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Microsoft Wanted To Drop Mac Office To Hurt Apple
Overly Critical Guy writes to mention that more documents in the Iowa antitrust case have come out. This time, it's revealed that Microsoft considered dumping the Mac Office Suite entirely in a move to harm Apple. "The email complains at poor sales of Office, which it attributes to a lack of focus on making such sales among reps at that time. It describes dumping development of the product as: 'The strongest bargaining point we have, as doing so will do a great deal of harm to Apple immediately.' The document also confirms that Microsoft at the time saw Office for the Mac as a chance to test new features in the product before they appeared in Windows, 'because it is so much less critical to our business than Windows.'"
I hate MS, I own a MAC, I helped found a linux distribution. Mac software cannot be nearly as profitable as PC software for simple economic reasons. Assume the dev costs are the same for Office for Mac and Office for Windows (in fact they are probably much higher for mac -- but assume with me). Development is a fixed cost. Curiously enough, software has almost zero marginal cost (it doesn't cost very much to make x+1 units, if you're already making x units). Point being, at what 6 or 7% of the marketshare -- Mac software incurs the SAME expenses as word but has an order of magnitude less avenues for sales. It *HAS* to be less profitable.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
they are convicted monopolists
Jesus... so this is the level of the discussion we're having here.
They may have done lots of illegal things but the mere situation of monopoly by naturally developed market share isn't one.