Re: Petreley on commercial support for non-MS OSes

[Steve Cohen <stevecoh@mcs.com>]

Eric M. Bennett wrote:

> 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
> operated by depressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of the
> audience.
> -Ambrose Bierce

There's some interesting discussion on http://www.slashdot.org about this
article as well.