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Title: Winners, Losers & Microsoft by Stan J. Liebowitz, Stephen E. Margolis ISBN: 0-945999-84-4 Publisher: Independent Publishers Group Pub. Date: 01 March, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.31 (16 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: First-rate Empirical Research Combined with Excellent Theory
Comment: No economist (or team of economists) has produced during the 1990s research that is as compelling, as exciting, as important, and as well-grounded in both theory and data as that of Stan Liebowitz and Stephen Margolis. These guys' work is truly and deeply impressive. And their writing is a joy to read.
They tackle some of the most challenging issues at play in modern economics -- and they succeed brilliantly! Because of the research these two scholars produced earlier in this decade, it is inexcusable for anyone to trot out the success of the QWERTY keyboard or that of the VHS tape as examples of "inefficient lock-in." Because of the research they have done, and report clearly, in this new book, it is now inexcusable for anyone to claim that Microsoft's market success is due exclusively -- or even principally -- to "path-dependency" or "inefficient lock-in."
Liebowitz and Margolis show beyond any reasonable doubt that in those markets where Microsoft achieves and maintains a large market share, it does so by offering consumers deals that consumers fine attractive. Period.
WINNERS, LOSERS, AND MICROSOFT is economics at its finest and most relevant.
Rating: 5
Summary: It's about time this work is made available for everyone.
Comment: Liebowitz and Margolis have done research on intellectual property issues for over two decades. Their work on new technologies began over a decade and a half ago. Their piece on the Fable of the Keys, was the lead article in the Journal of Law and Economics in 1990. Unfortunately, their other work on path dependency has languished in less well-known journals.
It is a wonderful asset finally to have all their work on technological lock-ins put together in this one volume, and accessibly written for anyone who is interested in the topic.
I've been a long-time Microsoft user/hater, but I find most of the arguments put forward by the authors to be very compelling: When MS products receive top ratings, those products tend to dominate the market and prices fall. I'm not sure I agree with most software reviewers that MS IE is better than Netscape, but perhaps that's a personal preference.
But as I said, this book is a superb and accessible summary of the authors' work on path dependency and is a telling condemnation of BOTH sides in the antitrust suit agains Microsoft.
Rating: 1
Summary: Dvorak isn't a myth.
Comment: It's true that no completely scientific studies have been done on Dvorak vs Qwerty, but it hardly takes a study to see that Dvorak is better. Qwerty was created before touch typing was ever dreamed of. It's no better than an alphabetic arraingement.
Anyone who touch types knows that some words are harder to type than others because you have to reach for awkward keys or one finger has to do too much work. Dvorak simply makes the common keys easier to get to and all but eliminates the need for one finger to type two letters in succesion. Just think of a word that's easy for you to type in Qwerty (e.g., flask), and consider that the majority of words you type in Dvorak feel like that. Do you believe these agenda driven jokers or your own fingers?
This isn't rocket science. I don't need a study to tell me that a layout designed for touch typing will be better than one that was designed to keep primitive machines from jamming, and I don't trust the authors of a book who will set aside common sense and ignore the obvious in their quest to prove their pet theory.
Also, I think Microsoft is a great company and we're all better off because it exists, but to deny that their OS monopoly gives them a huge advantage in the marketplace for other software products is a special kind of idiocy which can only be obtained through decades of academic isolation.
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Title: Re-Thinking the Network Economy: The True Forces That Drive the Digital Marketplace by Stan Liebowitz ISBN: 0814406491 Publisher: AMACOM Pub. Date: 07 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Trust on Trial by Richard B. McKenzie ISBN: 0738204811 Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: 10 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Antitrust after Microsoft : The Obsolescence of Antitrust in the Digital Era by David B. Kopel ISBN: 0963202758 Publisher: Heartland Institute Pub. Date: 15 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy by Carl Shapiro, Hal R. Varian ISBN: 087584863X Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: November, 1998 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: World War 3.0 : Microsoft and Its Enemies by Ken Auletta ISBN: 0375503668 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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