Bill Gates

Microsoft is not a company that is, at least at this point in time, comfortable with their bread being buttered from advertising. I mean, they're the PC company. They want to sell software to people using PCs. They're the software company.

Microsoft is not a company that is, at least at this point in time, comfortable with their bread being buttered from advertising. I mean, they're the PC company. They want to sell software to people using PCs. They're the software company.

Yep. So then, if you really believe this step-by-step-by-step thing, then actually what Google should keep doing is finding things that Microsoft sells and figure out which ones are the cheapest per user to run and then give those away for free. And so, Outlook, Exchange, geez, Gmail, hmm, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, oh, G Suite, Workspace.

Yep. So then, if you really believe this step-by-step-by-step thing, then actually what Google should keep doing is finding things that Microsoft sells and figure out which ones are the cheapest per user to run and then give those away for free. And so, Outlook, Exchange, geez, Gmail, hmm, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, oh, G Suite, Workspace.

And all they're doing is they're just looking at Microsoft's core value propositions they charge money for. And Google says, would it really be that expensive if we just gave that away for free? And the more of those that they do, A, it's good for Google's business model because they just get more data, a closer relationship with you.

And all they're doing is they're just looking at Microsoft's core value propositions they charge money for. And Google says, would it really be that expensive if we just gave that away for free? And the more of those that they do, A, it's good for Google's business model because they just get more data, a closer relationship with you.

You're doing either more queries or you're interacting on their platforms in ways where they have other ways to show you ads. Maybe while you're off platform, now they know a lot about you from data they've collected, blah, blah, blah.

You're doing either more queries or you're interacting on their platforms in ways where they have other ways to show you ads. Maybe while you're off platform, now they know a lot about you from data they've collected, blah, blah, blah.

But even if it doesn't actually make more money for Google, they make so much money in their core business that if it hampers Microsoft, then it's a good thing to do.

But even if it doesn't actually make more money for Google, they make so much money in their core business that if it hampers Microsoft, then it's a good thing to do.

Yes. And Google has really not figured out how to be an enterprise company.

Yes. And Google has really not figured out how to be an enterprise company.

Globally, you think? Yeah. I guess because most consumers don't actually use spreadsheets. Yeah, yeah.

Globally, you think? Yeah. I guess because most consumers don't actually use spreadsheets. Yeah, yeah.

Yep.

Yep.

Yeah, Nokia is our coda. What it does bring us to is a realization from the very top of Microsoft that the profit pools in mobile are changing. And this is a thing that I think Steve Ballmer also doesn't get credit for. Bill Gates was obsessed, correctly, with being the software company.

Yeah, Nokia is our coda. What it does bring us to is a realization from the very top of Microsoft that the profit pools in mobile are changing. And this is a thing that I think Steve Ballmer also doesn't get credit for. Bill Gates was obsessed, correctly, with being the software company.

It was a brilliant business strategy to be the software platform, and then everything around you had to interoperate with you. And again, the profit pools in the PC world just accrued to software vendors. It was remarkable how the PC manufacturers over time had no profits and Microsoft had tremendous profits.

It was a brilliant business strategy to be the software platform, and then everything around you had to interoperate with you. And again, the profit pools in the PC world just accrued to software vendors. It was remarkable how the PC manufacturers over time had no profits and Microsoft had tremendous profits.