META Predicts Linux Software From Microsoft in 2004

trandles writes "According to this story at NYTimes (FRYYY), META Group is reporting that Microsoft will begin selling Linux software in 2004. It also goes on to report that a META Group study comes to the same conclusion as the earlier (MS-funded) IDC study that Linux has a higher TCO than MS solutions for some applications." Remember, this is speculation on the part of META, and has to do with back-end software, not Office. (But if Microsoft wanted to, they could become the world's biggest producer of Linux software.)

Comments

LinSolitaire?

[morbuz]

Will we finally see MS solitaire for linux?

ActiveLinux?

[medscaper]

Or maybe LinuxX?

Or Linux Professional.

How about .Linux?

Visual Linux.

MSL?

Linux#?

Re:ActiveLinux?

[medscaper]

Insecure(tm) Linux?

Un-Free Linux?

Blue Screen of Linux?

Maybe All-Your-Torvalds-Are-Belong-to-Microsoft?

In Soviet Russia, Linu(*BANG!!!!*)

Re:ActiveLinux?

[1gor]

Naaay, X-Windows.

Re:ActiveLinux?

[Annoyed Coward]

You already have one :-D

It only makes sense

[oren]

Now that it is proved that Linux TCO is higher than Windows, why settle for a second best? Obviously they'd move to the platform more expensive to the customer. After all, they have to make a living, right?

Another approach

[leehwtsohg]

They could also write a faster, more secure OS, that does not crash. Then sell it for production cost+1$/copy, and release
the source code. That would ruin linux!

I didn't know Bill was sick

[wowbagger]

My condolences to the Gates family - what does Bill have? Cancer? Alzheimers? AIDS? ALS? CJD?

Whatever he has, my condolences. I know what it is like to hear your loved one only has about a year left. The next few months will be hard, but know that you will get through it, and while it never gets better, it gets easier.
</humor>

Because the only way Microsoft will start selling software for Linux is over Bill Gates' cold, dead body. So the only way you can say that MS will be selling Linux software in 2004 is to say that Bill is not long for this world.

And somehow I doubt Bill is even sick.

Re:LinNotepad - the *killer* app

[CastrTroy]

Hey, Microsoft was the only one who got it right for once. They put a carriage return and a line feed at the end of every line. This of course, makes sense when you consider the days of typewriters or outputting directly to a dot matrix printer. The unix world is the one that screwed this one up.

If Micro$oft releases their version of Linux...

[rawrslashdot]

They will call it Windex(TM).

Aaargh, wrong setting, sorry...

[jonadab]

> I can't wait for Notepad to get ported, the true killer app.

Actually, I'm waiting with baited breath for Microsoft Emacs. I'm hoping it will sport the following features...

• Ability to treat .lnk files as symlinks.
• Backward-compatible, so you can run all Gnu Emacs lisp modules.
• Windows-user-friendly default keyboard and mouse bindings.
• Microsoft Lisp extensions for your Windows desktop, to help you perform common Windows tasks.
• Integration with Windows Explorer to make common file management tasks easier.
• Editing modes for all .NET and MS Visual languages.
• Modes for working with the Windows registry and ActiveDirectory.
• Wizards to help you through common text-editing tasks.
• All documentation repackaged as Windows .hlp files.
• Integration with Microsoft Office, so that Gnus can easily display documents that you receive by email, using Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, or Outlook.
• Easily embed Office documents in your text files.
• Helpful Office Assistant, so Emacs can finally compete with vigor in the desktop text editor marketplace.

Feel free to mod down the mis-posted original; I have the karma to spare.