[Wolves] MS tightens the screw

Shane M. Coughlan shane at shaneland.co.uk
Sat Apr 8 16:21:51 BST 2006


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256

Peter Cannon wrote:
>> Scotland Yard have to use *some brand* of monitor, and Dell would be a
>> reasonable choice. Was the interview shot in such a way you think that
>> you think it was deliberatly being promoted?
> 
> Ah, your missing my stand point. I'm talking about the fact they are there! 
> not the exposure of them.
> If everyone could compete on a level playing field then we would see lots of 
> different makes but slowly and surely we are seeing Dell, DEll, DELl, DELL!

I don't entirely disagree.  A level playing field where we would see
lots of different makes suggests that all the different manufacturers
would have equal (or similar) marketshare, occupy the same consumer
space, and fail to compete with each other in an aggressive way.

DELL are eating up the world market because their logistical ability is
fantastic.  They deliver equipment from manufacturer to consumer at
lightning speed, and they have a very dynamic production system,
allowing new models to appear almost as soon as hardware or prices allow
their creation.

I do agree with your point that they are likely to make the most of
their massive marketshare by ultimately raising prices in certain areas,
or creating "consumers for life."  But that's legitimate business
practice.  Everything they are currently doing fits very comfortably
into the dynamics of a capitalist market system, and they behave very
well with regards competitor fairness.  They are not doing anything
underhand.

I must also state that I don't find DELL equipment to be substandard.  I
used a second-hand Latitude notebook for several years, and it was a
real battle-wagon.  It took a hell of a beating, and is still going
strong (sort of).  Low-end kit (400 quid all in) is likely to be a bit
lightweight, but that would apply to any company producing anything that
complex at such a low price.

I guess what we should really ask is "why are all the other big boys in
the market falling so far behind DELL?"  It's not really a surprise that
small companies are being terminated in this marketplace.  After all, we
don't see many local companies making VCRs or washing machines.  It
seems to be part of the global economic system that bigger size, more
brutal logistics, produces the strongest and biggest.

I'm not saying this is a good thing, but suggesting it's part of our
economic system.  Without changing that, we cannot change the DELLs.

Shane

- --
Shane Martin Coughlan
e: shane at shaneland.co.uk
m: +447773180107
w: www.shaneland.co.uk
- ---
Projects:
http://mobility.opendawn.com	http://gem.opendawn.com
http://enigmail.mozdev.org	http://www.winpt.org
- ---
Organisations:
http://www.fsfeurope.org	http://www.fsf.org
http://www.labour.org.uk	http://www.opensourceacademy.gov.uk
- ---
OpenPGP: http://www.shaneland.co.uk/personalpages/shane/files/publickey.asc
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.4-cvs: (MingW32)

iQCVAwUBRDd6stwG3M95JPpzAQh/tgQAtAcUTm7L1/3VsDoAKp2g0PCcJu7EvYnF
TeCrcxS8ISqyEm6ZBsTuaJWeiL/U3FxPzR4hA/15RvXbUTDlM6AW4plg8NcF7mrZ
teG52mQCgrKVMBwX8d8a6T+LOzWlqzL2s0cYjuFlMTXRYaeVSaOUXrGwS5OCJXTt
HCygOI0G72g=
=fjgm
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----






More information about the Wolves mailing list