“While there are some pretty good desktop applications available
for Linux users, none would make a dedicated Windows customer
undergo a sudden change of faith. But as Linux application vendors
allocate resources to beef up their products, they face the
possibility that open source code developers may bring out free
software packages, and that Microsoft may enter the Linux
applications market.”
“The consensus of a group of Linux distributors and advocates is
that Corel’s WordPerfect 8 word processing, Applix’s Applixware
office suite and the German-based Star Division’s Star-Office all
offer good productivity applications without quite matching the
ease of use or combined features of Microsoft’s Office suite. And
that’s a big part of the problem of getting Linux accepted beyond
its present server role, according to the Linux experts.”
“The fact remains that Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel ‘are
extremely good programs,’ says Chris DiBona, Linux evangelist at VA
Linux Systems. If Microsoft came out with Linux versions of them,
they might dominate Linux desktops as readily as they dominate
Windows, he adds.”