[ Thanks to Dale
Sykora for this link. ]
“Poor Microsoft. After the recent Department of Justice ruling
against the software giant (something to the effect that the
company can own Boardwalk but NOT Park Place, and it can’t always
be the thimble either), Fools are buzzing over what the future
holds for the company.”
“This week, Matt Richey (TMF Verve) and Rob Landley (TMF Oak)
are Dueling Fools. Beyond the monopoly decision, Matt and Rob have
many other pros and cons to consider. And, they will….” From the
“Bear Argument”:
“But the main thrust of the Internet’s counter-attack was at the
heart of the operating system monopoly IBM originally gave
Microsoft. The Unix-based Internet consolidated the previously
fragmented Unix market with an open source version of Unix, called
“Linux.” The first thing they did with Linux was install it on all
their servers, to inoculate them against the spread of
Windows.”
“Once the servers were secured (with open source Linux and
Apache), the next attack was on Microsoft’s future expansion
opportunities. From “Beowulf” class supercomputers to embedded
devices, Linux has rapidly spread almost everywhere Microsoft
wasn’t already established. As with all disruptive technologies,
the attack on the existing technology’s core business comes last,
although with Michael Dell delivering the opening keynote speech at
LinuxWorld Expo this summer, it can’t be that far away.”
“Linux is out-evolving Windows the exact same way the PC
out-evolved IBM’s mainframes. Sure, there are some things Linux
doesn’t do as well as Windows yet. But improvements in Linux are
measured in months, whereas new versions of Windows take years. As
time goes on, the commodities simply develop faster.“