"If the vendors and projects pushing Linux are really serious
about knocking Windows off its OS perch, they can't just wait
around for it to happen. They need to grab hold of opportunities to
reduce the barriers to Linux adoption.
"Late last year, I wrote a column about how our industry's
tightening embrace of virtualization and Web-based applications is
making it easier than ever to choose an alternative operating
system, such as Linux, to run your client machines. However, if the
vendors and projects pushing Linux and its market share-challenged
ilk are really serious about gaining ground against Windows, then
waiting around for industry trends to carry them to their goal is
not going to get it done.
"I'm thinking specifically of Novell and Canonical, both of
which field direct Windows competitors. Canonical's Ubuntu project
has gone so far as to designate "Microsoft has a majority market
share" as bug No. 1 in its issue tracker. Given the ambition of
these goals, Novell and Canonical, along with other Linux backers,
consistently surprise me with their apparent reluctance to grab
hold of opportunities to reduce the application availability
barriers to Linux adoption."
