Linux Vendors Need To Get Off the Stick to Compete with Windows

"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."

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