Microsoft, Novell paint target on Red Hat

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Linux Fans should read the writing and rejoice

No matter how you felt about Microsoft yesterday, Microsoft is probably one of your best friends today. Yep I said it, one of your best friends.

It was not all that long ago that IBM was in the position that Microsoft currently holds; loved (lowercase) for the money making opportunities HATED (uppercase) becaused of the percieved strangle hold on anything computer related.

Also do you remember with one fell stroke IBM legitimized the PC by offering one of their own.
Microsoft just did the same thing with Linux.

I know you will say Linux was on its way without Microsoft but so was the PC without IBM.

Consider whatever the current numbers are for Microsoft's PC desktop monopoly...greater than 90 percent in the US and a similiar amount around the rest of the world. Also consider the number of people that use computers other than folk actually in the IT industry. Clerks, medical assistants, insurance agents, bank tellers, and so on.
These folks will tell you in a minute "I do computers", but will be the very first ones when responding to a customer service problem with "well, my computer says..." when you know for a fact the information they are looking at on their computer is wrong.

My point is this, these people (again, other than IT people), know what they do at work, and at work is typically some flavor Microsoft Windows. Because it's what they know from work, chances are near 100% that is what they have at home. It is this very reason that when some person or company decides to write an application, game, or widget it is almost first for Windows. Naturally, because that's where the pot of gold is.

Now with Microsoft's blessing Linux is not only ok but is all of a sudden cool and soon to be a must have depending on a couple of things.

One of the first things that should happen is a change in attitude of Linux knowledgeable and get off your high geeky horses. I'll put it to you the way Steve Jobs put it to the Apple brethern "Microsoft does not have to lose in order for us to win" Frankly, you (Linux crowd) need to get with the interoperability train that's cranking up. When you deliver your apps, games or widgets it needs to as much as possible with Windows the hook is to be better, faster, cheaper, or anything except instead of Windows. Remember, for the most part people like what they know, just don't tell them that what they know bulls..t.

One other thing that is very important is for Novell to take this second golden opportunity to rise to the top but this time stay there. Remember Novell is the company that had the original killer application for business PC networking in their Netware product. But where Microsoft cultivated the masses, and developers Novell was pretty arrogant. An attitude that caused them to look around and realize their much superior Netware and NDS was supplanted by a greatly inferior then NT and Active Directory.

Lastly, this is a golden opportunity to influence Microsoft and their Windows OS as well as other products they offer. Recently I've been working with Vista RC1. It is gorgeous. I have also heard from Linux and Apple users about all of the short comings about Vista. Man o Man. With Microsoft's willingness to work with at least one Linux distribution this seems to me to be a great time toss in your 2 cents in a constructive way. I don't know but this sure seems like a way to have cake and eat it too.

Posted by: tonyman262   Posted on: 11/07/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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