Strange Bedfellows in the Personal Computer Industry: Technology Alliances between IBM and Apple

Until recently technological development in the personal computer industry could be characterized by the competition between two basic designs. The current dominant design in this industry is associated with the IBM and Microsoft personal computing architecture. The other version of personal computing originated in the Macintosh computer from Apple Computer Company. In recent years we also see an increasing number of alliances between IBM and Apple. Joint technological development appears to be a major and somewhat surprising objective of these alliances. This paper analyzes the technology alliances between these companies in the context of recent technological changes, focusing on the timing and the objectives of these alliances. Technology partnering between these proponents of competing basic designs are found to only materialize several years after the DOS-based design of IBM and Microsoft had become dominant. This study is of a qualitative and exploratory nature, using both a small data set and two case studies.management and organization theory ;

An Economist's Guide to U.S. v. Microsoft

We analyze the central economic issues raised by U.S. v Microsoft. Network effects and economies of scale in applications programs created a barrier to entry for new operating system competitors, which the combination of Netscape Navigator and the Java programming language potentially could have lowered. Microsoft took actions to eliminate this threat to its operating system monopoly, and some of Microsoft's conduct very likely harmed consumers. While we recognize the risks of the government's proposed structural remedy of splitting Microsoft in two, we are pessimistic that a limited conduct remedy would be effective in this case.

The demands of users and the publishing world: printed or online, free or paid for?

International audienc

Intellectual property : strategy and policy

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-73).The thesis that follows is an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of intellectual property from a policy as well as a strategic perspective. While the discussion that follows is applicable to intellectual property in general, the focus of this thesis is on a particular aspect of intellectual property i.e patents. Policy and strategic perspectives are covered in section I and 11 respectively. The section on policy explores the origin and evolution of intellectual property related policies by discussing key legislation and court cases. The two questions that were most relevant when exploring the policy side of the patent system were: -- Is the intellectual property system hindering or encouraging innovation? -- What changes, if any, are required to make the system more effective? The section on strategy looks at IP strategies (or lack thereof) of three leading companies, Apple, Google and Microsoft. These three companies were selected because of their apparently differing strategies and this cursory judgement was confirmed when the strategies of the companies were put under a microscope. The question that were central while exploring the strategic aspects of intellectual property were: -- How are these three companies coping with the patent system as it exists today? -- What changes can make the strategies employed more effective? The summary section at the end tries to reconcile these two different ways of looking at the intellectual property system into a coherent whole.by Rishi Ahuja.S.M.in Engineering and Managemen

What is the significance of online technology as a training tool

This paper examines the current directions and future trends of using online sources and activities as a tool for learning. It concentrates on the developmental progress of the most powerful force shaping the evolution of this technology: the Internet. As we enter the 21st Century, online training is becoming the dominant educational technology. The Internet has succeeded in removing the time and space barriers to online multimedia instruction

Devising a \u3ci\u3eMicrosoft\u3c/i\u3e Remedy That Serves Consumers

According to Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, Microsoft was a “predacious” monopolizer that did extensive “violence . . . to the competitive process.” Through a “single, well-coordinated course” of anticompetitive action, it suppressed competition from Netscape\u27s Navigator, an Internet browser, and from Sun\u27s Java programming language and related technologies. Microsoft “mounted a deliberate assault upon entrepreneurial efforts, . . . placed an oppressive thumb on the scale of competitive fortune, . . . and trammeled the competitive process.” Having colorfully concluded that Microsoft\u27s offenses were extreme, Judge Jackson deferred to the government\u27s demand for a drastic remedy. He ordered that Microsoft be broken into two firms: one confined to the operating systems business, and the other to the applications business. He also imposed a set of conduct restrictions, some applying to both firms, which remain in effect for the ten-year duration of the judgment, and some applying primarily to the operating systems business, which remain in effect until the two businesses establish their independent viability. The Supreme Court refused expedited review of the district court\u27s decision and remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where it is now pending. This Article attempts to identify an appropriate legal response to the offenses Microsoft was found to have committed. The ultimate criterion of the appropriateness of a remedy is straightforward: a remedy should serve consumers. Such a remedy will result in markets that closely resemble those that would have emerged but for Microsoft\u27s unlawful behavior. The optimal remedy will minimize the sum of the expected costs of future misconduct, anticompetitive effects of past misconduct, lost efficiencies in product composition, firm structure, and multi-firm collaboration, impaired incentives to innovate, and administration, including enforcement of the remedy and the antitrust laws. Judged by this standard, the court\u27s decree falls short. Part I begins by setting forth in some detail the conduct the court held illegal. Although we disagree with many of the court\u27s factual and legal characterizations of Microsoft\u27s conduct, we generally accept them for purposes of analyzing the remedy. Part I then sets out briefly the terms of the court\u27s remedial order. Part II, after a description of the conditions that might justify structural relief, presents the argument that structural relief is inappropriate in Microsoft. This Part concludes that any severe restructuring of Microsoft, including the separation of its applications and operating systems activities ordered by the court, will almost certainly raise prices to consumers and will likely fail to produce long-term competitive benefits. Part III sketches the content of a conduct remedy tailored to promote consumer interests and identifies a number of ways in which the decree\u27s conduct provisions subvert that objective

