CRN: Linux's Desktop Dilemma

Sep 06, 2001, 09:33 (25 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Barbara Darrow)

[ Thanks to Paul Eggert for this link. ]

"It hasn't been a banner year for Linux on the desktop. But the open-source community isn't conceding the fight."

"...Microsoft, which rules the productivity software market with its venerable Office suite, is dismissive of StarOffice's prospects. Asked if StarOffice could make headway against Microsoft Office, a Microsoft insider said, 'That ain't going to happen.'"

"...Richard Warren, chief strategy officer at Internosis, an Arlington, Va.-based integrator, says he heard of one recent instance where a customer talking to a Microsoft sales rep was considering a switch from a Windows version of Office to a Linux version of StarOffice. '[But] I don't really know if it was sincere, a negotiation stance or the enterprise equivalent of a poke in the eye with a sharp stick,' Warren says."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• CNET:Is StarOffice ready to take on MS Office?(Sep 06, 2001)
• Washington Post: Ximian's Volunteer Army Fights Microsoft on Open-Source Code(Sep 05, 2001)
• BetaNews: Sun Details StarOffice 6(Aug 30, 2001)
• LinuxPower.org: Sun's Desktop Division making headway(Aug 29, 2001)
• ZDNet/TechRepublic: Will Microsoft Mono-polize open source?(Aug 25, 2001)