“Betting $5 on a 100-to-1 underdog can be fun. Betting $50,000
would be foolish.
Yet some PC users are making similarly outrageous wagers on
Linux, the underdog in the operating-system wars.
Now, before you Linux-lovers whip out your flame throwers, let
me say this: I like Linux. Microsoft needs all the competition it
can get. Linux is good for consumers. But because I’m on your side,
I need to warn you not to let your enthusiasm for Linux cloud your
business judgment.
Every few years, the we-hate-Microsoft-fanatics push a new
messiah. Some new platform that will rid the world of the dark
force that is Windows.
- An industry consortium was going to make Unix the next major
force on the desktop; instead, it fragmented into warring
factions - The Mac was going to supplant DOS and Windows; it ended up in a
proprietary backwater OS/2 was going to be a better Windows than
Windows; it, too, faded away - Java was going to render Windows irrelevant; in case you
haven’t noticed, Microsoft continues to register record quarterly
profits
In each case, people bet on the underdog. Many lost their shirts.
Or their companies. So as the Linux frenzy accelerates, don’t let
it sweep away your good judgment.”