From: muta...@gmail.com   
      
   On Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 9:12:10 PM UTC+10, Joe Monk wrote:   
   > > Manufacturers don't speak with one voice.   
   > >   
   > No, but the market does. It's called buying power. If they don't buy your   
   product, you die.   
      
   No, some manufacturers produce products at a loss,   
   perhaps because they are being subsidized by other   
   products they produce, or perhaps to buy market   
   share.   
      
   IBM was giving away their operating systems for free,   
   that's right, free, until someone put a gun to their head   
   and told them to start charging something.   
      
   > > Fortunately IBM are not the only manufacturer of mainframes,   
   > > and the people on IBM-MAIN are not the only customers of   
   > > mainframes.   
      
   > They are these days.   
      
   No, they're not. There's some company I've forgotten   
   the name of, based in Switzerland I think, Lazarus or   
   something, and there is Jujitsu.   
      
   > But guess what ... they still listen to and respond to/are   
   > driven by their customers, aka the market.   
      
   Some companies are in monopoly position and don't   
   need to listen to anyone. Others are producing a   
   particular product at a loss, so don't really give a shit   
   either. Companies don't speak with one voice.   
      
   BFN. Paul.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)