Cringely has written another interesting piece on Microsoft; conclusion? It"s not going away in the near future. I hope they don"t pay you guys to much @ pbs.
"When I wrote last week about my conclusion that the legal system -- any legal system -- is unequipped to change Microsoft"s monopolistic behavior, I had no idea that within 24 hours, Sun Microsystem would be throwing in the towel, trading its so-called principles for $1.95 billion in cash. So I guess I was right. Only now, a few thousand readers out there expect me to blithely produce an answer to the problem of what to do to bring Microsoft into the civilized world. Well, I say it can"t be done.
Readers had ideas of their own. Some thought the government would dissolve Microsoft, but failed to note that the DoJ case against Redmond is over and Microsoft won. Where the governmental resolve would come to dissolve one of the greatest successes in world business is beyond me.
Some readers predicted Microsoft would collapse under its own weight and under the insurgence of Open Source software, especially Linux. Most of these readers have a higher regard for the competitive value of Linux than I do. All those who think Linux will clean Microsoft"s clock who are also people who have never compiled software, please hold up your hand. See, it is the technical community (those who compile -- the Compilers) that sees Open Source as the ultimate winner while all the people who actually buy software don"t. The truth is that Microsoft is positioning itself to take on Linux on Linux"s turf if that"s required. Bill Gates has been quite clear that his company"s need for huge cash reserves is to keep it going for up to five years in the face of ZERO sales. So Microsoft could match Open Source pricing without the Open Source and while the compilers might not be swayed, everyone else (the other 98 percent of the market) would be."