Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...

Story: Linux versus the world: The unwinnable war?Total Replies: 2
Author Content
golem

Jun 16, 2010
7:25 AM EDT
Don't be preaching defeat just when Microsoft is going soft on us.

Windows is steadily losing market share, Internet Explorer is about to become a minority browser, US corporations are drifting away from MS Office, versions of Linux are becoming prominent on netbooks and smartphones, and here someone thinks the war is unwinnable?

True, much of Microsoft's loss is to Apple, but that just means Apple is softening up Microsoft's markets for us. A lot of customers are aware for the first time that "Windows" and "computer" are not synonyms. They know that it is not inconceivable that a computer might run a different operating system. So the notion of running something called Linux is that much less of a leap.
bigg

Jun 16, 2010
7:39 AM EDT
But in the eyes of many (most of whom claim to be Linux users) it's been rigorously proven that Microsoft will be the first company in history to keep its hold on a market for hundreds of years. (No, I didn't read the article, I've read enough of that stuff for six lifetimes.)
caitlyn

Jun 16, 2010
1:44 PM EDT
Well... I did read the article and he is right that retailers have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo to maximize their profits. If people switch from proprietary to FOSS software then their software sales go out the window with Windows. They also make profits from whatever their equivalent of the Nerd Herd or the McGenius is who do such exciting things as remove viruses and malware or install anti-virus software or defrag hopeless hard drives. Selling machines with a reliable, low maintenance OS preinstalled is just plain bad for business.

He's not preaching defeat. He is accurately describing the marketplace as it exists today.

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