The Right Read on the Big Tech Plays By Jim Cramer About this article: Secular vs. cyclical. Same old debate. That's what I think about the Amazon and Microsoft situations, as well as Google's business. All three saw cyclicality in their businesses as fitting the consumer's weakness and decision not to spend, the enterprise spending sluggishness, and the cutback in ad spend, respectively. I think that Amazon's weakness in its core business of books and DVDs is secular and in some ways deliberate, and in other ways technological overrun and competitive concerns. Book sales are just awful in this country, and the decision to go Kindle ruins profit margins. Apple made this decision with the iPod, but in that case it was Warner Music's profit margins, to use the classic example. Amazon is cannibalizing its own business. DVDs? Lowered prices, competition from Costco , Netflix and Wal-Mart all weigh on this one. Plus, as NBC Universal... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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