Pretty much by now, everyone has seen the joke website about Microsoft Linux, but could Microsoft be getting the last laugh? Check this out:
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1112687

Microsoft considers apps for Linux

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said the software giant is open minded to the possibility of making its application software available on Linux, provided intellectual property issues can be resolved.
Speaking at Gartner's autumn Symposium/ITxpo, Ballmer said Microsoft is interested in putting .Net, its strategy for redesigning its application software as services delivered over the internet, on operating system platforms other than Windows. He singled out Palm and Linux as being of particular interest.

However, he said the intellectual property environment of Linux is "messy" and the environment "confused", meaning that there are "hurdles to putting Microsoft software on Linux". His statement is an indication that Microsoft is keen to make money from the open source movement, if only it can work out a way to do so.

Turning to the antitrust case against Microsoft, Ballmer said people should not assume that the software giant will be split into separate applications and operating system companies.

Ballmer claimed Microsoft has devoted little energy to working through how a possible breakup might be implemented, because the final outcome of the case, about which he expresses continued optimism, is yet to be determined.

"If you don't accept our confidence as gospel, remember there will be some things that change during the appellant process," said Ballmer, who added that the case has not adversely affected morale in Redmond.

Ballmer was closely questioned by Gartner vice-president Tom Austin concerning the rising percentage of the cost of a PC represented by software costs, which stands out as the cost of disk and memory continue to decrease.

Austin said that over the past five years users have spent 300 per cent more on Microsoft software, and by 2005 this can be expected to be 500 per cent more. Ballmer said this reflects the fact that people are buying more Microsoft software to perform more tasks, rather than being anything to do with the software giant's licensing policies.

On the future, Ballmer predicted that Oracle, Sun Microsystems, AOL and the "Linux phenomenon" will be Microsoft's strongest competitors. IBM will be a competitor but will also co-operate more with Microsoft in a number of areas, such as in the development of Soap (Simple Object Access Protocol).

Ballmer dismissed Sun chief executive Scott McNealy's claims that the computer software industry will fade away as "absurd". Software is central to solving and - Ballmer joked - creating problems, and is even more important as companies embrace ecommerce.

McNealy's keynote speech yesterday - which amounted to an obituary for the software industry - was "patently crazy", said Ballmer. Statements such as those by McNealy, "are one of the reasons people steer clear of Sun", he added.

Here is another intresting article:
http://news.cnet.com/news//0-1003-200-3173984.html


Government filing hints at Microsoft's Linux plans
By Stephen Shankland and Wylie Wong
Staff Writers, CNET News.com
October 12, 2000, 3:50 p.m. PT

Microsoft may have Linux plans up its sleeve after all.

As part of its $135 million investment in ailing software maker Corel, announced last week, Microsoft has secured an avenue for translating key parts of its recently announced ".Net" software architecture for the Linux operating system.

As spelled out in a regulatory filing issued by Corel on Wednesday, Microsoft has the option of directing Corel to translate some or all of the .Net framework from its Windows operating system to Linux.

Microsoft's .Net initiative aims to spread computing jobs across interconnected servers so central computers instead of desktops handle most software tasks. It is targeted at making Microsoft's existing software available over the Internet to traditional PCs and devices such as cell phones and handheld computers.

Microsoft rivals, such as Sun Microsystems and Oracle, have long touted the vision of tying all computing devices to the Internet.

Rumors have abounded about Microsoft's interest in Linux, a rival to the software giant's Windows operating system. Microsoft has vehemently denied plans to shift any of its software to Linux or to any operating system other than Windows, however.

If the Linux version of .Net goes ahead, Microsoft must give Corel access to the product's source code, or original programming instructions, the filing said. In addition, Corel will assign 20 full-time programmers and 10 testers to the project.

While there's no guarantee Microsoft will move its software to Linux, clearly the investment has brought Microsoft one step closer to the open-source challenger.

"There will be some times when (customers) need to do it (.Net) on other platforms," Jim Ewel, vice president of Microsoft's Windows.Net server group, told CNET News.com on Thursday. "We definitely are aware that customers will have different heterogeneous environments. But primarily we are focused on Windows."

A Microsoft spokesman said the company currently has no plans to exercise the option with Corel.

"Corel is doing a lot of Linux work and we might be interested down the line. In case we ever need to, we have something in our back pocket," said Microsoft spokesman Jim Cullinan. "But we don't exercise (every) option in contracts, so I wouldn't read too much into it."

Ewel was quick to dismiss Linux as a true competitor to Windows 2000--at least for now. "Linux is far from being an enterprise player, but ask me in five years," he said.

"Microsoft has an option to port .Net to Linux if they choose to develop a Linux strategy," said Corel spokeswoman Louise Hanlon.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filing states that "Corel hereby grants Microsoft an option for Corel to Port some portion or all of the .Net Framework from the Windows Platform to the Linux Platform."

If the work goes ahead, Microsoft will own the software--in other words, Corel essentially has been hired to do the work--the company said while detailing Microsoft's investment in Corel.

