A VIRTUAL MERGER

February 1999
		How will the merger of two of the largest Internet companies change the face of the Web? Two industry experts who differ on the agreement answer your questions.

Return to Forum Introduction What changes will the average computer users see? Will these mergers help or hinder competition? Will AOL be the death of Netscape? Why does AOL still distribute the Microsoft broswer with its software? Will this merger offer competition for Microsoft?

Nick Woebcke of Woburn, MA asks: In this age of mega-mergers what is the likelihood of a start-up company being able to stay afloat by marketing a new browser such as what Netscape and Microsoft have done? Does market dominance by a few large companies help or hinder competition? John C. Dvorak, hi tech writer, responds: The chances are somewhere between slim and none. Since Microsoft is incorporating its browser into the OS [operating system] there is no way to make money. Perhaps a super nice Linux browser might be something that would sell.   Paul Gillian, editor of Computerworld, responds: The chance of a startup competing in the general purpose browser market is effectively zero today. But you'd be crazy to even enter that market right now. Browsers are free, so there's no money to be made in introducing a new one. There are some special purpose browsers that are oriented toward special uses or industries that are available. Spyglass is a notable maker of browsers for devices that are too small to support a full Navigator or Internet Explorer. And there are some free alternatives like Opera that target older PCs. But these are mainly niche products. As far as the competitive issues of market dominance, that is a very big question. In brief, dominant companies benefit the industry by establishing stable platforms on which others can innovate. Windows is a good example of this. On the other hand, these same companies can leave customers with fewer choices and can play a power broker role in the industry, deciding who wins and loses. Microsoft has been accused of that, too.