New and Noteworthy: Wharton Business School article on Apple vs. Microsoft in digital music purchase realm

Wharton Business School article on Apple vs. Microsoft in digital music purchase realm The UPenn Wharton School of Business has posted an article about the upcoming battle between Microsoft and Apple in the digital music purchase market. "Competing with Microsoft, however, is a tough prospect for even the most resilient companies. "Microsoft picks a target area, announces a product that's not that great, says it will outspend you to death on it to freeze development, and then beats you with the third generation of software," Clemons. This approach has worked with Internet browsers, word processors and spreadsheets. The catch? Once Microsoft takes the lead, its products don't improve dramatically. Clemons says a case in point is Microsoft's web browsing software, Internet Explorer; it dominates the market but has so many security flaws it's a "national disgrace." In contrast, a closed system isn't so bad. For one thing, Apple can argue it is more secure. Clemons says the music industry should be wary of Microsoft. If security and anti-piracy are big issues for the industry, why should it trust Microsoft with its security track record in Windows XP and Internet Explorer, he asks." More.

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