Why Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD is not VHS vs. Betamax: The co-evolution of standard-setting consortia

Extensive research has been conducted on the economics of standards in the last three decades. To date, standard-setting studies emphasize a superior role of demand-side-driven technology diffusion; these contributions assume the evolution of a user-driven momentum and network externalities. We find that consumers wait for a dominant standard if they are unable to evaluate technological supremacy. Thus, supply-side driven activities necessarily need to address a lacking demand-side technology adoption. Our paper focuses on Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD as an illustrative case of consortia standard wars. One central role of consortia is to coordinate strategic behavior between heterogeneous agents, e.g. incumbents, complementors (content providers) and others, but also to form a coalition against other standard candidates. More precisely, we argue for signalizing activities through consortia events. We depict the essential role of consortia structures for the recently determined standard war between the High-Definition disc specifications Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Therefore, the paper suggests that unique supply-side dynamics from consortia structures, consortia announcements and exclusive backing decisions of firms determined the standard-setting process in the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD standard war. This study is based on the following data: movie releases and sales numbers, membership affiliation for structural consortia analysis, and an in-depth event study. A detailed comparison of the technological specifications of both standard specifications supports our argument that there was no technological supremacy of one standard candidate from a consumer-oriented usecase perspective. We furthermore clarify that content providers (complementors) such as movie studios and movie rental services feature a gate-keeping position in the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD standard war. In the case of Blu-ray, film studios decided the standard war because the availability of movie releases, but not technological supremacy, made the standard attractive to consumers. Finally, we find that there is a co-evolution of the consortia in terms of membership dynamics. Particularly, firm allegiance of heterogeneous agents plays a crucial role. --Blu-ray,HD-DVD,standard wars,co-evolution,consortia,event study

The Future of Automated Systems in the Academic Library

Automated systems in the academic library are continually evolving. An overview of the history of the automated system is presented with emphasis on client/server models. The shift from character-based to windows/web-based modules in the automated system is explained. Speculation on the how the changing roles of librarians. the evolving automated system, and the changing technology such as the ASP model. may impact each other

The Japanese Antimonopoly Act and Nonassertion of Patents Provisions: Microsoft\u27s Conflict with the Japan Fair Trade Commission

In recent decades, Japan has strengthened its antimonopoly regulations. Now, a country that historically favored internal collusion continues to develop a stringent antimonopoly regime that encourages competition. The Japan Fair Trade Commission ( JFTC ) enforces the Japanese Act Concerning the Prohibition of Private Monopoly and the Maintenance of Fair Trade ( Antimonopoly Act ) and its provisions dealing with unfair trade practices. The JFTC takes a strong stance in enforcement of the Act and violators follow its recommendations. The JFTC has charged Microsoft Corporation ( Microsoft ) with abuse of a dominant bargaining position and unfair trade practices in its use of restrictive provisions, such as non-assertion of patents provisions, in contracts and licensing agreements. Microsoft has removed the non-assertion provision from future contracts of its own accord, but indicated that it will continue to fight the JFTC\u27s recommendation that the provisions be removed from existing contracts. Cooperating with the JFTC and removing the provision will lead to an improved image in Japan and will ensure that personal computer manufacturers will continue to develop new and innovative technologies, but removing it may also lead to backlash and an influx of litigation against Microsoft. In light of the plethora of potential problems that could result from a finding of illegality, Microsoft should continue to defend the non-assertion of patents provision and contest any unfavorable rulings from the JFTC