RealNames shitcanned by MSFT

Post #38,497 by jake123 5/13/02 4:13:02 PM Reply	RealNames shitcanned by MSFT Interestingly enough, the former head of the RealNames relationship management team is now in the Natural Language division, looking at how to map meaning to addresses. I'm sure many of you remember the large kerfuffle over the keywords feature of IE when it was first introduced. Relevant URLs: [link\|http://www.teare.com/default.htm\|RealNames Owner's Personal Website] [link\|http://www.teare.com/scribe.htm\|Transcript of last meeting between RealNames and MSFT] [link\|http://computerworld.com/managementtopics/ebusiness/story/0%2C10801%2C71130%2C00.html?nlid=AM\|Computerworld article on the subject] It appears that Mr. Teare (founder of RealNames, now unemployed: he fired himself first) is in the first stage of bereavement: denial. That picture of him shaking hands with Steve Ballmer on the front page of his website should be a picture of him with his hands grabbing his ankles. On second thought, I guess that's exactly what it is showing. This is an object lesson of what happens to MSFT's «partners»; all companies thinking of cooperating closely with MSFT should look at what happened to these guys first. -- ---------------------------------------------------------- * Jack Troughton jake at jakesplace.dhs.org * * [link\|http://jakesplace.dhs.org\|[link\|http://jakesplace.dhs.org\|http://jakesplace.dhs.org]] [link\|ftp://jakesplace.dhs.org\|[link\|ftp://jakesplace.dhs.org\|ftp://jakesplace.dhs.org]] * * Montr\ufffdal PQ Canada [link\|news://jakesplace.dhs.org\|news://jakesplace.dhs.org] * ----------------------------------------------------------
Post #38,510 by mmoffitt 5/13/02 6:00:02 PM Reply	How many times can this be repeated? With so many examples, why do otherwise seemingly intelligent people commit this form of business suicide?
Post #38,512 by Another Scott 5/13/02 6:09:24 PM Reply	Not only that, but they were paying MS for the privilige! See [link\|http://www.teare.com/default.htm\|Teare's web page]: During the past 2 years Microsoft was GIVEN 20% of RealNames stock and $15m in cash guarantees during 2000-2001 (more than 100% of our revenue that year). We were due to pay another $25m in guarantees during 2001-2002 (more than 200% of our revenue that year) but with the bursting of the bubble (and thus no IPO) the second years payment was converted to a note. The note came due on May 2nd 2002. RealNames proposed continuing the relationship and offered Microsoft the following: 1. $5m now as payment against the note. 2. $5m between July 1 2002 and June 30 2003 or 15% of revenues - the greater of. 3. Microsoft's rev share to be able to reach 40% in steps if our revenues grew sufficiently. The guarantees for the first 5 years of a new deal were $5m, $6m, $7m, $8m and $9m. We valued a 5 year deal - if Microsoft would execute on all of the opportunities - at $200m to Microsoft. Far more than the guarantees. At their current PE of 40 that is worth about $2.4 billion post tax in a $100m year 5. <Boggle> Is there anything clearer that illustrates MS's monopoly power? Cheers, Scott.
Post #38,532 by mmoffitt 5/13/02 9:30:52 PM Reply	I wonder what would happen. My oldest daughter is in her last 3 weeks of elementary school. Next year, she'll be going to a middle school. I've been thinking that I'd write a letter to the principal of the school and the superintendent saying something like the following: "Insomuch as Microsoft has been found guilty of illegal practices, and insofar as I do not wish to contribute, nor do I wish my children to contribute to the furtherence of a criminal empire, I respectfully request that my child not be subjected to the indoctrination of dependency upon Microsoft products while attending your institution...." Okay, its only a sketch, but I think you get the idea: State my opposition to my child learning to be dependent upon a product from a criminal (yeah, yeah, I know, big difference between civil and criminal law, so what?) enterprise and that I don't want her to ever use an MS product at school. I wonder how the school would handle that? Would they exempt her from assignments using M$ software? I dunno. Might be worth a try ;-)
Post #38,535 by folkert 5/13/02 10:05:28 PM Reply	HOT Diggity... I like your thinking.... gonna try it. `greg, curley95@attbi.com -- REMEMBER ED CURRY!!!`
Post #38,571 by static 5/14/02 6:52:56 AM Reply	Let us know how it goes. I'm sure there are lots of web sites that would be interested in what happens. Wade. "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
Post #38,605 by mmoffitt 5/14/02 9:46:11 AM Reply	Will do.
Post #38,560 by Andrew Grygus 5/14/02 12:15:13 AM Reply	Greed blinds. Absolute greed blinds absolutely. If you have any lingering doubts, may I refer you to the pernnially successful Nigerian letter scam. The parade of suckers has barely begun. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #38,641 by acagle 5/14/02 1:21:57 PM Reply	Also known as the 'Grbac Effect'. Wherein (QB) Elvis Grbac has the uncanny ability to convince otherwise sane coaches that they should take out Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks and put him in instead, all the while maintaining a reputation for throwing numerous interceptions and losing games. Must be some kind of blinding aura.
Post #38,513 by tjsinclair 5/13/02 6:12:51 PM Reply	what interested me was his statement to the effect that to be anti-Microsoft was to be anti-innovation. Later on down the page, he states that Microsoft squashes any innovation that they can't completely control. So which is it, dude? Tom Sinclair "Subverting Young Minds Since 03/13/2000"
Post #38,576 by ben_tilly 5/14/02 7:34:11 AM Reply	Asia is unhappy about this Apparently their system was [link\|http://www.theregus.com/content/6/24929.html\|useful] for handling Unicode names. Cheers, Ben "... I couldn't see how anyone could be educated by this self-propagating system in which people pass exams, teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything." --Richard Feynman
Post #38,648 by Steven A S 5/14/02 2:21:36 PM Reply	Re: Asia is unhappy about this RealNames should look at alternate browsers. Watching so much of the Asian market about-face to Netscape or Opera would be fitting justice for what MS did to them. ~~~)-Steven---- "I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country..." General George S. Patton
Post #38,736 by static 5/15/02 1:34:10 AM Reply	Agreement about goal. However, [link\|http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2002/02/20020212.html\|Opera is already making firm inroads in the Asian and European markets] with it's new Unicode support. Wade. "All around me are nothing but fakes Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
Post #38,650 by boxley 5/14/02 2:28:04 PM Reply	wonder if they could hook to an open src browser and wether the licensing would cripple their business model for services or enhance it. thanx, bill TAM ARIS QUAM ARMIPOTENS
Post #38,761 by jb4 5/15/02 9:13:54 AM Reply	The key to this is... ...per the computerworld article: Microsoft dislike[s] the product because they cannot control it," he wrote. " A small private company is being denied an audience -- not because of money -- but because of fear of losing control." Teare said Microsoft is now working on its own keyword navigation system. [emphasis added] To quote the vernacular: "Whoomp, there it is!" Ash, you got those orbital nukes in postion, yet? jb4 (Resistance is not futile...)

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