> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
> [mailto:owner-filmscanners@halftone.co.uk]On Behalf Of Lynn Allen
> Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2001 12:50 PM
> To: filmscanners@halftone.co.uk
> Subject: filmscanners: OT (was: Anyone using Win2K? )
>
>
> Frank wrote:
>
> >By creating a common base for all their operating system offerings,
> [Microsoft] will eliminate the need for Win9x/ME, and
> they are trying to get rid of it. But that won't mean consumers
> will pay any
> more for the replacement than they do now for ME. They will simply have a
> $98 operating system that is robust right down to the core.
> ......................................................
>
> And I've got some swampland I can get you a *good deal* on.
Funny, but you don't understand what's going on.
> Frank, I can tell that you're a serious computer guy and a serious
> practicioner of the art(?) of scanning, but you've got a lot more faith in
> the benign benificence (or good-will, if you please) of
> monopolies than some
> of us do.
I'm saying nothing of the kind. Microsoft is one of the most ruthless
profiteers in history. They will do what I say to maximize their profits.
> Nothing against a $98 OS, but when it's the only OS you can buy or get
> software to run with (which is almost the case now), what happens
> next?
If they raise the price, people simply won't upgrade and Microsoft will lose
money. They know the right price points, so the price will stay there
regardless of lack of competition.
> This
> is why many users & developers would prefer open source-codes and
> standards
> that really *are* standards.
Corporations don't trust that because of a perceived lack of predictable
support.
> Somebody's got to keep the giants honest--Microsoft, Adobe, AOL, the whole
> lot of them--and the best candidates for that are the small developers,
> Art's "Genius Companies."
They are gnats on the horizon. If they show the slightest sign of being a
threat, they are bought out and either thrown into a black hole or
encorporated into the existing product lines.
Frank Paris
marshalt@spiritone.com
