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Jack

On 10/16/2011 7:57 PM, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:45:06 -0400, wrote:

On 10/16/2011 1:38 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Most monopolies are temporary.

Perhaps, depending on your definition of temporary. Microsoft has been
at it of a quarter century. Standard Oil, IBM, AT&T had to be broken up
by the courts.

Um, IBM was not broken up by the courts.

There was a consent decree in '56,
and they lost a suit to CDC, and a few others, in the '70s, but there was no
breakup by the government.

True, they were found in violation of the Sherman Antitrust act, in
court. My guess is that had them on pins and needles when they opened
the PC/DT market.

The reason monopolies like MS are bad is by definition,
competition is excluded via control of the market. When competition is
stifled by a monopoly, progress stops, quality stagnates and people are
forced to pay what the monopoly says they will pay. MS is a perfect
example of this, providing crap at a 30% mark up to over 90% of the
market.

...and just what 90% of the market wants.

And you know this how? Because the market is controlled by one company
doesn't mean 90% of the market wants it, it could (and does) mean that
90% has no choice but to "like" what they get. Same as you can buy any
color car you want, as long as it's black.

Just when do you think this "temporary" control will end?

If I knew, I'd be as rich as WGates. ;-)

Funny, but they have already controlled 90% of the DT market for about
25 years. In the computer age that changes minute by minute, that is a
hell of a long "temporary". Any company that had monopoly control of
90% of a market for this long is missing competition, particularly if
profit margins are significantly high. This is why we are stuck with
the worlds worst OS, like it or not.

A 40% margin isn't unusual for a high-tech business. It takes huge sums of
money to stay on the bleeding edge. That's just the way it is.

Well, IBM is a high tech business and it's profit margin is high,
usually below 10% or so. Intel averages around 17%. EXXON-Mobil has
under 10% and our socialist democrats want to slap a windfall profit tax
on them... MS is 30%, Apple 40% and everyone seems to get misty eyed
around those two.

I suspect the few people willing to swim up stream against the MS
monopoly are willing to pay exorbitant prices, so even Apple customers
are a casualty if the MS monopoly.

--
Jack
Add Life to your Days not Days to your Life.
http://jbstein.com