[ Thanks to M. J.
Ruiz for this link. ]
Anyone who wants to read a revival sermon on the Linux destkop
will enjoy this piece. Pinning the “Linux is dead on the desktop”
argument squarely on turncoats and old people, Mr. Jordan rallys
the troops, arguing that desktop Linux is spreading into many
markets. As it must, he says, lest Microsoft not only keep the
desktop but dominate the server, too.
“The other reason for mentioning this is the David
Coursey type of reason. This one that I also understand, but that I
can’t abide by. Mr. Coursey is a big-time tech journalist who
appears on TV as well as in print. He makes his living trying to
guess where technology is going and then write and/or speak about
it. The problem for him and for all of us in this information
business is that we’re at an important crossroads in our history in
terms of technology and its relationship to intellectual property.
It’s the the seventh game of the World Series and the people like
Microsoft who defend the “status quo” of intellectual property and
the people who defend the new open model, which Linux is the most
famous example, are tied in the bottom of the ninth inning. The
game could go either way. The Microsoft model could win or the
Linux model could win. I personally think that people are getting
tired of the screw-balls that Microsoft and their model is throwing
and that the Linux hitters have gotten wise to them and we’re going
to hit one out of the ball-park sometime very soon and Linux is
going to then be on its way and be welcomed into homes and offices
around this globe. People like Mr. Coursey, on the other hand, want
us to believe that the game is going to go into extra innings,
overtime. But what does this amount to? Intellectual fence-sitting.
I suspect that he has some internal FUD, so he appears to say how
wonderful Linux is while at the same time telling us that we can’t
compete against Microsoft. They’ve already won the World Series,
long ago, according to him. In a sense, he’s catering to his two
possible meal tickets, Microsoft in the present and Linux in the
future.John F. Kennedy’s favorite concept was taken from Dante, author
of The Inferno. He said that Dante reserved the lowest parts of
hell for those, who, in times of crisis, didn’t take a stand. I am
going to take a stand. I think, in fact, I’m convinced that Linux
is not only going to dominate in the server market, but will in the
next few years achieve equal status with Microsoft and even take
over in the “desktop” market. I put the word “desktop” in quotes,
because I think that this concept is changing quickly and Linux is
in the best position to take advantage of that. There are a couple
of reasons why I think this way.”