[ale] [Fwd: It's just too easy for Microsoft to borrow a nifty idea ...]

Tue May 12 07:34:45 EDT 1998

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------DB3D6B0F811749A08B87CA19
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Interesting article on Microsoft from an investor's viewpoint.  Mentions
Linux, paragraph 6.

> 
> Quoted from...
> 
> >From ZD's Inter at ctive Week -- May 11, 1998
> 
> Microsoft Casts Big Shadow Over Vcs
> 
> By Kimberly Weisul
> 
> Even if the Department of Justice or market forces
> are successful in eroding Microsoft Corp.'s
> dominant position in the personal computer
> software business, venture capitalists say it will be a
> long time before they begin investing in companies
> trying to develop products that compete with it
> head-to-head.
> 
> Over time, though, venture capitalists say that
> serious competition to Microsoft could result in a
> bevy of new investment opportunities.
> 
> If Microsoft weren't quite so dominant, says Yogen
> Delal, a general partner at the Mayfield Fund in
> Menlo Park, Calif., he'd be more willing to look at
> companies with technology that was a year or two
> ahead of Microsoft's. Right now, he says, it's just
> not worth the risk.
> 
> A small company could announce an innovation,
> such as a system for distributing filing of documents
> across multiple servers in a network, and find little
> enthusiasm among potential financial backers.
> "Microsoft has such control over the marketplace
> that they will say: 'We're going to do that, too,' "
> Delal says.
> 
> Instead, Delal looks for companies that have a lead
> of at least four or five years. In the case of Nuance
> Communications, a voice-recognition software
> company in Menlo Park, he believes the company's
> technology is about four years ahead of
> Microsoft's, and "the customer will buy the product
> because they can't afford to wait."
> 
> A rival operating system could also breed its own
> coterie of developers. Take, for instance, the
> grassroots popularity of Linux, the Unix-like
> operating system that runs on Intel Corp. hardware.
> If Linux started appearing on, say, 20 percent of
> new desktop computer installations, "we'd be
> looking at the market opportunity for Linux" and
> companies that write enhancements or applications
> for it, says Jonathan Guerster, an associate at
> Boston-based Charles River Ventures.
> 
> Paul Dali, a managing partner at Convergence
> Partners, is looking at Microsoft rivals, but he's
> focused his attention on portable devices. One of
> his portfolio companies, Magnifi Inc., makes
> knowledge management software that allows
> indexing and retrieval of all types of files, including
> text, images, sound, video and animation.
> 
> In looking for a venture relatively safe from a
> Microsoft challenge, Dali also believes that "the
> more portable the device, the better off we are." So
> another of his portfolio companies, PremierRF Inc.,
> is working to make mobile phones more versatile.
> 
> But Ruthann Quindlen, a partner at Institutional
> Venture Partners, points out that Microsoft has a
> track record of moving away from its PC-driven
> model of computing if other models begin to gain
> acceptance. Netscape Communications Corp. had
> a new vision of computing but has been suffering as
> Microsoft promotes its own Internet Explorer.
> Microsoft bought WebTV Networks Inc. outright,
> and rival NetChannel Inc. is on deathwatch.
> 
> Venture investors also say they're reluctant to invest
> in companies that provide Internet programming
> due to Microsoft's interest in MSNBC. It's just too
> easy for Microsoft to borrow a nifty idea for new
> Internet programming and slap it on MSNBC,
> Delal says.
> 
> Dali says he sees little hope for funding for
> companies that provide Internet conferencing, since
> Microsoft could make NetMeeting free.
> 
> Quindlen says that with a Microsoft alternative,
> she'd expect to see more electronic commerce
> companies springing up, and she expects they'd
> receive healthy venture funding.

