“Mary Jo Foley’s recent column “Open-source backers: Are you
afraid?” gets it all wrong.”
“The suggestion that big companies pose a threat to open source
misses the big picture, focusing instead on a worn-out generality
that positions Microsoft Corp.’s competitors against the
open-source movement in a way Bill Gates himself would envy.”
“Big companies such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard have a very
simple business motivation for backing open-source software: lower
total cost of ownership for their hardware platforms.”
“Each of these companies makes its living selling hardware.
Inexpensive, high-quality software increases their value
proposition. And, of course, a Linux/Intel combo undoubtedly
represents a very reasonable license structure compared with their
NT/Intel offerings. It really is that simple.”