Microsoft buying Skype

[tokie]

Microsoft isn't a monopoly.
Linux is freely available for anyone that wants it.

A monopoly isn't defined as a SINGLE product. It is a firm with excessive market power.

Microsoft got caught red handed back in the day for bundling products, along with its partner in crime Intel. They are still reaping the rewards of those anticompetitive acts to this day.

 

[lothar]

A monopoly isn't defined as a SINGLE product. It is a firm with excessive market power.

Microsoft got caught red handed back in the day for bundling products, along with its partner in crime Intel. They are still reaping the rewards of those anticompetitive acts to this day.

When they unbundled Windows XP and sold them side by side, consumers, OEMs, and businesses chose the bundled product.
Remember XP-N released in Europe? No one bought that nonsense.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legal/european/04-24-06windowsxpnsalesfs.mspx

 

[MotionMan]

A monopoly isn't defined as a SINGLE product. It is a firm with excessive market power.

Microsoft got caught red handed back in the day for bundling products, along with its partner in crime Intel. They are still reaping the rewards of those anticompetitive acts to this day.

1. HAVING a monopoly is not bad or illegal. ABUSING your monopoly power is bad and illegal.

2. MS has close to a monopoly with Office (enough that it could reasonably be treated as one in court). Despite inroads by OSX and Linux, it also has close to a monopoly with Windows (enough that it has been treated as a monopoly in the courts).

One CAN have a monopoly based on a single product (i.e. business software suites or operating systems) without having a monopoly in other portions of your business.

MotionMan

 

[sdifox]

I am guessing it's a prevent Google from getting Skpe move.

If Google got skpe they would have voip vendor #1 and #2.

 

[Doublejr]

 

[tokie]

1. HAVING a monopoly is not bad or illegal. ABUSING your monopoly power is bad and illegal.

2. MS has close to a monopoly with Office (enough that it could reasonably be treated as one in court). Despite inroads by OSX and Linux, it also has close to a monopoly with Windows (enough that it has been treated as a monopoly in the courts).

One CAN have a monopoly based on a single product (i.e. business software suites or operating systems) without having a monopoly in other portions of your business.

MotionMan

HAVING a monopoly is bad from an economics perspective. You are creating inefficiencies in the marketplace, which is why competition law seeks to stymy firms getting excessive market power.

As for your other points, I don't disagree. My point is that Microsoft has excessive market power with Windows/Office and that they use those monopoly profits from those products to "innovate". Where do you think this $8 billion came from to buy Skype? It came from overcharging people for a desktop OS. Microsoft is only able to support itself in risky ventures like Skype/Xbox/Zune because of Windows/Office. I'd like to see any other company try what Microsoft does with these stupid acquisitions or new product attempts.

 

[lothar]

HAVING a monopoly is bad from an economics perspective. You are creating inefficiencies in the marketplace, which is why competition law seeks to stymy firms getting excessive market power.

As for your other points, I don't disagree. My point is that Microsoft has excessive market power with Windows/Office and that they use those monopoly profits from those products to "innovate". Where do you think this $8 billion came from to buy Skype? It came from overcharging people for a desktop OS. Microsoft is only able to support itself in risky ventures like Skype/Xbox/Zune because of Windows/Office. I'd like to see any other company try what Microsoft does with these stupid acquisitions or new product attempts.

Those people who felt they were overcharged are free to migrate to Linux distros and fine tune it to their liking, or go to OSX where they will be even more overcharged for updates.

OpenOffice is freely available if you feel that you're being overcharged for Microsoft Office.

 

[silverpig]

If Apple lost tons of money in iPhone and iPads like Microsoft lost in their other non-Windows/Office/Server divisions, I would agree with the statement that Apple should have just stuck to iPods. We know however that that's not the case, so the analogy is not really relevant.

Yeah, but most of the new things they've done so far has quickened their "long-slow" death sentence since they're losing $2.5 billion yearly in their "online" division alone which is just one of their many non-Windows, Office, and Server divisions.

Okay then, go back to when Microsoft was just Windows. Should they have come out with Office? Server?

You're essentially telling the guy making horses-drawn buggies to just keep doing what he's doing and not look at anything new. Sure, he might try to build a flying car and fail miserably, but he might try to build a horseless carriage and make millions. One thing is for sure, if he keeps making horse-drawn buggies, he's going to be out of business.

Microsoft took a shot with console gaming and they've obviously succeeded with that.

There's another good reason.

 

[ViviTheMage]

anything MS buys seems to turn to junk