Does C# kill Java? Does IE kill Firefox? Does SQLServer kill Oracle? Does Windows kill UNIX? Will Silverlight kill Flex?
>From my 20 odd years of software development, during which time the Microsoft hegemony has been at its apogee, none of the above are true. In fact if you want a really scalable enterprise platform you would choose the right hand side of the list above rather than the left. Where Microsoft win hands down is in Office Applications and desktop operating systems. Excel is quite possibly the best piece of desktop software ever written (Word being the worst) and long may it reign as such. Windows is crap, but it's more than good enough for your average user and most Microsoft desktop products are actually pretty good (c'mon, be generous). I regret deeply that the rest of the world doesn't have a house full of beautiful, stable, simple Macs like I do, but the reality is that they don't as Jason points out. Instead the three or four computers the normal person interacts with in their daily lives are almost exclusively running Windows (even the ATM machines and tills at the supermarket). Not a pleasant truth, but a truth nonetheless. If you are looking for broad adoption and commercial success as a software company you start with Windows. The wonderful reality, however, is that the software industry, like all others in the history of human endeavour, thrives on competition and there is space for more than one company/product/offering to survive. Adobe are not going to be Microsoft. THANK GOD! They have and in my opinion will always have, a distinct and separate offering. If they can't retain that differentiation then they don't deserve to remain in business and the market will take care of them. So this is a bit of a silly thread as far as I am concerned. The answer for me is clearly No for all the same reasons that Microsoft haven't killed any of the other things on the list at the top. They might try, but I think they should be more worried about Google and web based desktop software than Adobe and the flash player. Simon --- In [email protected], Bjorn Schultheiss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > Hey Jason, > > Even if 90% of internet's users are running Windows, how many > millions aren't.. > If you can deploy applications that is guaranteed to only be used by > Windows users, well good luck to you. > > Here we target creatives in the advertising industry and I don't have > that luxury. > > > > > Regards, > > Bjorn Schultheiss > Senior Developer >  > Personalised Communication Power > > Level 2, 31 Coventry St. > South Melbourne 3205, > VIC Australia > > T: +61 3 9674 7400 > F: +61 3 9645 9160 > W: http://www.qdc.net.au > > ((------------This transmission is confidential and intended solely > for the person or organization to whom it is addressed. It may > contain privileged and confidential information. If you are not the > intended recipient, you should not copy, distribute or take any > action in reliance on it. If you believe you received this > transmission in error, please notify the sender.---------------)) > > > > One person wrote: > > Everybody uses Windows, almost all the workstations are windows. Macs > > have IE working OK. > > Another responded: > >>Think again. > "Think again?" What kind of an argument is that? People keep > brining up certain technlogies not working on Mac OS or Linux as a > bad thing. Personally, I've never bought into the, "that technology > does not support obscure browser "X" or non-Windows operating system > "Y" and therefore is doomed to fail" argument. As much as I wish it > were not true, Microsoft is one example of a company who has time and > again developed solutions for Windows only and been quite successful > at it. Not supporting Mac or Linux WILL hurt you a little, but it's > still a Windows world (unfortunately) and thus there is a huge market > there to tap. The world is changing, sure, but very very slowly in > this regard. > > At the same time, I think Silverlight is coming out a little too late > - the RIA runtime has already left the barn IMO. > > Jason Merrill > Bank of America > GT&O Learning & Leadership Development > eTools & Multimedia Team >
