Bill Gates
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
That's true. What's our tracker for the internet? Netscape. Everybody pile in.
That's true. What's our tracker for the internet? Netscape. Everybody pile in.
Yep. And for good reason. I mean, there's a very difficult to learn lesson, but you learn it once, you never forget it. If your distribution decides to compete with you and decides to make that a priority, your business is over in a minute.
Yep. And for good reason. I mean, there's a very difficult to learn lesson, but you learn it once, you never forget it. If your distribution decides to compete with you and decides to make that a priority, your business is over in a minute.
dead which is the next chapter of this story is how on earth did they lose that monopoly that they had in the browser but before that there's this interesting moment of reflection here why did Netscape's business dry up because their business was made from selling server software and Well, the way to have the best server software is to also control the client.
dead which is the next chapter of this story is how on earth did they lose that monopoly that they had in the browser but before that there's this interesting moment of reflection here why did Netscape's business dry up because their business was made from selling server software and Well, the way to have the best server software is to also control the client.
People are very interested in making sure that their websites run perfectly using the experience that everyone has. And when you can no longer claim, hey, a whole bunch of internet users actually use our browser, do I really want to buy my server software from you or should I just...
People are very interested in making sure that their websites run perfectly using the experience that everyone has. And when you can no longer claim, hey, a whole bunch of internet users actually use our browser, do I really want to buy my server software from you or should I just...
be open to buying it from anyone that I can sort of, it's the lowest cost and the best value with the most features, all that. So they sort of lose the competitive edge in the revenue side of the company. On top of that, it's just really hard to recover for companies that have an 80% drawdown or whatever in their stock price. There was a lot of excitement around the company that then goes away.
be open to buying it from anyone that I can sort of, it's the lowest cost and the best value with the most features, all that. So they sort of lose the competitive edge in the revenue side of the company. On top of that, it's just really hard to recover for companies that have an 80% drawdown or whatever in their stock price. There was a lot of excitement around the company that then goes away.
Suddenly, all these employees are undercompensated. It's a company-killing event.
Suddenly, all these employees are undercompensated. It's a company-killing event.
Right. So to this point, Microsoft has not changed their business model. They simply vanquished a potential future that was dangerous for them. They're still doing the same thing as ever, selling Windows licenses through OEMs and to consumers at retail.
Right. So to this point, Microsoft has not changed their business model. They simply vanquished a potential future that was dangerous for them. They're still doing the same thing as ever, selling Windows licenses through OEMs and to consumers at retail.
Which, by the way, saved Apple. The company would have been completely out of business because it was so existentially important to anyone using an Apple computer to use Office that if Microsoft decides, oh, we're going to stop developing Office, people stop buying Macs. And the company's already in such a tenuous financial position, it's just over.
Which, by the way, saved Apple. The company would have been completely out of business because it was so existentially important to anyone using an Apple computer to use Office that if Microsoft decides, oh, we're going to stop developing Office, people stop buying Macs. And the company's already in such a tenuous financial position, it's just over.