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Guys Like Us Avoid Monopolies …

by John Paczkowski
Posted on May 28, 2008 at 5:07 AM PT

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gates_arm.jpgI’ve received quite a few messages about Microsoft (MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates’s “monopolies” comment, which we’ve been running in the quote box on our D6 Highlights page. For the curious, here’s a quick recap of the exchange that led up to it.

[Microsoft CEO Steve] Ballmer: To accelerate scale it made sense for us to consider a Yahoo acquisition. The truth of the matter is, if nobody else gets scale except the current leader, what happens? … Some day all the ads for The Wall Street Journal Online might be sold by one guy and he’ll tell you exactly how much your editorial is worth.

Kara: Yeah, like a monopoly. Interesting.

Walt: That’s a great point. That’s exactly the sort of argument that was made against Microsoft.

Ballmer: Am I saying there’s something wrong? I’m just saying we are guys who will compete. That’s all I’m saying.

Gates: Guys like us avoid monopolies. We like to compete.

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  • blunt jackson
    Gates means he wants to avoid *other* monopolies. And by "compete" he means, as we all do, "win".
  • A monopoly on table lamps isn't the same as a monopoly on light bulbs.

    Both advertisers and search users can change their habits over night. That hardly compares with the monopoly that Microsoft enjoys.

    In fact it is easier for a user, especially at the corporate level, to change their hardware vendor from Dell to HP than it is to change the underlying operating system on which all the applications you run depend.

    If Google doubled their prices customers would easily bolt. Not so with the Windows and Office monopolies.

    Microsoft customers are locked in, not matter how prices change, no matter how quality erodes. To a large extent you have to give equal blame to decision makers at large companies (and particularly the Federal Government) who allowed themselves to be maneuvered into this situation.
  • Upton Sinclair should be around to write a book about these guys.

    The 21st Century Flivver Kings – Ballmer and Gates.
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