[lug] MS Apps ported to Linux???

[D. Stimits]

One thing that really sticks out for me is the concept of what is
defined as technological innovations. MS does not have much
consideration for reliability in terms of absolutes, whereas I think
Linux does. Current marketing tends to allow failures to be pushed aside
for MS models, and is targetted based on whether a significant portion
of people will accept the "quirks". It totally ignores the people who
are stuck with bugs and problems that are "show stoppers". If more
people began to put up with fewer bugs, rather than looking for
workarounds to accept the bugs, the whole story would change
dramatically. The current MS offerings are more extensive, but they are
too flawed.

"J. Wayde Allen" wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 7 Feb 2001, John Starkey wrote:
> 
> > Just ran across this article which addresses a concern that was posted
> > today.
> >
> > netscape.zdnet.com:80/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2680345,00.html
> >
> > Doug Miller says they haven't ruled out the possibilty of porting to
> > Linux.
> 
> That is an interesting article.  I'm curious, what do people think about
> the following comments from Doug Miller:
> 
>    ... "While we are threatened by the Linux business model, where
>    companies give away free software, we are not at all worried about that
>    operating system from a technological standpoint," Miller told eWEEK
>    before heading off to the conference. "There are no earth-shattering
>    technological innovations in Linux -- actually, there's a lot less than
>    can be found in the Windows and Unix platforms." ...
> 
>    ... I think the shine is dulling around Linux as people scramble to
>    find a business model based on free software that actually works," he
>    said. "Ultimately, there's no such thing as a free lunch -- someone has
>    to pay for continued innovation and support." ...
> 
>    ... While there has been much talk about Linux as an operating system,
>    there hasn't been nearly enough talk about how it is solving customer
>    problems through a full suite of business applications, Miller
>    contended, adding it has a "long way to go" to solve the range of
>    business problems that companies like Microsoft solve today. ...
> 
>    ... "Linux is many, many years away from being an enterprise-ready
>    operating system that can compete with, and challenge, the Windows
>    platform," he said. "There is also no vision or driving force around
>    it. We are already in very good shape on the enterprise today and are
>    leading the charge on the Web services front and in new ways of looking
>    at delivering value. ...
> 
> I'm looking for honest, thoughtful discussion here as opposed to Microsoft
> bashing.  Can these criticisms effectively be addressed?  What hard
> examples/evidence can we provide?
> 
> It seems to me that a little serious introspection can't hurt the Linux
> community.  I also think we need to expand our list of arguments from the
> old standby of Linux generally being a more stable platform.
> 
> - Wayde
>   (wallen at lug.boulder.co.us)
> 
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