22 - North Shore News — Sunday, May 14, 2000

From page 28 -

“buy and hold” (or at least a
“hold and hold”) strategy
makes sense.

Even that strategy, how-
ever, is predicated on the
notion that a victorious
Microsoft would not be
weakened and damaged by

: the long court battle.
‘But suppose for a
moment that things don’t
. go Microsoft’s way. Let’s say
that the case is settled before
. it becomes a big presidential
: election i issue — 7 and that

Microsoft does have to be
split along the lines outlined
by Joe! Nein and company.
The big question is: which
Microsoft would you want
to hold stock in? Would it
be the operating system
company, with a vast
entrenched population of
Windows 95, Windows 98,
Windows NT and Windows
2000 users (yet threatened
by Linux and under strict
government supervision in
how it sells its product)? Or
would it be the applications
software company, with

| BUSINESS
Pick any company Bill Gates will still run

Microsoft Office, Internet
Explorer and Microsoft’s
huge and varied consumer
software offerings?

The answer that seems to
spring to most analysts” lips
is simple: whichever compa-
ny is still being run by Bill
Gates.

Whatever the U.S. gov-
ernment has done to
Microsoft’s reputation as a
company, Gates is still a cul-
tural and economic icon —
and it appears that few in
the industry — or the world
-~ would want to be against

; Delectable Food.
“Five-star Service.
First-class Living.

ver dream of living hotel-style? imagine:
No cooking. No cleaning. No mortgage.

‘elcome to Shannon Oaks ~a 2 beaueiful ;
resident community with the comforts of .

Gates.

The real issue may be
whether or not Gates wants
to be involved in either
company if forced to split up
Microsoft. He may be quite
happy to simply oversee the
charitable distribution of his
billions through the Gates
Foundation, which already
has several hundred million
dollars it has been busy dol-
ing out.

The U.S. presidential ©
campaign may be the final
determinant as to whether
or not Microsoft is split
asunder. .

Ail indications are that

From page 15

at least one book like this for
the sake of those who will be
left behind. If you can’t

avoid or defer certain taxes
and other costs triggered by
death, at least figure out how
to meet those expenses. ©

@ Money is a family. affair:
Living with one bathroom is
just as important as saving
and i investing — The Average

Republican candidate.
George W. Bush intends to
play the role of Microsoft's
chief defender — and he
could lend some strong
executive support to any
appeal effort that concluded
in the wake of a Bush victo-
ry. But that, as they say, is
another siory.

In terms of a straight
choice between the appeal of.
a Microsoft operating system
company and an applications
company, I would ko
many investors would -

choose the applications com:

pany. Not only is it likely to
suffer fewer government-

Family’s Guide to Financial
Freedom — How You Can
Save a Snail Fortune ona -:
Modest Income, by Bill and"
(ors) ey, —
$2008)
. @ Women and money: “Go
where the men are” because

their jobs pay better, dvises
Cindy Skrukwa in’ Sh

Laugi hed All the Way. to th
Bank — Financial : :
. Empowerment ‘for Canadia

imposed, post-breakup oper-
ating restrictions, but it is
also the area of the company
under the least threat at the
moment. As the Web.
becomes the “platform” of
choice for many corpora-
tions and users, all operating »
systems will merely be the
foundations on which Web
applications will be built: -
And without a built-in link
to Internet Explorer, i it is.
not immediately clear that.

~ Windows wili emerge the

long-term victor in such a~
market (although I would »

-Mot set odds against it).

The case continues.

“Women (Raincoast, $24.95).
-<, Most women will have to

i manage of their own later if.

not sooner. Taking control of -
your. finances. always P: pays

“Complete mechanical .& electrical repairs

 [MPEX x AUTO 1

Guests must qualify.
void

(45. Minutes So:

by facto
166A.

sAan
eer this p

th of the

1-877-2-SKAGIT: (1-877-. -275- 2448)
www.svcasinoresort.com ”

trained technician
est 14th Streot Tel: 988-623