Eric writes: "but eventually at some point they get it write and crush their competitor. They did it with their browser verses Netscape (which is dead), they did it with Office verses WordPerfect and Lotus (both of which are effectively dead)."
Microsoft crushed Netscape not by 'getting it right' but by threatening its OEMs that if they bundled Netscape, Mocosoft would charge them more to license Windows.
WordPerfect and Lotus too were crushed by bundling Office with Windows, not because Office was a better product.
The dilemma Mocosoft faces now with music is that songs can't be tied to Windows. In fact the corporate world, which Mocosoft monopolizes and colludes with in order to force us to use Windows at home, isn't interested in music. They're not going to let employees waste company time and money downloading Zune songs.
Also, the profits on songs are small because the music industry gets the lion's share of their profits. Hence, the Xbox model won't work for Mocosoft either.
So when it comes to music, TV, and movies, Mocosoft won't have any of the unfair advantages that they've had before. That's not to say they won't attempt new dirty trick. But everyone knows how Mocosoft does business by now and so no one will sit idle, least of all Apple. Finally, the users and business partners of PlaysForSure and Janus have also learned how shifty Mocosoft is. So it seems Mocosoft has many people that are hip to their tricks.
For those looking for a device strictly for reading, the new Kobo is a nice little option. It's small enough to slip into a pocket, can do more with a PDF than the competition, and at $129, it's $10 cheaper than both the Nook and Kindle WiFi.
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Eric writes: "but eventually at some point they get it write and crush their competitor. They did it with their browser verses Netscape (which is dead), they did it with Office verses WordPerfect and Lotus (both of which are effectively dead)."
Microsoft crushed Netscape not by 'getting it right' but by threatening its OEMs that if they bundled Netscape, Mocosoft would charge them more to license Windows.
WordPerfect and Lotus too were crushed by bundling Office with Windows, not because Office was a better product.
The dilemma Mocosoft faces now with music is that songs can't be tied to Windows. In fact the corporate world, which Mocosoft monopolizes and colludes with in order to force us to use Windows at home, isn't interested in music. They're not going to let employees waste company time and money downloading Zune songs.
Also, the profits on songs are small because the music industry gets the lion's share of their profits. Hence, the Xbox model won't work for Mocosoft either.
So when it comes to music, TV, and movies, Mocosoft won't have any of the unfair advantages that they've had before. That's not to say they won't attempt new dirty trick. But everyone knows how Mocosoft does business by now and so no one will sit idle, least of all Apple. Finally, the users and business partners of PlaysForSure and Janus have also learned how shifty Mocosoft is. So it seems Mocosoft has many people that are hip to their tricks.