From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: ** X-Spam-Status: No, score=2.3 required=5.0 tests=AC_FROM_MANY_DOTS,BAYES_50 autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,345c9fcf5a67a99f X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-05-24 11:45:19 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-out.nuthinbutnews.com!propagator-sterling!news-in.nuthinbutnews.com!cyclone1.gnilink.net!spamfinder.gnilink.net!nwrddc01.gnilink.net.POSTED!53ab2750!not-for-mail From: "Frank J. Lhota" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada References: <3CED2E66.DD15C13D@despammed.com> Subject: OT: Microsoft takes on history X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4807.1700 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4807.1700 Message-ID: <2TvH8.1710$Np5.1619@nwrddc01.gnilink.net> Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 18:45:18 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 141.157.176.41 X-Complaints-To: abuse@verizon.net X-Trace: nwrddc01.gnilink.net 1022265918 141.157.176.41 (Fri, 24 May 2002 14:45:18 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 14:45:18 EDT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:24667 Date: 2002-05-24T18:45:18+00:00 List-Id: All of this reminds me of the economic bestseller "The New Industrial State", written by the renowned Harvard professor and former presidential advisor, John Kenneth Galbraith. In this highly influential book, Galbraith states that "The riskiness of modern corporate life is in fact the harmless conceit of the modern corporate executive ... no large United States corporation, which is also large in its industry, has failed or been seriously in danger of insolvency in many years. [General Motors] is large enough to control its markets " The idea that leading corporations are invincible seems quite in tune with a lot of current economic thought. In spite of this, the book is now a bit embarrassing; it is now quoted more by Galbraith's opponents than by his defenders. The problem with "The New Industrial State" is that it was written in 1967, and since then many of the book's examples of companies that were unbeatable has taken a beating. Contrary to the book's contention, we have seen major retailers go bankrupt: we may soon see K-Mart join the ranks of Montgomery Ward, Grants, Gimbels , and Child World. GM has lost control of its market. Galbraith does write about a retailer whose dominance cannot be challenged, but it was not Wal-Mart. And in the area of computers, this tome treats the very idea that some guys working out of a garage could threaten IBM's dominance with great derision. In short, the notion that Microsoft is impervious to challengers from smaller companies (are there any other kind) should be taken with a grain of salt. Microsoft once played the role of David against IBM's Goliath; now that Microsoft is in the role of Goliath, it would take just one company with the next great new idea to bring MS to its knees.