Interesting article on the Wintel duopoly. Here things have changed, not like the way they were in the past.
Of course, two decades ago, no one knew how much damage Intel, Microsoft, or Dell would go on to do to the companies that then dominated tech. Fortune 100 stalwarts such as IBM, Xerox, Sperry, and Digital Equipment seemed to own the future. Intel, at No. 226 on the list, was a distant also-ran to mighty Texas Instruments. Microsoft would not be a public company for another year. Twenty-year-old Michael Dell had just dropped out of the University of Texas, Austin, to begin selling computers full-time.
And but the rules have changed. what has changed it all then?
- Web enabled mobile applications and devices
- Work away from home with thin appliances
- Virtualization is making the physical aspect of it all (be it processors, disks, NICs, etc) disappear rapidly
- Innovators (young and old: don't forget old disgruntled or just plain bored and ignored MS guys are doing a lot of work on Open Source) telling us that there is a better way to do it!
- Multitasking and highly demanding customers
- Customers wisening up: And in all segments
As a result, some of the crustiest value fund managers have been buying shares of these one-time growth darlings. Staid value funds such as Vanguard Windsor II and Selected American Shares are adding Microsoft to portfolios chock-full of steady earning bank stocks and tobacco companies. Value investing guru Bill Nygren is adding both Dell and Intel to his Oakmark Select fund.
So, by all means load up on cell phones with chips from Texas Instruments. Ditch Windows and take the Linux operating system for a spin. Trade your Dell PC in for Apple’s slick iMac. But just because these companies are no longer powering the latest trends is no reason to eject them from your portfolio.
Decision is yours. I want a MAC for several reasons. A lot of them are personal and lot of them have a professional edge to it. Bottom line is : I want the best product. And it is "I" that the whole world is trying to seduce. I (as in Us Consumers) am the king!
Read more here at RED HERRING.
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