[ Thanks to relic for
this link. ]
“Are Microsoft’s best years already behind it? To Bill Gates and
other executives, the question sounds like heresy. Software is
still in its infancy and Microsoft dominates its industry in a way
that few other companies could ever hope to copy…“But even if the future for software is bright, Microsoft’s
long-term prosperity is far from assured. The software business is
changing, and Microsoft’s continued dominance is no longer a
given…“As if that were not enough, Microsoft faces its biggest
competitive threat since 1995. Then, it was the unexpected rise of
the internet and the emergence of Netscape Communications. This
time, the threat from left field is the sudden popularity of Linux
and other software products produced by the open-source
movement…”