____/ Mark Kent on Friday 14 March 2008 06:51 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> ____/ El Tux on Sunday 09 March 2008 20:59 : \____
>>
>>> On Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:04:25 +0000, Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>>
>>>> Linux is truly everywhere
>>>
>>> I saw a pretty good sign the other day. I'm debating whether to get an
>>> Eee, so I looked in on the user reviews on Amazon to see what real users
>>> are saying. Naturally there were some who couldn't wait to get Windows
>>> working on their new toy, but there were also a few who said they
>>> bought their Eee *intending* to install Windows first thing, and then
>>> found that the "default OS" (Linux) was so nice that they decided to
>>> just keep using it.
>>>
>>> There was also a Linux user who had intended to install his own favorite
>>> distro, but decided that the one that was on there was better tailored
>>> to the machine. So, it sounds like manufacturers are finally getting a
>>> grip on how to really *use* and *customize* Linux, as opposed to just
>>> throwing some random (and usually inappropriate) distro on there and
>>> calling it done.
>>>
>>> From some history I know and some rumors I hear on the blogs, it seems
>>> pretty certain that Microsoft is going to cut some special deal with
>>> Asus to push Linux off the Eee's. I almost hope they do because Linux
>>> excels at portability to machines large and small, whereas MS is having
>>> to kludge Windows to make it fit on such limited hardware. Then there's
>>> still the matter of stripping down all those big bloated *closed-source*
>>> Windows applications so Windows and a useable number of apps fit on a 2G
>>> flash drive. However, the hardware will be linux-compatible, and
>>> distro's that are more appropriate to the machine are free, so this
>>> could actually just end up making MS look bad.
>>
>> It is true (I know this from someone) that Microsoft offered significant
>> discounts to ASUS, but that's the type of thing that makes Linux Microsoft's
>> #1 threat. Sooner or later, Microsoft may have to just give away Windows for
>> free. The operating platform has become a commodity... or is soon getting
>> there.
>>
>
> It's already there. The licensing cost for Linux is £0.00, which is
> nothing, free of charge. Support remains an issue, just as it is in
> Windows, however, unlike Windows, there is a huge amount of free support
> available too, although they paying kind is also available in a for-hire
> competitive free market.
>
> Operating systems are commoditised now.
The same also goes for office suites, increasingly. It becomes an
over-the-counter drug. No prescription, no patents.
http://www.microsoft.com/msft/SEC/default.mspx
“...the popularization of
the open source software model continues to pose a significant challenge to
our business model, including continuing efforts by proponents of open source
software to convince governments worldwide to mandate the use of open source
software in their purchase and deployment of software products. To the extent
open source software gains increasing market acceptance, sales of our products
may decline, we may have to reduce the prices we charge for our products, and
revenue and operating margins may consequently decline. ”
--
~~ Best of wishes
"I am convinced we have to use Windows – this is the one thing they don’t have.
We have to be competitive with features, but we need something more — Windows
integration."
--Jim Allchin, Microsoft
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