This week, Microsoft announced Express (i.e., free or low-cost) versions of SQL Server and some development tools.. Joe Wilcox says this is a potentially clever way to derail Linux's inroads:
"... I remember when Lotus 123 or WordPerfect cost $600 each. Microsoft trumped both by selling a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software bundled together for less. I remember people who scoffed at Window NT 4 taking on huge market leader NetWare in 1996. But, Microsoft gave away file-and-print services, which helped catapult NT 4 Server ahead of its rival. Who can forget the browser wars, when Netscape charged for a browser but Microsoft gave one away for free with Windows? Free, or nearly so, is never a sure way to market success. Microsoft benefits by giving away something of value that enhances something else the company sells. ..."
As a heavy Linux and Microsoft user I see both sides of the coin alot being in the defense industry. We rely on software tools that operate seemlessly and currently Linux tools seem to be lacking in this regard to some extent (a minus)...i.e complete suites of tools developed by a smart "open" development community, such as .NET for Linux. Developing such tools requires coordinating resources and commercial vendors seem more mature. Yet the number of Linux users is quite large within the military development and science communities for C/C++ and Java and XML like wares. CORBA tools and freeware frameworks such as ACE+TAO could also benefit by within these visual development environments on Linux.
There may be a variety of solutions that might help including the one you suggested. By distributing some tools and components as freeware, users would leverage horizontal tool market dominance on a number of levels and help by enhancing military horizontal integration initiatives and standards efforts.
At the same time, companies such as IBM, SUN, Microsoft and others could also benefit by developing vertical market frameworks and a larger variety of components and charge money for these. A Missing component? Tightly coupling such tool suites to hardware backend systems of Telcos might help build new broadband initiatives.
Hand holding users never hurt...and freeware tools and capabilities has helped build market share in the past, such as we've all seen in the browser and OS battlefields of the past.
V.F. Golubic, M.S.E.E
Raytheon Company
Future Combat Systems (FCS), GSI Embedded Training
Microsoft has done what Linux has done, product a clone of a powerfull os(dos is a copy of cp/m, Windows of MAc OS , which Bill design for Apple).
Although I enjoy the benifit of a Windows world, i believe that the time has come for Microsoft to reduce it cost for it's os and application packages so that low end comsumer can benifit. In a developing country (Barbados West Indies) that import all IT products, the price for the basic Microsoft product is high. As an IT professional for 20 years, I can tell you this, people want a basic GUI, an office suit that can do basic word processing, spread sheets, email and a browser for the net. You can get all this with linux for $40, yes all of this, 8 CD. You pay $90 for just the Windows OS.
Coperations has decided to stwich to Linux because of cost. You updating 500 PCs, you have to change Hardware to enjoy the benifit of Windows XP. I have the latest Suse Linux runing on a 300Mhz Pc, and it is performing like Windows on a 1200 Mhz machine. I also use Apple MAc and a 500Mhz MAc with Mac OS 9 or X perform like a Windows XP machine with 1800Mhz speed.
The coice of an OS will soon become clear, Linux in the future(Very near) will dominate the PC world.
Posted by: Chulang Searles on July 7, 2004 06:51 AMMaybe microsoft can make this strategy work. But I know there are folks out there that will stay away, mainly due to spyware/viruses.
I had been a windows user since 3.11 but recently gave up my PC and got a mac. I just could not devote time to doing updates, patches and security updates that I, as an end user, should not have to worry about. This is what will kill microsoft, not a 'killer app' or OS but the fact that there is so much of this crap out there that users are getting fed up. Maybe they could give away a secure OS, that might help ;-).
No OS is without security updates. Vulnerabilities are found within Windows, Linux/Unix, and the Mac OS on a frequent basis. Microsoft's patches get all of the headlines because they affect the most people.
Windows 2000 and XP have the functionality to automatically detect, download, and install critical updates with or without user intervention. It doesn't get much easier than this.
You are going to be in for a surprise if you think you can move off of Windows and not have to update your OS anymore.
Posted by: Brandon Kendall on July 9, 2004 05:30 PMPost a comment
