Meanwhile the box makers that ran Microsoft programs (Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, IBM, and so on) waged fierce price wars to sell more boxes. This endless skirmish hurt the box makers’ earnings, but Microsoft was unaffected. Bill Gates’s company wasn’t in the box business; it sold the “gas” that ran the boxes.
did the 'box' makers then not put pressure on Microsoft for more margin? That's what I had heard of in '4 hour workweek'