Microsoft has the option to charge Corel and any other company royalties or fees to distribute the Linux version of .Net, the filing said. Corel has the option to do the work for three years.

In a way, Corel is the ideal candidate for the job. It's had Windows software for years but also has grown familiar with Linux in the past two years. However, Corel's Linux experience isn't nearly as deep as that of other Linux companies, such as Red Hat, which have been using the software for years.

Corel has offered a version of Linux for desktop computers for nearly a year and has brought over much of its office software, such as WordPerfect and Corel Draw. It's also been working on a server version of Linux. And like Sun Microsystems, Applix and Microsoft, it's been working on making its office software available as a service over the Internet instead of just a program that runs on a desktop machine.

Gartner analyst Daryl Plummer said supporting Linux would be a smart move for Microsoft. Detractors have complained that while Microsoft touted a vision of software and services over the Net, the vision was limited to Microsoft technology.

"It's really a good thing for Microsoft. Microsoft wants to do this; they want the image of .Net being cross-platform," Plummer said. "One thing people complained about (with) .Net when it was announced was that it was another attempt by Microsoft to get people to use their stuff. This can be their attempt to get less focus on their single-platform strategy. They can now say, 'We run on multiple platforms and Linux is the hot platform.'"

But Plummer said moving Linux to Microsoft's .Net technology will be a difficult task because Corel will have to replicate many of Microsoft's underlying technology functions, called application programming interfaces (APIs).

Microsoft, on the other hand, would reap the benefits of supporting Linux without having to do the heavy lifting, Plummer said.

Hedging bets by moving .Net beyond Windows raises more possibilities than just Linux--notably, Sun's Solaris operating system, which is popular in building Internet infrastructure.

George Paolini, Sun's vice president of technology advocacy, said that to his knowledge Microsoft hasn't approached Sun. If they did, Sun likely wouldn't be interested, he said. "At the end of the day, we'd have to view that with an element of caution because .Net is so dependent on Windows to make it work," he said.

Plummer said Linux support won't hurt Windows 2000 operating system sales in the short term. Supporting a second operating system may help Microsoft if a court-ordered breakup of the company is upheld on appeal.

"Maybe this is part of their Plan B. If they get broken up, they would have implemented .Net on a different operating system than Windows if Windows were taken away," Plummer said. "They would have a presence in the Linux world."

Sorry that this posting is SO long but I thought that this was a interesting topic.

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Ain't gonna happen.

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Interesting. Clearly a lot of hurdles left, but it is intriguing to say the least...

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I would like to see microsoft build apps for solaris and then when sun squash it, file an anti-trust suit against sun charging them using unfair pratice in utilizing their solaris OS to squash competition. that would be a law suit worth following.







not funny cuz I obviously forgot that ie is on solaris... sigh... I don't ever think before I type when I think i have something witty and just blow it ...

Last edited by mikop on 06-28-02 at 07:01 PM

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Hey folks,

I can clearly see the age of many who are posting here. Back in 1981 or 1982 thru 1992 I remember selling the Microsoft XENIX (1st UNIX for a PC "licensed" with AT&T/Bell Labs to be "marketed" & sold, but could not use the UNIX copyright name) on the Tandy 16/16b & 6000 computers running upto 9 terminals. The machine was based on the Motorola 68000 processor that was also used by Apple for the Apple LISA and then the MacIntosh.

Microsoft made several applications including Multiplan (spreadsheet before Excel) and FoxBase (DataBase also still around). Eventually Microsoft decided to let Santa Cruz Operations (SCO) run the show which later became SCO XENIX --> SCO UNIX. It was a very stable O/S that I only saw crash when hardware had failed, unlike Windows NT/2000. IBM even wanted it ported to the IBM AT but was later pushed aside for OS/2 (a piece of crap) which was DOG slow compared to Windows, but more stable! Microsoft & SCO did port for the Intel 80286, 80386 & 80486 processors and it was a fine O/S for the hardware platform.

I like the idea of Microsoft selling apps for UNIX, and that could lead to other certifications that Micro$oft could make money on too!! That would also help corporations make a legitimate switch or upgrade to Linux/UNIX for a multi-flavored O/S shop. You should use the best tool or O/S for the job and the same is true for the applications!!

Last edited by Doug_Black on 06-28-02 at 08:21 PM

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well, if star office comes in windows and linux versions, why can't ms office come in linux and windows versions. that's like saying suzuki cannot make cars but can make motorcycles and honda can cannot make motorcycles but make cars.

it's a competitive market. sure, it can make some people sick that most, if not all, news pcs are sold with microsoft operating systems and word-processing applications. but at the end of the day, every manufacturer wants every houshold on the planet to have atleast one of its products. alexander graham bell probably thought that it would be great if every home had one of his telephones.

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It's also about pride in the product. .NET on other platforms WILL happen with a future release. Mark my words.

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quote:

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.NET on other platforms WILL happen with a future release. Mark my words.

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