“Given the stated focus on Linux, questions have been raised
about Corel/Inprise’s commitment to Inprise’s Windows tools beyond
whatever is needed to craft a Windows-to-Linux migration
strategy.
Besides the inherent risk in committing to an uncertain market,
the merged company also has to prove to customers that support will
be adequate, according to Jeff Tarter, editor of The Soft Letter,
an industry newsletter based in Watertown, Mass.
‘I am not sure there is a real market for Linux desktops.
People [like Corel and other Linux distributors] with server
operating systems seem to have this death wish to compete head to
head with Windows. No one has ever done it successfully,’ Tarter
said.”
“Considering the storied paths of these two companies, both of
which have undergone numerous transformations and rebirths, the
merger warrants a look at the partners’ lineage…”