Re: [Off Topic] An EXCELLENT Microsoft Confidential document on why MS is in trouble from OpenSource OSes like Linux
El Wed, 04 Nov 1998, Chad A. Adlawan escribió:
>Hi everyone ! Anyway, i glanced on this one from David Ranch's page
>and some of you might be intersted in reading it.
>================================================
>
>This is an excellent doc that was leaked out of MS on the future
>issue of Open Source OSes like Linux, etc. The hosting WWW site
>has already noted that MS might take legal action to take down
>the page so if its gone by the time you get to it, lemmie know
>and I'll send you a copy.
>
>Its a little long but it reads well and it REALLY tells of
>Linux's true power. The PEOPLE!
>
> http://www.opensource.org/halloween.html
>
>--David
>.----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
>|| David A. Ranch - Remote Access/Linux/PC hardware dranch@trinnet.net |
As published, the document is edited by Eric S. Raymond, who has added very
interesting comments. As has been pointed previously by other list members
(thanks to them!) it can also be reached at
<http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/halloween.html> .
I would like to highlight the paragraphs that i felt more worrying, or, in
ESR words, more "sinister". ESR comments follows indented.
Linux can win as long as services / protocols are commodities
{ We sense a theme developing here...
To put it slightly differently: Linux can win if services are open
and protocols are simple, transparent. Microsoft can only win
if services are closed and protocols are complex, opaque.
To put it even more bluntly: "commodity" services and protocols are
good things for customers; they promote competition and choice.
Therefore, for Microsoft to win, the customer must lose.
OSS projects have been able to gain a foothold in many server applications
because of the wide utility of highly commoditized, simple protocols. By
extending these protocols and developing new protocols, we can deny OSS
projects entry into the market.
{ In other words, open protocols must be locked up and the IETF
crushed in order to ``de-commoditize protocols & applications''
and stop open-source software.
Once again, open-source advocates' best response is to point out
to customers that when things are ``de-commoditized'', vendors
gain and customers lose. }
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It is also noted that one of the strategies of MS will be the monitoring of
linux related lists and newsgroups, so "I would like to take avail myself
of this opportunity" to send a salutation to a linux-hacker friend currently at
MS headquarters ;-)
Roberto Ripio
rripio@ctv.es
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