Petreley on commercial support for non-MS OSes

["Eric M. Bennett" <ericb@pobox.com>]

Nicholas Petreley has some interesting comments that seem relevant to the
discussion of what's involved with software companies supporting
non-Microsoft OSes.

Here are a couple excerpts from his article.
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1998-12/lw-12-penguin.html

"Someone will undoubtedly label 1998 as the year Linux took the market by
storm. This conclusion is premature. Linux is enjoying remarkable growth
only because vendors are scrambling to make the most of the brief window
of opportunity they have while Microsoft is paralyzed. As long as
Microsoft is engaged in a battle with the Department of Justice, Microsoft
cannot retaliate against anyone who dares defect from the 'Windows NT is
the only future' camp. Should Microsoft ultimately win the case, however,
I guarantee vendors will abandon Linux faster than a rat out of an
aqueduct."

"Microsoft has made it clear that it wants to control every lucrative or
strategic software category on Windows. And Microsoft has demonstrated
time and again that it is willing to (in order of preference) copy, buy,
or license any competing technology it needs in order to gain that
control. It would seem unwise, therefore, to support Microsoft or Windows,
especially if you have a product that competes with a Microsoft product,
or is likely to compete with a future Microsoft product.

But I remind these readers that when most companies form strategic
alliances, they rarely look beyond the next few quarters. Microsoft offers
success today, and most vendors are likely to respond by jumping at the
opportunity. Some of them have even been foolish enough to share their
trade secrets based on the unspoken promise of an alliance, only to watch
Microsoft lose interest and launch a product that looks and works
remarkably like their own.

If vendors can be so foolish as to walk into the above traps, surely you
don't think their recent choice to support Linux is indicative of newfound
wisdom? Even I, someone who believes in miracles, am not that naive."



--
Eric Bennett (http://www.pobox.com/~ericb/)
Cornell University, Field of Biochemistry, 377 Olin Chemistry Lab

Piano, n.  A parlor utensil for subduing the impenitent visitor.  It is
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