At 01:27 PM 05/11/2001 -0500, Irv Mullins wrote:
>I fully expect Microsoft to come out with a version of Linux sooner
>or later. It will be 'user friendly' - but just enough different so that
>only Microsoft programs will run well on it.
>
>Having Microsoft 'embrace and extend' your standards is like
>letting the dirty old man down the street 'embrace' your teenage
>daughter - the likely outcome is much the same.
>
>Regards,
>Irv
I wouldn't count on MS doing that. They will *never* do anything to harm
their OS monopoly, and that monopoly is likely to be around for a few years
still. They only embrace and extend when it is to their advantage,
especially (and specifically) when they do not already own a particular
market. Thus the kerberos fiasco in Windows 2000. MS added support for a
common and standardized authentication protocol, one which MS did not
already control, and in which Unix was the primary player. But, the MS
version broke - I mean, "extended" - kerberos just enough to give them an
advantage over other (Unix) platforms.
If MS already owns a market (i.e., the desktop OS), then they have no
reason to embrace and extend any standard within that market. And even in
the server arena, they would only harm their NT/Win2k marketing efforts if
they released a competing server platform based on Linux. MS may produce
bloated, buggy code. They may lie, cheat and steal to beat their
competition. But they know their markets, they know their customers, and
they know how to focus their energy toward platform dominance.
That's what makes them such a formidable enemy. But I still think Linux
will win in the long run.
Dave Sherman
Business Solutions Group, LLC "Quid quid latine dictum sit,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] altum viditur."
(763) 569-9839
