Interesting post. I too don't like the riding of coat tails that KDE and GNOME seem to be doing. It reminds me of the Gates remark in which he says that those desktop groups cannot innovate because they only emulate Windows. Meanwhile, MS does have some rather intersting, non-3D desktop ideas, some of which should emerge in the interface for Windows 2000. It would be sad to see GNOME and KDE riding every twist and turn Windows takes instead of forging new ground in interface design.
As an aside: I feel that anyone with graphic arts talents should make some suggestions to the 2 projects. I will.
What you have noted is the effect this trial has had in tying the hands of Microsoft. Billy can't go out and crush everyone because of the trial. For the first time in a long time, the market has some freedom. This is what happens when one company isn't allowed to use the dominance of one product to leverage power in another market. All this growth can be charted against the progression of this trial. To me, the honesty of the new competitors in admitting that they view the trial as "a window of opportunity" is some of the most damning evidence to me.
Wise people know when they really have a choice. There are many intelligent people and very few wise ones. How much choice did you have when you couldn't get an Intel-based PC without Windows?
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Interesting post. I too don't like the riding of coat tails that KDE and GNOME seem to be doing. It reminds me of the Gates remark in which he says that those desktop groups cannot innovate because they only emulate Windows. Meanwhile, MS does have some rather intersting, non-3D desktop ideas, some of which should emerge in the interface for Windows 2000. It would be sad to see GNOME and KDE riding every twist and turn Windows takes instead of forging new ground in interface design.
As an aside: I feel that anyone with graphic arts talents should make some suggestions to the 2 projects. I will.
What you have noted is the effect this trial has had in tying the hands of Microsoft. Billy can't go out and crush everyone because of the trial. For the first time in a long time, the market has some freedom. This is what happens when one company isn't allowed to use the dominance of one product to leverage power in another market. All this growth can be charted against the progression of this trial. To me, the honesty of the new competitors in admitting that they view the trial as "a window of opportunity" is some of the most damning evidence to me.
Wise people know when they really have a choice. There are many intelligent people and very few wise ones. How much choice did you have when you couldn't get an Intel-based PC without Windows?