GNU founder Eric S Raymond to address M$ (News fwd)

[Oommen Thomas <oommen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

   ____________________________________________________________________
   
     Key Linux leader to address Microsoft
     By Bloomberg News
     Special to CNET News.com
     June 20, 1999, 11:45 a.m. PT
     
     REDMOND, Washington--A key leader of the Linux movement will
     address Microsoft tomorrow as Windows faces increasing pressure
     from the rapidly growing rebel operating system.
     
     Eric Raymond, a founder of the Open Source Initiative, will speak
     to Microsoft researchers at the company's headquarters here. The
     address comes as Microsoft searches for a manager to analyze the
     competitive threat from Linux and after creation of a team to
     counter the competition, analysts said.
     
     "Microsoft is in an irreversible decline in servers," Raymond said.
     "The architecture of Windows is a fatally poor match for the job."
     
     Windows NT, the industrial-strength operating system for corporate
     networks, can't handle heavy, constant computing loads without
     crashing because of poor design, Raymond said. A fundamental flaw
     is that Microsoft keeps its computer source code closed to outside
     developers, unlike Linux, which is openly available.
     
     Yet Raymond has no plans to meet Microsoft chairman Bill Gates or
     other executives during his visit. "All I expect to do is address
     researchers," he said.
     
     Although it declined to comment on its Linux efforts, Microsoft
     recognizes that the system's reliability, adaptability, low cost,
     and loyal support have eaten into Windows' dominant share of the
     server market. As a result, the software powerhouse is likely to
     make a frontal assault on Linux, analysts said.
     
     "Microsoft is going to stop treating Linux with kid gloves," said
     Dwight Davis, an analyst at Summit Strategies. "Microsoft is going
     to go out there swinging."
     
     Linux was developed in 1991 by Linus Torvalds, a Finnish graduate
     student, who based it on the Unix operating system and made it
     freely available over the Internet. The system has become highly
     reliable because of constant debugging by a loyal band of
     developers and is being commercialized by companies such as Red Hat
     Software and supported by IBM and others.
     
     Linux shipments will soar 25 percent from 1999 through 2003, more
     than twice the 10 to 12 percent pace for all other workstation and
     server systems, according to International Data Corporation. Last
     year, Linux was the fastest-growing server system, winning more
     than 17 percent of all shipments, compared to 36 percent for
     Windows NT, 24 percent for Novell Inc. and a little more than 17
     percent for all Unix-based systems, IDC said.
     
     Microsoft has been struggling to come up with a response to Linux.
     In October the so-called Halloween memo written by two Microsoft
     engineers were posted on the Internet, saying Linux posed a revenue
     threat to Microsoft.
     
     During its landmark antitrust trial, Microsoft has described Linux
     as an example of how quickly a serious competitor can emerge.
     
     In April, Microsoft vice president Brian Valentine said the company
     was considering opening up its source code more widely than before.
     Linux's open code has been acknowledged by Microsoft as a reason
     for its stability.
     
     Microsoft is advertising a job opening for a product manager to
     provide a "competitive analysis of Linux, both for providing
     product planning for the development team and for technical
     assistance to Microsoft's sales force."
     
     The software maker has created a Linux response team, led by Jim
     Ewel, director of marketing for Windows 2000 server, analysts said.
     Windows 2000 is the successor to Windows NT and is expected to be
     released by the end of this year.
     
     "There's no doubt that Ewel is leading the anti-Linux effort within
     Microsoft," Davis said.
     
     Pressure on the software powerhouse is clearly building. IBM, Dell,
     and other major hardware players have stepped up hardware and
     software support for Linux, including the version made by closely
     held Red Hat.
     
     Red Hat, which plans to go public, and companies such as TurboLinux
     and VA Research Linux Systems have boosted Linux's appeal to the
     corporate market by standardizing it and providing support
     services. In the past companies have shied away from Linux because
     of too little standardization in graphics and commands and in
     technical support.
     
     Microsoft's first response must be in sales and marketing, analysts
     said.
     
     "Their job is to say, 'This is why you should buy Windows 2000,'"
     said Tom Hensel, an analyst at Everen Securities, who has a
     "short-term outperform" rating on Microsoft. "They're also looking
     for Linux's weaknesses, it's like war."
     
     Microsoft also is trying to cast doubt in customers' minds about
     Linux, said Dan Kusnetzky, an IDC analyst. "Their focus in on fear
     and uncertainty because there's no single road map," Kusnetzkey
     said.
     
     Microsoft can make the next update to Windows 2000 respond to
     Linux's strengths, Hensel said. "They need to get feedback for the
     guys writing the specs for the next generation product," Hensel
     said.
     
     Microsoft eventually may have to cut prices to compete with Linux
     though so far it hasn't done so, Kusnetzky said. Linux is cheap
     because its computer code is freely available on the Internet.
     
     Customers wanting to buy Linux are less likely to be tempted by
     Windows because they want high quality, not low cost, he said.
     "They're looking for the best platform, they're not looking for
     packaged solutions," Kusnetzky said.
     
     Analysts are mixed on whether Microsoft will adapt its software to
     run on Linux. If the market demands it, Microsoft will, Hensel
     said.
     
     "They're not doing what pragmatic business practices would
     suggest," Kusnetzky said. "They want everybody to have all
     Microsoft software on their desktop."
     


------------------------------