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Microsoft hardens stance
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May 5, 1998: 8:46 a.m. ET
What's good for Windows is good for U.S. tech sector, according to company
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Beleaguered software maker Microsoft Corp. was expected to take back the offensive in a Tuesday afternoon press conference by bundling the release of its Windows 98 operating system to the continued security and well-being of the U.S. computer industry.
Company Chairman Bill Gates will speak in New York at 2:00 P.M. EDT to defend Windows 98 from ongoing antitrust allegations that the product will unfairly leverage Microsoft's dominant position in the operating system (OS) market to weaken Web browser competition.
The case has recently prompted a group of state attorneys general to seek to block the May shipment of the product to PC manufacturers so they can install it in advance of the June 25 consumer release, a delay that Microsoft claims could be dangerous for the entire U.S. information technology sector.
"Delay of Microsoft Windows 98 potentially threatens the financial success and health of the nation's technology industry," warned Greg Maffei, Microsoft chief financial officer.
"This is a vital industry for America, one that has accounted for over 25 percent of the growth of the U.S. economy over the last 5 years, an industry that is now about 8 percent of the total U.S. economy," he added.
In a letter addressed to more than 50 technology companies, Maffei said that financial setbacks from a Windows 98 delay could spread from Microsoft to all facets of the U.S. information technology sector from retail to customer support.
"The launch of Windows 98 will help sell new PCs, new software, new peripherals such as printers, scanners and digital cameras, and even books and training courses. If Windows 98 is delayed, this huge opportunity could be lost," Maffei said. "Every dollar of pre-packaged software we sell generates $7 in service revenues for MCSPs (Microsoft Certified Solution Providers)."
However, other computer industry players -- notably Web browser rival Netscape Communications (NSCP) -- warned that the potential cost to the economy as a whole that Windows 98 poses might outweigh the benefits to the technology sector.
"I think it's pretty clear that while Microsoft might be able to identify a handful of companies that might benefit, there are companies in every other industry . . . that will be harmed by the fact that Microsoft tries to restrict them by tying them into the browser and the OS," said Mike Homer, executive vice president of Netscape. 
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