SJ Mercury: Microsoft breakup could boost [silicon] valley firms

[ Thanks to George
Mitchell for this link. ]

“A boost for Linux?
Competition could be achieved simply by creating separate Microsoft
applications and operating system companies — as long as the
government kept a close eye on Microsoft’s business practices, [Be
Inc. president Jean-Louis] Gassee said.”

“Ideally, the applications company would see the Linux
operating system market as an attractive opportunity for Microsoft
Office,” said Gassee. “That would make Linux a more viable
operating system and could force the (Microsoft) OS company to
start supporting some of the new applications companies that are
growing up around the Internet. That would give consumers
choices.”

“Bob Young, chairman of Red Hat, agreed. “We have lots of
customers that would love to run Linux as a stable desktop
operating system, but they can’t, because the applications they are
looking for, like PowerPoint and Word, aren’t available for them,”
Young said. “And this is because Microsoft doesn’t have incentive
to make the applications available to a competing OS.”

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