PR or no sales?

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Is this a kinder and gentler Bill PR for the masses, or is it an foregone conclusion that the Total Available Market for Microsoft does not include customers that can't afford the MS tax burden? He is sort of taking the opposite approach that Tomas Bata of Bata Shoe did when he looked at the 3rd world (African) market. Bata didn't see it as a continent of people that couldn't afford his product, he saw it as hundreds of millions of bare feet. Of course MS can't even give away his wares if there are no platforms to install it on yet. So I see it as PR for now, and when and if there is infrastructure and platforms the tune will change. Fortunately for him that will be way after the DOJ is done.

Steve

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2000

Answers

... sounds like your assuming that when Bill Gates speaks, he speaks for Microsoft. I don't think that's the case here.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2000

BillG != Microsoft

Bill Gates doesn't neccessarily speak for MS, But I wonder if the reverse is true. Does MS speak for Bill Gates?

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2000

I was actually rather impressed by billg in the NYT article. The cynic in me of course would like to read malice and spin into his words, but there seems to be evidence of growth in the man. He says that his early philanthropic focus was very technology oriented, but that the reality of third world life changed his mind. This could easily be dismissed, if it weren't for the fact that he's putting his money where his mouth is (how the hell does an idiom like THAT get started?!) by making huge donnations for healthcare. No matter what I think of billg the IT visionary, actions like these force me to give him the personal respect he deserves.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

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