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More Linux Predictions for 2004
An anonymous reader writes "Experts, shmexperts - it's time for the Linux community's own predictions, felt the editors of LinuxWorld Magazine. Prognostications in their Jan 2004 round-up cover media players ('turning your phone into an iPod will be hot by the end of 2004'), IPOs ('Of course, LinuxCertified, Inc'), and MS ('Microsoft will start an intensive campaign to promote their Longhorn technology as Linux standards compliant') - that last is one from Samba's John Terpstra." The original story was back in November.
2004 will be a year for delivery-on-promise and return-on-investment. The halo is off and linux will have to prove itself by the same measures other IT components are judged. Fortunately, linux will continue to leverage huge cost benefits, huge mindshare benefits, and a rising tide of anti-Microsoftism. that said, lofty valuation for RedHat and Novell will likely come into question sometime soon.
I have a paid for version of office on my home windows computer. I like it.
But I see a lot of people in this situation. They go to wal-mart, and they buy a HP machine for $500. They're not comptuer people, they just want to go online, hit the web, send email, and type up some stuff from time to time.
Because they buy at wal-mart, they don't get a crack at the $234 OEM price on office professional. Something comes up, and they decide that they'd like to have office -- someone sends them a powerpoint file, or whatever. And they find out that office is $450. They're just not going to spend that.
In the old days, they would just bring the office cds home from work. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but it is what happened. But now they can't.
My point was that if people start running open office at home, there's going to be a userbase of people who run it. If a pointy headed boss runs open office at home, and says, "this is good enough," maybe he'll figure it's good enough for the people he manages.