[GRLUG] Novell, having fun are we?

[Bob Kline]

I'm getting the feeling that M$ has been just
a great outfit to work with.  Never mind the
monopoly suit,  addressing M$'s propensity
to drive anyone out of business almost at will.
And its control of interfaces was a big part of
what kept the monopoly intact.  But I take it
that even third parties will now be able to provide
bridge software.

So it would seem that M$ has become a real
team player,  eager to address past wrongs,
and just wants to see the world move ahead.
With that great philanthropist Bill Gates leading
the charge,  wanting to let bygones be
bygones,  and wanting only to spend those
endless $billions in peace,  doing good works.

Color me skeptical.  Time will tell. Sure,  M$ just
wants to make more money - lots of it if possible -
but will its tactics really change so much?  I
suspect it will be good  ol'  M$,  as long as it
continues to get the lion's share of the revenues
in any collaboration.  It expects this.  Insists on
it in all likelihood.

    -Bob


On 11/5/06, Michael Mol <mikemol at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/5/06, Ron Lauzon <rlauzon at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Bob Kline wrote:
> > > Otherwise,  M$'s servers are presumably in competition with Linux.  Some feel that if M$ greases the skids for Linux in any way that threatens it's own server business.
> > >
> >
> > In a sense it does.  But if Microsoft plan for it, they can make the
> > transition without too much hassle.
> >
> > IHMO the next major version of Windows after Vista will be Linux-based
> > (sort of how OS-X for the Mac is BSD-based).
>
> Actually, I expect they'd go with OpenBSD.  The licensing is much,
> much more agreeable to their tastes.
>
> >
> > > Time will tell.  It might be this is a miscalculation on M$'s part.  It might be that it's being forced in to the move by market realities.  Whether M$ plays nice remains to be seen. There's surely very little precedent for that.
> > >
> >
> > Well, we know from their SEC filings that MS makes money on only two
> > products: Windows and Office.
> >
> > MS has decided to not support the Open Document Format that many
> > entities (governments and businesses) require, so these places are
> > starting to move to something else (like Open Office).  The snowball has
> > started to move for a large-scale acceptance of Open Office.  MS knows
> > this and is planning for it.
>
> I disagree.  I expect either Microsoft or a third party will produce a
> plugin that allows the import and export of ODF documents
>
> >
> > It makes alot of sense for MS to make the next version of Windows
> > Linux-compatible.  IBM did this for their AIX for the big reason that it
> > gained them a HUGE base of free packages for their OS.  IBM realized
> > that they aren't selling software - they are selling solutions to
> > customers.  By increasing the amount of software available for their
> > servers, they increase the value of those servers to their customers.
> >
> > MS is just starting to realize that the software market simply isn't
> > there.  People don't buy an OS just to have an OS.  They buy is to make
> > their computer work and Windows has no great benefit over the
> > alternatives anymore (did it ever?  8-).
>
> For home users, Windows was all they really needed for a long time.
> Once home use of the Internet took off, though, Windows started
> showing its age.  Windows was never designed around the concepts of
> networks.  Even WinNT 3.51 was primarily a workstation, not a server.
> (Think about it.  Who in their right minds today wants a software
> package that limits you to five users, or even 25?  The Internet
> really changed that.)  While UNIX wasn't originally a network OS, it
> was designed from the get-go as a multi-user system with a relatively
> sophisticated permissions system, and a corporate-driven security
> mindset.
>
> If Microsoft hadn't invested in Internet Explorer when they had, they
> would have lost a lot of marketshare to operating systems which had
> more network functionality and less security risk.  IE saved
> Microsoft's keister, because with out it Netscape would have continued
> to offer versions of their browser for multiple operating systems.
> (Not to mention the browsers already available for those platforms.
> The original web browser was developed on NeXT.  Mosaic was develuped
> under UNIX.  Arachne was, and still is, available for DOS.)
>
> Internet Explorer offered a free gateway to the newest, hottest
> feature of computers, and it only ran on Microsoft Windows. (Then they
> integrated IE with Windows, and downloading Netscape became a moot
> point.)
>
>
> >
> > The same for office packages.  Users want to click on a file and be able
> > to edit it.  They don't care what package they have if it does what they
> > want it to.  Office packages have been stagnant for years now - no new
> > features.  They do everything users want.
>
> I disagree...each version of Office adds more features.  Not
> necessarily useful features, but more features.  And they keep moving
> menu options around.  (And they hide them, if they don't think you use
> them.)
>
> Thank god none of the new features have been quite as bad as Clippy, though.
>
> >
> > > No sue agreement?  Gee,  I wonder what M$'s army of lawyers could do with something like that.....
> > >
> >
> > This is the "Intellectual Property" BS.  When we get software and
> > business practices off the "can be patented" list (as it should be),
> > that will go away.
> >
> > Right now, MS (like many other companies, it seems) are choosing the
> > play the legislation game instead of the innovation game.  In this, I
> > can't blame them.  Most companies have to play this game right now.
> >
> > --
> > Ron Lauzon - rlauzon at acm dot org
> >    Homepage: http://7lauzon.home.comcast.net/
> >    Weblog: http://ronsapartment.blogspot.com/
> >
> >    DNRC: Lord of All Things That Are Fattening
> >
> >    "To be sure, conservative radio talk show hosts have a built-in
> >    audience unavailable to liberals: People driving cars to some
> >    sort of job." - Ann Coulter
> >
> > Microsoft Free since July 06, 2001
> > Running Mandriva Linux 2007
> >
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>
>
> --
> :wq
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