Now, 
photodharma made a post, and lightning_rose made a response to that post that got me thinking. Basically, among the really smart folk I know it's generally accepted that MS is dead in the water. Why?
Well, think about the events of the past year (meaning January '03 - January '04):
Apple has finally standardized on Mac OS X, the first realy consumer Unix. Based on FreeBSD, Apple is touting is as the "future".
IBM first quietly, then very loudly begins to push Linux. First offering it on high-end zSeries mainframes, now you can purchase most any IBM server with Linux on it. Rumbles within IBM indicate that sometime in the '04 fiscal IBM will begin offering Linux desktops, most rumors point to SuSE as the distro of choice, ThinkPads, and they may standardize their own corporate desktops on Linux.
Novell first announces that the next major release of it's venerable NetWare software, NetWare 7, will have the option of running atop a Linux kernel. They will give the user the choice of running either a Linux or a NetWare kernel.
Novell finalizes a deal to purchase SuSE Linux. IBM pumps $50 million into Novell.
SCO sues the world. IBM, Intel, Redhat, Novell, and others set up defense funds for coporate Linux users.
Sun Microsystems, once one who vehemently opposed Linux, announces a Linux and Java-based desktop OS that will run on x86 hardware.
HP, once a big bed-partner of Microsoft, announces that they will begin offering Linux on select desktop models. They go further and partner with Apple to bring Apple's iTunes to HP desktops, and a HP-branded iPod.
Dell, another Microsoft stronghold, begins to offer select "OS-free" systems. Through Dell Corporate, users can choose to have Dell install select Linux distros on select PC's.
Sharp releases, and further refines a Linux-based PDA, the Zaurus.
Wal-Mart begins sale of low-cost PC's that run the Lindows OS instead of Windows XP.
And that's all I have. Seriously people, the future for MS isn't good. More and more are realizing that the Microsoft Tax is no longer a tax, but rather an option. I don't know about the rest of you, but the next 12 months is going to be exciting for me ;).
photodharma made a post, and lightning_rose made a response to that post that got me thinking. Basically, among the really smart folk I know it's generally accepted that MS is dead in the water. Why? Well, think about the events of the past year (meaning January '03 - January '04):
And that's all I have. Seriously people, the future for MS isn't good. More and more are realizing that the Microsoft Tax is no longer a tax, but rather an option. I don't know about the rest of you, but the next 12 months is going to be exciting for me ;).
