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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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032089
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03208900.009
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1990-09-17
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BUSINESS, Page 58Business NotesSOFTWAREA $175 Million Bottleneck
Many people in the computer industry were unhappy last week
when shares of Microsoft fell almost 14% in one day. But no one
felt the sting more than William Gates, 33, the boyish-looking
co-founder and chairman of the software-manufacturing firm. His 38%
stake in Microsoft left him nearly $175 million poorer -- on paper.
(His shares are still worth $1.1 billion.) Investors dumped the
stock after hearing that profits were about to dip because of
unanticipated delays in shipping two new versions of Microsoft's
word-processing program.
Microsoft is not the only software manufacturer in dutch. Many
of its competitors are also having trouble getting their products
onto store shelves. These companies are finding that developing
successive generations of established software programs is a
complicated and time-consuming business. The delays are beginning
to irk mainframe- and personal-computer makers, whose powerful new
machines cannot be fully used without up-to-date software. Among
the more worrisome recent delays: Ashton-Tate's new version of a
financial program hit stores three months behind schedule. And
Lotus is almost a year late with its long-promised improved 1-2-3
financial spreadsheet.