begin oe_protect.scr
Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> No Microsoft 'Web Office' on tap, says Ozzie
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| Microsoft is paying attention to Web-based Office suites but does
>| not intend to release one itself in the near future, Microsoft's
>| chief software architect Ray Ozzie told ZDNet's Dan Farber.
> `----
>
> http://news.com.com/2061-12572_3-6130134.html?part=rss&tag=6130134&subj=news
>
> This is an utterly stupid (if not suicidal) move, in my humble opinion.
> Bandwidth is increased, mobility is needed more than ever (e.g.
> smartphones), and browser capabilities improve. I guess competing with your
> own cash cow leads to guilt (OpenOffice aside).
>
> It's about short-term gains (native Office) rather than a look ahead...
> didn't work out well when Gates chose to ignore the Internet back in 1993.
> Microsoft pretends that the desktop as it knows it will never change.
Microsoft have the "walking backwards slowly" problem. If they put
"office on the web", then they'll canibalise their remaining licence
revenue. How many OEMs would consider bundling Office if it were
available, hosted, on the web? Further, if MS were allowed to host it,
surely we'd see other companies demanding to so do? What would happen
if Microsoft refused? Would that look like monopoly abuse? I suspect
that it would.
I think Microsoft are damned if they do and damned if they don't here.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
Never say you know a man until you have divided an inheritance with him.
|
|
