Comments on: Quote of the day: “Software is a network industry with an applications barrier to entry.” UPDATED

By: Cosmo Graham

Cosmo Graham — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:54:37 +0000

In fairness, this is from an old edition. The most recent, the 9th (only published very recently), seems very different from a quick skim. In particular, it is made clear that it is operating systems, not PCs which are in issue. The applications barrier to entry seems to have been straightened out as well on p 123. The statement about the incentive to communicate does remain - on p 121 - in the context of a general statement about network effects which latter seems unexceptionable.

By: geoff

geoff — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:07:37 +0000

In the immortal words of Lisa Simpson, “I know those words, but that [paragraph] makes no sense.”

By: Jaimz

Jaimz — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:16:06 +0000

Hilarious, if hungry for more, note that the book contains a range of other funny statements on EC comp. law and econ.

By: Hanno Kaiser

Hanno Kaiser — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:59:01 +0000

(1) Microsoft does not sell PCs. (2) “Software” is not a network industry. Your copy of Mine Sweeper doesn’t increase in value just because I start playing it, too. (I wouldn’t. I prefer wasting my time with Desktop Tower Defense.) (3) There is an “applications barrier to entry” into the OS market, but there certainly is no such thing for “the software industry.” I don’t have to overcome the popularity of World of Warcraft to make money selling EVE Online (to choose examples of products with network effects.) (4) “Communicating with more people” has nothing to do with using “Microsoft operating systems.” I’m currently communicating with you using OSX, and the original post was sent from a machine running Ubuntu.

By: cyril

cyril — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:26:56 +0000

sorry — am i missing something? what’s wrong with that?