It is interesting to read about Microsoft, a company most people feel very comfortable with and expect their computers to easily work for them. The has been many many changes along the way and in many ways we all think we know about Microsoft because Apple and Microsoft have been leaders in the computer software industry for years. One of many books about Microsoft is The Making of Microsoft by Daniel Ichbiah and Susan Knepper published by Prima Publishing, Rocklin, California, 1991. One of the great myths about Microsoft is it landed the contract with IBM and it became the big cheese which IBM went down. The myth is not exactly true, what is true is landing the contract with IBM allowed many aspects of software development to be standard, it did not make Microsoft the big cheese. It was not until Microsoft moved on to launch Word, Excel and Windows which brought computers from corporations into households and small business which made Microsoft billions of dollars. In each of those occasions there were tough battles against Word vs Wordstar; Excel vs Lotus 1-2-3; and Windows which was built on MSDOS. Each of those developments were essentially betting the store and fortunately Microsoft won out.

Microsoft is in the software business and those in the hardware business saw margins fall rapidly as companies duplicated their efforts around the world. The name on the box is not the important aspect in the computer world, it is what is inside. Unlike the automobile business, it is the name on the vehicle not who makes what is inside. However, when that happens if the software inside is not deemed to be the best or very similar to the best, there are methods to change to companies which offer better software. This produces a high expectation on new Microsoft software and updates or there will be challenges in the marketplace.

Linking to dividend paying companies, it took a long time for Microsoft to become the gorilla in the software industry and for the average user, it has worked out well, however there are always many competitors in the marketplace. Being able to use technology changes lives and allows for more creative outlets for the people of the world which is a great thing. There is a constant demand for the next great thing, although one wonders what else needs to be in place for the next great thing. In the early days it was the quality of the chips from Intel; the more we expect the more all the pieces have to align.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.