant performance advantage.


>>> and they remove features from their development tools just to hinder a
>>>competing OS.
>>     Does Microsoft now have an obligation to support every competing
>>operating system in our compiler tools?
>
>No, but it does have an obligation to those who bought, for example, MSC 7 to
>do OS/2 development on as an upgrade to MSC 6, which had that capability...

     Why would an OS/2 developer upgrade to MSC 7?  The product
doesn't support OS/2 - such an upgrade would be silly.


>>> Sure sounds like they're playing fair to me.
>>     Jay, if the FTC issued a statement tomorrow that said "Microsoft
>>is absolutely playing fair - we've investigated them inside and out,
>>and found nothing wrong," would you believe it?  Or would you
>>continue with your foundationaless anti-MS propaganda?
>
>Show me any "foundationless anti-MS propaganda". Your examples above aren't.

     Show me foundation for them, then.


>If the FTC were to say that, and were to back it up, then I'd have to take
>another look. As it stands, though, it looks like the FTC is, instead, going
>straight to court - an action they very, very seldom take, and only if they
>find really egregious violations and a company completely unwilling to do
>anything about them.

     Based on rumor.  Foundationless.  The FTC hasn't done _anything_,
Jay.  They haven't gone right to court.  So where's your foundation
here?

				-Phil
-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Lafornara         				1 Microsoft Way         
philipla@microsoft.com				Redmond, WA 98052-6399 
Note:  Microsoft doesn't even _know_ that these are my opinions. So there.
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy