A follow-up to yesterdays reflections:
It was once literally unthinkable, but we can now imagine a scenario that would cost Microsoft its “insurmountable” hold on the PC software market.
Yesterday, we noted the rise of Gmail and Mozilla. Today, someone very kindly sent me notice of a rumor that Google is on the verge of installing a calendar on line. Find the rumor on Slashdot here.
Add a database for contacts and tasks, and Outlook is expendable.
One might say, “well, no ones going to duplicate the Office suite, so Microsoft is safe. But, clearly, the competition doesnt have to. All they need to do is to supply enough pieces in the suite to change the decision making process by which it is acquired. Once we have enough of the pieces, email, outlook, and browser, say, its going to feel like we are paying for things we already have. Now, Microsoft begins to look a little like the dreaded Corel that tested the very idea of bundling, to say nothing of our patience, with some of its offerings.
I wonder if Bill ever feels like Lieutenant General the marquis de Montcalm, the French military man who lost the Plains of Abraham because he believed his position insurmountable. Specially, he believed that no one would climb up a sheer cliff face, which is of course precisely what Major General James Wolfe and the boys did one autumnal evening.
“Hey, where did those guys come from. Quebec City surrendered several days later.
The Office suite has long been duplicated, and for free.
http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/2.0/index.html
For what it’s worth, a colleague just told me he’s going to switch over to the Mac completely for all his non-stats work and buy a Unix workstation for the statistics stuff. The reason: spyware and viruses. The only question I have is when the Mac market share gets big enough that we lose our immunity because we become a worthwhile target.
I collaborate with a team that straddles time zones and operating systems. Yes, there are solutions that can replace Outlook’s calendar. But nothing that works as well as Outlook. That’s the bar to cross. Google seemingly can do no wrong, I’d bet they’ve got a winner.
Steve from SMU, OS X is not immune to malware because it’s not popular. Nor is it immune. It is however highly resistant to malware exploits because it’s base – BSD – was designed from the ground up some years ago to be as secure as possible. Exploits are possible, of course, but the architecture works against them.
You might have your friend investigate Mac for statistics work. It is, under the pretty, a unix workstation, and a damn capable one.