"buying out" works something like this:
Billy, down the street, invents the toaster. This invention can do all sorts of wonderfull things, including toast bread. M$ realizes that it has no toasting capabilities, so it goes to billy and says "we'll buy your technology for [whatever]." Billy, thinking (rightly so) that he has a real bread-making idea (pun intended) says "no way, jose." M$ acquires a copy of the toaster, reverse engineers it, and makes its own version. It then adds the toaster to the design of all new houses built under its subsidiary subcontractors, as well as any house that goes thru remodling or redecorating. This M$AcitveToaster dosn't toast bread nearly as well, shorts out half the time (requiring a power-cycle or complete re-instalation), and catches on fire every once in a while. But it's free, so the homeowner doesn't bother buying a new one. Besides, due to advertising, the only toaster that the homeowner is likely to know is M$ActiveToaster.... Billy looses enough market share to require filing chapter 13. repeat for sally who invents the tv, jeffrey who invents the washer and dryer, and shawn who invents the fridge. now they come to your door because you invented the telephone..... now you have two choices.... sell out and (maybe) get enough money to enter a new line of work or retire, or go bankrupt yourself......
netscape had to sell out to survive -- but they sold out to AOL to spite M$. good for them. I think the price was $3 mil. maybe 5.
-t.
