by AFP — TOKYO, JAPAN: Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn’s trial, which was expected to begin in September, will be delayed, local …

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By Rob Enderle, Computerworld  -- I recently took a call about how Microsoft is competing against Amazon AWS and one of the questions really got me thinking about how much the company has changed. I pointed out that the old Microsoft would have been far more aggressive. The weapon they developed in the early days was “Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.” It effectively took out both Lotus and IBM’s OS/2 efforts, and nearly took out Apple. But it resulted in a company that cared more about competitors than customers, a firm that was exceedingly arrogant, and one that almost was regulated out of existence in the 1990s. Tactically, the strategy was brilliant. Strategically, not so much…because it nearly killed the firm. Today’s Microsoft is very different. And these differences, while they represent a far lower competitive problem for Amazon, represent a far better path for those of us who actually use Microsoft’s offerings. They’re also why they reached a trillion dollars in valuation this week, a new milestone for the company.

Windows Microsoft

Microsoft came up hard. What I mean is that, from the start, they had issues with IP theft and companies like IBM trying to put them out of business. As a result, they focused aggressively on competitors and often left partners hanging. For instance, I was recently eyeing a book coming out on 3Com. One of the things that badly hurt that company was that Microsoft wasn’t straight with them on Microsoft’s plans with OS/2. That failure to disclose hurt 3Com a lot and significantly contributed to the CEO’s early departure. And rather than apologizing Steve Ballmer said something to the effect that the 3Com CEO should grow up. They did, which meant they never trusted Microsoft again.

Microsoft was a warlike company thinking that locking customers in was a good thing and that as long as they were making money everything was good. I recall the launch of Windows 95 where they had lines of people wrapping around buildings to buy the thing. But when problems overwhelmed support, rather than staffing up, they blocked the support lines so folks couldn’t get through – pretty much assuring they’d have no lines when Windows 98 launched. Instead of competing with Netscape in market they worked behind the scenes to torpedo the company. Ironically, none of what they attempted actually worked. (It reminds me of what was disclosed in the recent Mueller/Trump report where Trump’s staff disobeyed orders and prevented the President from obstructing justice.) But the regulatory backlash took Microsoft out at the knees.

BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) — British diplomatic sources in Beirut said that Lebanese Armed Forces will have complete control over its borders with Syria …

DAMASCUS,  (Xinhua) — Lebanese companies are opting to take part in the rebuilding process in Syria because of its proximity and the …