“Windows 2000 is about to be shipped… However, the
longer-than-expected time that it has taken to get this version of
NT to the market, and the unexpected activities–the Internet,
Linux, et al–that have occurred in that pause, mean that some
customers have, in fact, looked at other options.”
“…Linux is getting to be a more interesting possibility every
day. If it weren’t interesting from a technical point of view, and
it is, then the spectacular success of Linux company IPOs, such as
Red Hat Inc. and VA Linux, would bring it to the positive attention
of business people with no technical expertise, or interest, at
all. We are imagining CEOs all over the country calling in their IS
managers this morning and saying ‘What is this Linux thing? Do we
have some?’ And we know that’s bound to have an effect.”
“Just as every ISV worth his salt started porting to NT a
few years ago, every ISV started doing Linux ports last year.
That means we are seeing a substantial amount of Linux software,
mainly server software, committed to the market and quite a bit
actually being delivered. More interestingly, the Linux phenomenon
may not be limited to servers.”