From: blee@digi.lonestar.org (Benjamin W. Lee)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Thinking of investing in Novel (MS, how are you)
Date: 19 Nov 92 19:06:13 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: DSC Communications, Plano Tx.

In article pvonk@scott.skidmore.edu (Pierre VonKaenel) writes:
>In article <BxxDr0.Gw@SSD.intel.com> tim@ssd.intel.com (Tim Gates) writes:
>>I'm curious to see how well Novel holds on to thier 60% market share when 
>>Microsoft unleashes NT.  From what I understand about NT, it has the
>>networking software builtin (for the single user setup anyway, don't know 
>>about the server side), which would make Novel's software unnecessary.
>>
>>Any thoughts from about this from an investment approach?
>
>NT will require a BIG platform (lots of ram, disk space, fast
>processor).  Do you think that the gobs of machines in businessland
>tied to Novell servers are adequate for NT?  I think not.  MS is doing
>a marvelous marketing push, I'll be curious to see how NT does when
>reality sets in.  
>
>-- 
>Pierre von Kaenel	| Skidmore College	     | pvonk@skidmore.edu

I haven't use MS's product for a while, in depth I mean. I never liked MS.
When IBM began to fall, I was amazed that MS can still hold on to itself.
I was always thinking how lucky Bill Gates was and how stupid the CP/M
inventer (what was his name?) was. Still, with luck, marketing, sales and
advertisement, I had been refusing to accept the fact MS created such a huge
monster that sells 90 buck a share after so many split! Most of my technically
oriented colleagues(TOCs) snorted at their products. When I WAS
using them, they were difficult to use, all properitary stuff, brain-damanaged
data structure, memory hog, incompetent error messages, and list is on and on.
Don't know has that changed recently. Don't care that much since I learnt how
to use UNIX (No punt intended).

Some of my TOCs are predicting there is going to be a spectacular fall of MS.
I don't want to argue with them, because I am agreeing with them (does that
mean I am technical oriented?). Now MS annouced their joint effeort with DEC
to port NT to Alpha! What a nice concept from MS?

Look at what happened to IBM. They got big. They lost when technology
revolutionlizes and they didn't keep up. Why IBM didn't keep up? Because
they lose the big margin no matter which side they stand. Look at how big
MS is today! Do you think they have quality products that requires so many
engineers to work on them? Have you heard of the software myth? Do you think
they will get to keep their margin? What MS is interested is simply lock
everyone in, just like IBM. It's a sad thing to see that political manuvering
is more important than technical invention.

How much longer do you think the market have a ALPHA look alike for sale?
Yesterday, when hardware was so special, everyone paid the premium for it.
Today, it's more like commodity, we'll just have to bid for the lowest price.
I believe the time for software is closer than it was for hardware! People
simply have more information flow than it used to be. Look at GNU. It wouldn't
be possible to exist a few decades ago! If only those commercial end users know
they are paying for more payment in the future, we could be much better off!

For me, I got this technical complex based fundamental analysis built in.
I am not going to bet my ranch on MS for anything! However, I got the feeling
that I am not a good investor in this respect. TOO BAD.....
Newsgroups: misc.invest