Microsoft is dying." 494
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In the US we once had a monopoly known as ATT. They owned all telephone lines, even the internal networks, if they connected to their outside lines.(1)
My brother worked for them for years. He mostly liked the job, until later, when he was one of the ones split off.
They were arrogant(2). They wasted a lot of money(2). The service was poor(2). Their products were shoddy(2). They had a mild bit of regulation, but they pretty much set their own course in business(3). They played shell games with "independent subsidiaries" that allowed them to spend most profits on equipment, avoiding taxes, while the "independent subsidiaries" they bought the equipment from were going broke.
One day a judge ruled they were an illegal monopoly, and prescribed they be broken into what has been called "regional Bells", which basically created a group of non-compebreastors with each other, or with the original mothership, ATT. At least for awhile, they would all handle local service and leave ATT to handle long distance. Their areas were defined, and they were all able to maintain mini-mopolies, with the promise that later everybody would be freed to move into any other market.
From that day forward ATT sank. Slowly at first, but they were still listing. The breakup gave them instant compebreastors. Not with the "baby Bells", but with other companies that were poised to take advantage of new opportunites.
They went from setting all of the rules, how and when they wanted, to having to compete for clientele.
They didn't *know* how to compete. They never had to. They tried. They started new companies and new services. They tried different calling plans, and improved service, and broadband, and wireless. But they didn't learn to compete fast enough to keep themselves going.
The first level of internet connectivity that was available was through the university level or...
They sold off the broadband. They altered plans that weren't generating any revenue. They spun off the companies they created to move them into new directions. They even sold off the wireless.
The other day, they were bought out by one of their spinoffs, right after the wireless deal was sold to a wireless compebreastor. It turns out the final clincher was when the babies were allowed to move into long sdistance. They could survive (barely) in a three-way long distance game. They were done when they had their compebreastors' numbers more than double overnight.
Sinister Midget's Brother "The telecommunications act of 1996 created an expansive new regime of universal...
I see some parallels, though it's not precisely the same map. Micro-Soft has a compebreastor they can't crush with legalese and stolen IP. They have no idea *how* to really compete.
They're cooked. They're sinking. Slowly for now, but the ship is definitely listing....
(1) There may have been the rare exception. But I'm not aware of any. And they would have definitely been rare.
(2) Sound vaguely familiar?
In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Daniel Tryba wrote on 12 Feb 2005 01:58:38 GMT Interop: the ability to transcend multiple versions of Microsoft Windows, or Microsoft tools running on Windows. Standard: Able to run on Microsoft Windows...
(3) Not that I agree with most regulation. Just mentioning it.
-- Microsoft: The company that made computing dangerous.