[aclug-L] Microsoft's plans to kill Linux

[Karl Juhnke <fritz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I read the Halloween documents, and I hear there is no longer any debate
about their authenticity.  What I don't understand is mixed responses I
have read from the Linux community.  On the one hand, Microsoft is
portrayed as not only evil, but also dangerous.  They are the Borg, the
nightmare bogey man, and we should all tremble in fear.  On the other
hand, Linux advocates can't seem to bring themselves to concede that the
Linux project is in any way vulnerable.

It seems ironic that Linux folks accuse Microsoft of being short-sighted
and self-congratulatory at the same time that they reassure each other of
the invincibility of Linux.

In particular, I am astonished by the reaction to Valloppillil's assertion
that "Linux is unlikely to be a threat on the desktop" because "Ease of
use must be engineered from the ground up.  Linux's hacker orientation
will never provide the ease-of-use requirements of the average desktop
user."

This assertion strikes me as very plausible.  I have never met a hacker
who was at all sympathetic with ordinary users.  Ease of use in Linux
means what is easiest for hackers to use.  Why should we expect that to
change?

And if Microsoft continues to dominate the desktop, won't they always be a
titanic force?  Won't desktop market share continue to be a club with they
can beat up on Linux and all other competitors?

I think Linux fans should stop spraining their shoulders patting
themselves on the back, and learn from two things which Microsoft does
right.  1. Make stuff easy to use for average schmoes, and 2. Stay
paranoid.

-Fritz

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