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Microsoft's New Hurdles
gnuadam writes "The New York Times (free reg. required) is now running a
piece about how the recently accepted
settlement between Microsoft and the DOJ will affect the ever-so-loving relationship between them and the "worldwide community of volunteer programmers" who work on Linux and associated programs. Of interest, one interviewee quipped, "My prediction is that within three years time, Microsoft will `give away' its operating system to preserve its revenue in the applications business." Would Microsoft give away Windows to sell Office? Stay tuned." Update: 11/04 19:33 GMT by T : In related news, an anonymous reader writes "In an interview with Linux and Main Free Software Foundation General Counsel Eben Moglen reacts to Friday's U.S. v. Microsoft ruling and describes how it and 'trusted computing' will figure in formulating the next version of the GPL, expected in the next few months."
They're not talking opening Window's source code here. They're saying they'll make the OS a free as in beer OS, much in the manner they pushed Netscape down with IE.
Giving away basic Windows and charging for the extras like Office/Productivity, Finance, or even maybe multimedia features sounds like a pretty solid plan to me.
Will microsoft open source windows? Never. But will they perhaps give away a "basic" version in the hopes that you're going to buy their apps? Perhaps. I can see a future where there is a stripped down version of Windows that Microsoft gives away for free. It comes without any really useful applications, it requires internet activation, is suseptible to automatic updates, and the whole DRM nightmare. In return, you get a free OS for your computer that is capable of running the fine line of Microsoft Home products.
This in no way interfears with the sale of more complete versions for buisiness, developers, and enterprise environments, and allows MS to keep tabs on its user base in a way that is a little more than creepy. Now, you can of course by a personal edition without the rights restrictions, but the free version is what comes pre-installed, so everyone gets used to it. Perhaps the free version even includes some crippled features that only allow applications developed (or approaved) by microsoft to run on it... this really wouldn't be a big anti-trust thing because the OS is, after all, given away, and nothing stops you from spending a few hundred on a version that will let you run other applications.
All those ad wizards have to do is some up with a sugar sweet enough to coat this poison, and this could very well become a dangerous reality. Then again, based on recent history, their ad wizards seem more like bumbling magi, so even if they make the decision, it'll probably be a few years until they can sell it to the masses. But this thought actually scares me; they could maintain an absolute monopoly by just giving away Windows, and even if we get a legitimate DoJ someday, there wouldn't be thing one that they could do to prevent it.