Friday, July 21, 2006

Fast Forward: Will Microsoft's new principles be its undoing - Jul. 20, 2006

Fast Forward: Will Microsoft's new principles be its undoing - Jul. 20, 2006: "While in general I can't find fault with any of this and it is probably good for the world, I can't be so certain it will, in the long run, be good for Microsoft.
The whole thing reminds me of a portentous conversation I recently had with a longtime IBM veteran. He described to me just how damaging he believes the government's antitrust assault was on that one-time industry monopolist, back in the 1980s. He explained how IBM had been one of the most aggressive companies on the planet. Salespeople were essentially ordered never to lose a sale.
But once the government sunk its claws into IBM, its culture changed '180 degrees,' he said. Sometimes products were even priced a little bit higher just to ensure that competitors would have room to operate under IBM's umbrella, he recalled with bitterness."

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