-- 
Until later: Geoffrey		esoteric at atlnet.com

NT is secure.... as long as you don't remove the shrink wrap.
Want to speed up your NT box real cheap?  Replace NT with Linux...
--------------DB3D6B0F811749A08B87CA19
Content-Type: message/rfc822
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline

Received: from prince.essential.org (prince.essential.org [198.4.52.50])
	by mail.gwinnett.com (8.8.7/8.8.5) with ESMTP id HAA23207
	for <esoteric at atlnet.com>; Tue, 12 May 1998 07:11:57 -0400
Received: from prince (localhost [127.0.0.1])
	by prince.essential.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) with SMTP id HAA24248;
	Tue, 12 May 1998 07:10:00 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 07:10:00 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <35582E05.181AE373 at generation.net>
Errors-To: am-info-owner at essential.org
Reply-To: ggaines at generation.net
Originator: am-info at essential.org
Sender: am-info at essential.org
Precedence: bulk
 From: Gene Gaines <ggaines at generation.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list AM-INFO <am-info at essential.org>
Subject: It's just too easy for Microsoft to borrow a nifty idea ...
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
X-Comment: To unsubscribe from this list, send the message "unsubscribe am-info" to "listproc at essential.org".  Leave the "Subject:" line blank.
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.05 [en] (Win95; U)

Quoted from...

>From ZD's Inter at ctive Week -- May 11, 1998

Microsoft Casts Big Shadow Over Vcs

By Kimberly Weisul 

Even if the Department of Justice or market forces
are successful in eroding Microsoft Corp.'s
dominant position in the personal computer
software business, venture capitalists say it will be a
long time before they begin investing in companies
trying to develop products that compete with it
head-to-head. 

Over time, though, venture capitalists say that
serious competition to Microsoft could result in a
bevy of new investment opportunities. 

If Microsoft weren't quite so dominant, says Yogen
Delal, a general partner at the Mayfield Fund in
Menlo Park, Calif., he'd be more willing to look at
companies with technology that was a year or two
ahead of Microsoft's. Right now, he says, it's just
not worth the risk. 

A small company could announce an innovation,
such as a system for distributing filing of documents
across multiple servers in a network, and find little
enthusiasm among potential financial backers.
"Microsoft has such control over the marketplace
that they will say: 'We're going to do that, too,' "
Delal says. 

Instead, Delal looks for companies that have a lead
of at least four or five years. In the case of Nuance
Communications, a voice-recognition software
company in Menlo Park, he believes the company's
technology is about four years ahead of
Microsoft's, and "the customer will buy the product
because they can't afford to wait." 

A rival operating system could also breed its own
coterie of developers. Take, for instance, the
grassroots popularity of Linux, the Unix-like
operating system that runs on Intel Corp. hardware.
If Linux started appearing on, say, 20 percent of
new desktop computer installations, "we'd be
looking at the market opportunity for Linux" and
companies that write enhancements or applications
for it, says Jonathan Guerster, an associate at
Boston-based Charles River Ventures. 

Paul Dali, a managing partner at Convergence
Partners, is looking at Microsoft rivals, but he's
focused his attention on portable devices. One of
his portfolio companies, Magnifi Inc., makes
knowledge management software that allows
indexing and retrieval of all types of files, including
text, images, sound, video and animation. 

In looking for a venture relatively safe from a
Microsoft challenge, Dali also believes that "the
more portable the device, the better off we are." So
another of his portfolio companies, PremierRF Inc.,
is working to make mobile phones more versatile. 

But Ruthann Quindlen, a partner at Institutional
Venture Partners, points out that Microsoft has a
track record of moving away from its PC-driven
model of computing if other models begin to gain
acceptance. Netscape Communications Corp. had
a new vision of computing but has been suffering as
Microsoft promotes its own Internet Explorer.
Microsoft bought WebTV Networks Inc. outright,
and rival NetChannel Inc. is on deathwatch. 

Venture investors also say they're reluctant to invest
in companies that provide Internet programming
due to Microsoft's interest in MSNBC. It's just too
easy for Microsoft to borrow a nifty idea for new
Internet programming and slap it on MSNBC,
Delal says. 

Dali says he sees little hope for funding for
companies that provide Internet conferencing, since
Microsoft could make NetMeeting free. 

Quindlen says that with a Microsoft alternative,
she'd expect to see more electronic commerce
companies springing up, and she expects they'd
receive healthy venture funding.

--------------DB3D6B0F811749A08B87CA19--