osOpinion: DOJ Just Doesn’t Do It for Me

“So what does DOJ’s proposed remedy do for me? Does it mean
that Microsoft will have to publish the Word format so that someone
can develop a decent conversion program? Nope, not that I can see.
Does it reduce the integration of Office with everything else so
that I will be able to run Office and other software. Nope, all
that stuff goes with the “Apps” company. Their incentive will be to
tighten up the integration.”

“Does it mean that I will get Office on Linux? Maybe, but I
doubt it, because Office has so much integrated with it, and I
cannot see all that moving soon to Linux. Will it keep Internet
Explorer from becoming so ubiquitous that it will be able to
dictate Internet standards. No, if anything the loss of the Windows
OS as a “pusher” for IE means that they are likely to integrate it
even more into Office.”

“Applications are my main concern, but I do have concern on the
OS side. I currently run NT workstations , Novell file and print
servers, and Linux “IP servers” (DNS, DHCP, HTTP, FTP, LDAP,
Firewall). I have a handful of experimental Linux workstations.
Windows 2000 looks threatening to that setup because there are
hooks between the workstation OS and Windows 2000 server. For “full
functionality” I am going to need Active Directory, Microsoft’s
“extended” Kereberos, and others. I expect those hooks to grow.
Does the DOJ help me here? Well, a little bit. I can delay for 3
years, if I am willing to put up with an increasingly obsolete
desktop OS.”

Complete
Story