Where Will IBM Drop Windows?

TurboProp writes "An article by the Associated Press on Friday (1/09/2004) Says that IBM has plans to abandon Microsoft operating systems on it's internal desktops by the end of 2005. The news originated from an internal IBM memo published by the Inquirer, a British technology news site. Further stories from the Inquirer, indicate that IBM May already have begun dumping windows. While this all bodes well for Linux users, and would seem to be a good PR move for IBM, executives at IBM seem to be trying frantically to put a much milder spin on the story. They say that the memo was taken out of context. I really can't imagine why they wouldn't be posting it on billboards."

Comments

Business.

[BitwizeGHC]

When it comes to desktop applications, Microsoft has more pull in the business world than even IBM these days. If you want to speak the language of business, you will use Microsoft software.

If IBM were to give up Microsoft products entirely, it would seriously jeopardize their valuable business relationships by making them look bad in front of their business customers. The reason why is because they will be perceived as "incompatible". It doesn't matter of OpenOffice can perfectly open and save Microsoft Office files. If the rest of business uses Microsoft office and IBM uses something different, that creates a risk of incompatibility that could make the customer think they won't be able to communicate with IBM, and threaten IBM's business relationship with them.

Microsoft software remains firmly entrenched, and will continue to do so, largely out of fear.

So while IBM may be internally moving to open source desktop software in some areas they will a) softpedal it like crazy and b) try to exercise PR damage control in this regard, to protect those valuable business relationships.

Big Red?

[twitter]

You imagine:

... they have to back pedal and go to windows again for any reason its a failure for Linux and PHBs will hear about it.

Do you know anyone who moved their desktop to Linux and used it on a daily basis for any extended period of time that whent back to M$? How about large organizations. Do you see Lowes moving back? I never have and I don't.

There's nothing really to drive them there. Windoze has got games and fiercly propriatory hardware which are essentially toys: video junk, USB all in one nightmares and that kind of thing. All of it is buggy and NONE of it ever should have been used to run a business.

More important, there are significant issues for M$ to overcome once it happens. When you've been in free software land long enough, there's plenty of stuff you don't want to put up with ever again. "I agree", it's been years since I've had to press one of those buttons for anything more than a sigle paragraph like Knoppix has. Crashes, a peer's computer crashes on him once a day at work. It drives him nuts, but I'd wipe it. The single desktop interface and the difficulty of place keeping this and instability create. The pathetic networking tools. "Driver" issues. The list goes on an on.