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Won what?

MS is the #1 company in the world, despite years of badgering by the Clinton Administration. They've escaped every trap thrown at them.

Keep posted. You'll see the misery eventually. MS is buried up to its ass in deceit, worthless option pay - off the books, etc. When his "win" is over in the eyars ahead it will look like anyone else's "major catastrophe".

If you are aware of stuff that's off the books, then provide some evidence; otherwise, state that it's your own opinion. Most people at Microsoft don't work there for the money. They work there because the work is challenging and intellectually rewarding, and also because Seattle is a great place to raise a family.

Basically, he was first on the scene with an "operating asytem" for the masses, and took full advantage of the fact that whoever controls the Master Boot Record controls the machine, and what it can and cannot do.

That's right. Being there first has some advantages. Anybody who thinks that another company (ie. Sun, Oracle, AOL, IBM) would have done differently is kidding himself. Your criticism could apply equally to any company in a leading product market position.

Look for major recriminations in the years ahead. You couldn't "give me" his "position" in the market. The company is going to become "toast". As for you, better rethink what you consider to be "success". Be careful what you ask for, you might get it!

Of course there will be trials, new competitors, and changes in focus for MS. That's the nature of the technology business. And MS could certainly end up as "toast", as you put it. But I doubt that that will happen. Regardless of where it has been and where it is now, it's sitting on top of $50B worth of cash which grows at nearly $8B per year. With resources like those, it could shutter all of its buildings for a couple years and continue to support its current obligations. But that's not going to happen: MS is going to use its cash to leverage itself into other markets through acquisition. Like GE, it may end up getting into businesses which have nothing to do with software. There's simply no credible scenario that has this company going under within the next 10 years. You're simply going to have to face facts.

some evidence

MS just about invented stock options in lieu of pay. But when you don't expense them, then your books do not reflect the true cost of doing business. That misleads investors into overpaying for the stock. MS is a "bubble" firm. It is going to the dust heap. No amount of cash to "burn" on weird "good ideas" is going to save you when you don't listen to what your customers want. (Privacy, security, and a trustworthy supplier.)

any company in a leading product market position.

There is an old mantra I sort of subscribe to: "A man's character is his fate". The so-called "operating system" was a "lie". It was never just permitting the hardware to function together. It was an application environment, and was used to preclude competition by diminishing or negating "functionality" of unwanted applications. The best of the 3rd party aps that showed up on the radar screen were just "taken" by writing a "functional spec" (a process the softies called "virginizing", and then programming the ap into the next release for "free". (Which wipes out the creator)

You're simply going to have to face facts.

For me the facts are simple. I do not trust anything MS does, says, or sells. There is still a whole bunch of stuff going on in the "background" over the net, and I stopped the "long fotrced march to upgrade" with W98. I am headed "out" of the MS wotrld, and I would guess a lot of others are as well. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!

Be well, my "Seattle" based freind.