“Just as things seem the darkest, Cowpland, a dapper 57-year-old
Brit, has unveiled a bold new strategy: the rollout of new
WordPerfect office software based on the free Linux operating
system. It’s supposed to revive Corel in its uphill battle against
Microsoft Office, which has about a 90% market share in word
processing/spreadsheet suites.”
“Corel will give away its version of the operating system but
charge customers for support and for applications like WordPerfect
and CorelDraw, a popular graphics program. Cowpland then hopes
to use the Linux system in a new generation of so-called Internet
appliances, like the futuristic, keyboard-equipped cell phones that
can surf the Web. These gadgets will need an embedded operating
system to run programs like Web browsers and text editors, although
the user will never see it.“
“In five years Corel hopes to reap 50% of its revenues from
Linux applications. “This is the year when Internet appliances are
going to take off,” Cowpland predicts.”