M$ report to SEC

[kps]

Interesting stuff...but I don't think they have all that much to worry about...yet, but I always thought Office was overpriced anyway.

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-983373.html

...oh, yeah..and my heart bleeds for them.

[pendragon]

I feel Bill's pain. Snif-    

Harv

[kps]

Yeah, I used up a whole box of tissues...LOL!    

M$ needs to go on a diet, if the open source community (which we are a part of now) can reduce the 800Lbs gorrilla to...say 400Lbs, that'll be great.

[krissel]

Here's the subtle threat:

 

quote: Microsoft is warning that the success of the open-source movement could hurt its sales, potentially forcing the software giant to cut prices and sacrifice both revenue and profits.

"To the extent the open-source model gains increasing market acceptance, sales of the company's products may decline, the company may have to reduce the prices it charges for its products, and revenues and operating margins may consequently decline," Microsoft said in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

Why do I say  threat ?  
MS (Billy) knows that a large number of individual investors, companies and various  government agencies have a vested interest in MS's future.
The adage used to be "How General Motors goes, so goes the nation" but now you can substitute MS in that saying and realize its validity. Many of the stock portfolios that have personal and  pension funds involved have of course taken a hit with the stock downturn, and MS is a big part of many portfolios.

I see this "warning" as a veiled attempt to keep the legislature and court system aware of the potential impact the economy would sustain should they not maintain their monopoly. "Hey, if our stock goes down, you all are going to suffer...so beware."

It's a matter of getting in bed with the devil and feeling the heat rise when the covers come off.

[kps]

Ofcourse you're right kris and MS is famous for spreading FUD, but I salivate at the thought of every fund manager in the world making a run to dump their stock in the morning...I know this will never happen...but it's fun thinking about it.

[kelly]

Couldn't agree with krissel more.    

Did you know that Rockefeller originaly made his fortune with kerosene?

For lighting mostly.

And that just when the electric light was about to bankrupt him,

a little thing called the Internal Combustion Engine came along and saved his bacon?

Before that, gasoline was a waste product.  

The Prize