[tlug] Novell-Microsoft "Alliance"

["Roger Markus" <rogermarku@example.com>]

Bryan Richard at Linux Magazine ( http://www.linux-mag.com/ ) commented on our great friend and wonderful company "M" in a recent editorial ("
Survey Says: Web
Infrastructure and the Last Big Microsoft OS" - Written by Bryan
Richard - Thursday, 14
December 2006), a quote from which follows:

     As a member of
the press I see a great many vendor alliances and the vast majority
never amount to much. Earlier this year, for example, Microsoft and
Nortel announced an alliance designed to completely revolutionize
enterprise communications and productivity forever. Once the hype died
down -- and it did quickly -- it became pretty clear that little if
anything would actually ship out of the partnership. But it made for
great press. 
     
Microsoft -
Novell also made for great press and MSFT could have easily have let
the buzz die down and gone on their merry way. But they didn't. They're
doing surveys about how great OS vendor cooperation is. They're keeping
this alliance top of mind for a very good reason. They need to show how
well they work with the platform that's going to power the next
generation of applications. 
     
MSFT can see
that the future of monolithic applications is rapidly coming to an end.
Everyone may not be using Google Spreadsheets today but the fact that
they even exist should be a concern for the company. 
     
As we all know,
Microsoft tends to storm into markets a bit late; see Internet
Explorer, Office, the Zune media player. And when they do, the value
proposition they present is usually tempered with a healthy dose of
lock-in; binding the browser to the OS, closed document formats, DRM. 
     
Software as a
service, by contrast, is about openness and it will be difficult for
MSFT to apply their unique brand of user loyalty to the next-generation
of applications. That's why they're pushing so hard on this idea that
they're willing to cooperate with Linux, they can release Open Source
software, that they can be your platform... 
     
It sounds great.
But ask any parole officer, old habits die hard.

RM