[lug] Gnome problem

[D. Stimits]

John Hernandez wrote:
> 
> Along these lines, I was having a scary thought the other day.  Would
> Microsoft have any reason to develop and sell a GUI (X/Desktop/WM
> replacement) for Linux?  Why would people go for such a thing, you ask?
> What if Microsoft said that you can buy Office for Linux which runs only
> under their closed-source desktop.  Maybe they'd sell it as a bundle.
> Feasible enough, right?  Would this fly?  What if they built in X
> compatibility?  Would it undermine Windows itself, or just kill X and
> expand Microsoft's desktop dominance?  Could something like this spring
> from the DOJ rulings against Microsoft?

What I find interesting is that Bill Gates seems to be interested more
in program products such as office applications, when forced to choose
between owning o/s versus other (when forced by DoJ). If he no longer
has an interest in the o/s side (financially), he could be motivated to
do such a thing. Running such applications with linux as the base tech
might give him an edge in terms of reliability and security issues. I
would think from prior business actions, if he were to do what you
suggest, he would not design a window manager from scratch, but instead
buy one from a vendor, then modify it and close the source off. Likely
it would be able to run standard X apps, but also likely he would add
"extensions" that his products depend upon for full functionality; then
he would talk other vendors into using those extensions. As time went
by, the extensions that those products use would eventually evolve from
simply being needed for full functionality, to outright breakage if not
used. My 2 cents on the restaurant at the end of the universe and the
meaning of Bill's fingers in the pie.

> 
> Sorry if I violated the unwritten code of conduct regarding M$-related
> topics :)
> 
> Just some food for thought...
> 
> "J. Wayde Allen" wrote:
> >
> > Is there anyone out there interested in giving a talk about the Gnome
> > project - things like what is gnome, what is the difference between Gnome
> > and X, etc. ?  I actually get quite a lot of questions from other people
> > about this kind of thing, and don't have a particularly solid handle on
> > it.
> >
> > - Wayde
> >   (wallen at lug.boulder.co.us)
> >