“Thanks to its free-speech and free-beer nature, the success of
Linux is in the bag. Even Michael “How high did you say I should
jump, Bill?” Dell has figured out that he can make more money by
preloading a free operating system on his machines than by paying
Microsoft a fee for every unit sold.”
“Those of you who still believe Microsoft and Windows 2000
are the safe choices on which to bet your company simply aren’t
paying attention. The LinuxWorld Conference & Expo packed
the San Jose Convention Center to its limits this year, turning
away dozens of vendors who were ready to pony up the cash for floor
space. (To accommodate those in the rapidly growing Linux market,
the expo will move to San Francisco’s Moscone Center next year.)
Dell, this year’s keynote speaker, managed to turn many of his
critics into fans with his convincing support for Linux. IBM is
even including Linux as part of its high-volume enterprise-class
Monterey AIX/Unix strategy.”
“Microsoft is an expert at momentum marketing, so we’ll no doubt
see Microsoft manufacture some numbers to try to convince people
that Windows 2000 is catching on like wildfire. But Microsoft will
have trouble making those numbers jibe with the way the vendor
community is reacting to Windows 2000. The following says it all:
IDG World Expo canceled this fall’s Windows 2000 conference for
lack of interest. If Windows 2000 is anything like wildfire it’s
because it is going down in flames.”