“…the idea that an OS is overhead makes real sense from a
business standpoint. Any expense that doesn’t contribute to a sale
or directly to the bottom line is overhead. The money a company
pays for operating systems is an overhead cost, because it isn’t
the OS itself but rather the application that supports the
business.”
“…I think IBM may get it. By adopting the Linux operating
system, and porting so many of its programs to it, IBM is turning
the overhead cost of maintaining the operating system over to the
people who maintain it for free, either because they are proud
of their work or have an ego to maintain along with the OS.”
“Apple may also get it because it’s made Darwin open source. The
more enhancements and bug fixes that Apple accepts from the
community of Darwin enthusiasts, the more Apple lowers its overhead
cost. I just wonder, will Microsoft ever get it?”