“While the long-term outlook for information devices appears
bright, they still face major obstacles, including the lack of
product-specific support services and infrastructure, according to
a panel of industry experts.”
“…While admitting that “Linux will take companies part of
the way” in helping them develop information appliances,
Microsoft’s Laepple said companies that depend on Linux will
eventually “hit a wall.“
“The wall is the building blocks that it takes to deliver the
user experience, the browser, the plug-ins for the
interoperability, the different protocols, the different specs,” he
said.”
“Laepple compared Linux to early DOS-based PCs, which were able
to run only specifically enabled applications.”