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Re: [TCLUG:4711] Rumors of MS Office port to linux (why kid around???)



Actually, I've owned the stock I have for close to a year.  To be honest,
while I'm not a fanatic about it, I really do see value in Microsoft's
tools and where they have brought the industry.  Without them, we would
all still be kow-towing to IBM and the equally nasty market techniques
they utilized to dominate the market.

Equating the decision of whether to own Microsoft stock to a moral
decision is a mere emotional attack on Microsoft as a company.  This type
of attack has no more value than the FUD that Microsoft is accused of
disseminating.  As consumers, if we're going to replace Microsoft with the
"next big thing" then we would do well to take pains that we're not
replacing them with yet another monopolist waiting to happen.

There's a lot more that could be said here, so I'm just going to cut this
short with a quick and pointy observation:  As a Microsoft stockholder, I
would not see any profit if Microsoft's products did not ultimately
benefit the consumer.  There are some cases where Microsoft's business
practices leave something to be desired, but the good has outweighed the
bad for some time now.  Hopefully, with the actions of the DOJ et al,
we'll see even more good outweighing the bad in the future, but that
remains to be seen.

Anyone expecting a simple conclusion need not knock at this door...


-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Kesler <chris@pconline.com>
To: tclug-list@listserv.real-time.com <tclug-list@listserv.real-time.com>
Date: Friday, March 12, 1999 3:22 PM
Subject: Re: [TCLUG:4711] Rumors of MS Office port to linux (why kid
around???)


On Fri, 12 Mar 1999, Vince Platt wrote:

> Ultimately, I don't know what to think about it.  Should they announce
> anything though, I'll be watching the battle with a big grin and a
sweaty
> fistful of each side's stock (providing VA Research and/or Red Hat
cooperate
> with that plan).  :+)

Don't buy that Microsoft stock; it's evil.  I understand the temptation.
The stuff keeps going up.  But resist.  While it might be good for
personal gains, it's bad for the industry.  Don't compromise your values
to make a buck.

Chris