Am 21. Jan, 2004 schw=E4tzte Phil Mattison so:

> Here's an interesting analogy: It's just possible that Linux could be to =
the
> OS what the PC was to the mainframe and mini-computer. Being an old fart =
in
> the computer biz, I got to see the entire evolution of the PC to where it=
 is
> now (I started out using DEC-11's & VAX's). Clearly, there were three thi=
ngs
> that made the PC successful: it was an open architecture, i.e. the techni=
cal
> specifications were published, no licensing was required (this was a
> strategic error on the part of IBM; they didn't think there was a market =
for
> it,)  and finally, it was a standard by virtue of having been designed by
> IBM. Hardware developers could compete because the parts were
> interchangeable and there were no royalties to be paid. Linux seems to ha=
ve
> those three things going for it. The same forces that made people want to
> get away from DEC and IBM now apply to Microsoft, i.e. they were huge and
> rapacious, and tried at every opportunity to make users dependent on them=
=2E
> In the early years of the PC, PC users was perceived as being just as gee=
ky
> as Linux users are now. Microsoft became the PC OS because it was run by
> geeks. It still is run by geeks, but now they're old and rich geeks. When
> most of the people who develop linux and its components and applications =
can
> make money at it, Linux will displace Windows. As long as most people do =
it

Good points. Free Software provides the solution, we need ideas like this
to help us explain the situation to people who don't even know they have a
problem.

> for fun, it will not. That darn GPL sort of gets in the way of making mon=
ey
> though, doesn't it?

No, it doesn't. It gets in the way of vendor lock in, which many companies
use in order to make money. Imagine having to sign an annual contract to
only use one chain when eating at a fast food joint... :)

ciao,

der.hans
--=20
#  https://www.LuftHans.com/    http://www.AZOTO.org/
#  ... make it clear I support "Free Software" and not "Open Source",
#  and don't imply I agree that there is such a thing as a
#  "Linux operating system". - rms