I totally agree with you Bryan. My deeper point (and I think the sub-plot of the Attorney Gens) is that once the code is opened up and ported, and the API's, etc made available then cross-platform functionality for Linux will skyrocket. How long do you think it would be before the next version of Open Office/Koffice/StarOffice would be out with a fuller and more robust set of capabilities. Being able to send and save *.doc, etc (M$) formated documents and Powerpoint style presentations to the M$ holds outs would be the cinch pin in the viability factor for the Penguin. Once this occurs then why the hell would any self respecting capitalist pay outrageous prices and inhibitive license fees for an M$ product when Open Office or Koffice will do all the formats that anyone could hope for. I buy an OS from SuSE, or for that matter KDE disc with Koffice on it. Burn a few dozen copies of it, spread them around the IT staff to implement department by department. The interface is now user-friendly and in a style that is suitable for M$ drones to become accustomed to with a minimal of effort and training. The CEO, Pres, VP's, CTO's/CIO's weigh the cost/benefit of M$ prices/licensing fees vs Linux/re-train cost and bite. This is what "scares the sh*t our of M$". This is what their monopoly and propriety are all about. They want to set the standard and then be the only ones allowed to implement it. This is antithetical to the Linux paradigm and once this can of worms is open, from an M$ point of view, then life may well become very unpleasant - Hell M$ would actually have to "compete" and "try" to put out something truly innovative and cost-affordable - all the while continuing to have their stock prices and dividends as high as their investors have become used to enjoying. A pretty big ticket to fill. Just MHO, Curtis On Thursday 20 December 2001 12:26, Bryan Tyson wrote:
On Wednesday 19 December 2001 20:05, Curtis wrote:
Port it and they will come.
I think there is too much obsession with porting MS apps. Let's show the world we don't need MS by developing high-quality open-source native Linux apps. This is already happening, of course. I barely use Windows/MS any more. That trend will only grow stronger as more and more developers and users join the swelling tide.
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