“…the server’s the theater where new phases of the OS wars
are being fought. Last week’s introduction of Microsoft Corp.’s
Windows 2000 is just the latest counterattack. The other active
combatants at this time are Novell Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and
the conglomeration of companies that we can call Linux
Inc.”
“E-business has caused new assaults in the OS wars. Everyone in
the high-tech arena is scrambling to become a player,make that a
major player,in e-business. For OS vendors, the stakes are
enormous, and the number of new ISPs and ASPs that will form in
just the coming year is huge. International Data Corp. (IDC), a
market researcher in Framingham, Mass., said in a recent report
that despite Y2K concerns, revenue growth of PC servers registered
26.3 percent last year, bringing the market’s total to more than
$17.3 billion. That made PC servers the fastest-growing segment of
the server market.”
“So Microsoft wants in, as does Novell with NetWare 5.1 and Sun
with its newly announced Solaris 8, available essentially for free.
So do all the Linux vendors, who tout their products (packaged
versions of the supposedly free OS) as great platforms for
e-business. That’s why they all talk about the things that make
their OS the OS for e-business.”