[MW Forums]

Microsoft says it will not develop its Office software for Linux but is studying the operating system and how it can integrate with it. more

[DogHouseDub]

The simplest way I can answer the question is that Microsoft is 100 percent focused on Windows, said Nick McGrath
except for the 5% focused on Office for Mac....OK, maybe 1%??

[tallscot]

Yeah, that's what I thought when I read that.
I think this will be moot as Web tools take over, ie the Sun/Google partnership. It's taking longer than people had initially thought, though, I think. I think the enterprise could easily see a huge shift to desktop Linux when this happens. I don't know about consumers, though. They want the software selection...in one flavor.

[bastion]

In reply to:

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We build software, McGrath said. We sell software. Its only fit and proper that we protect our most important asset, which is our source code.

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But, Mr. McGrath, sir? Patents don't protect source code. Copyright does. So did you mean to say that your algorithms are your most important assets or did you confuse two completely different kinds of IP with protections administered by completely separate agencies?

[marke]

I think not making Office for Linux is a no brainer. Open source people are all about free and open. Even if Office was open, I still don't think people would be into the not free part.
On a lesser related note, I put a Ubuntu partition on my G4 the other day. It's cute and pretty fun to play around with. While it is very easy to use, installing new software is next to impossible. Now that multimedia production is more of an average Joe user thing, I see Linux becoming less and less of a desktop alternative. I can import my digital photos with Ubuntu, but I sure as hell can't drop them into a movie and burn them to DVD with a custom soundtrack.

[rspress]

Microsoft will never release Office for Linux because they fear they would lose business and give Windows users a means of escape. Even though their fears are pretty much baseless. Most Windows users are used to the Microsoft way and are used to having problems with their computers, they think all computers are that way. Linux users would probably not touch Office with a ten foot pole even if it was free.
Microsoft has made their views clear on what they think of Linux. The only reason they are taking a look at it is to see what can be incorporated into the Windows OS. They really are like the Borg on Star Trek, resistance if futile, you will be enhanced to service us. Take a look at Vista, they MS GUI team really did not change what they stole from OS X all that much......Somethings, not at all.

[Moof_in_Charge]

If Microbarf was to release Office for Linux...that would be the end of Windows as we know it.... Not actually a bad thing but hey if I were in Bill's will, I wouldnt want Microbarf to make it either!

[jedi228]

In reply to:

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Microsoft will never release Office for Linux because they fear they would lose business

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Some people think Microsoft is afraid of Linux, but the truth of the matter is that that Linux is too insignificant to be a threat. Linux appeals to a different crowd than Windows and fulfills different needs.
Microsoft will never release Office for Linux because development costs exceed potential profit. It is that simple. If there were a chance to make a buck, MS would do it.

[sqlrob]

In reply to:

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Even if Office was open, I still don't think people would be into the not free part.

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Oracle does well enough. If it helps the business, people are willing to pay. Now, the question becomes would it be enough better to make it worth paying.

[ncj37]

On a total installed user base measure, Linux is probably a bigger threat to the Mac OS than it is to Windows. Similarly, with Apple switching to Intel processors (X86) the Mac OS is a bigger threat to Linux than is Microsoft. The reason that this is true is that both Apple and Linux have more to lose (or gain) as a percentage of total users. Microsoft can easily afford to lose 5% market share but if either Linux or the Mac OS lost 5% in total market share it could be a catastrophic change to either platform.
It's an interesting situation, Linux and the Mac OS are often seen as competing only with Windows when it's just as true (perhaps more so) that they are both competing against each other. Furthermore, because of the Unix-like nature of both Linux and Mac OS X there is a useful synergy between these products. But they are also competing in many ways for the same users. Thus, in a way, if could be seen as a love/hate relationship.

[b_baggins]

-so did you mean to say that your algorithms are your most important assets or did you confuse two completely different kinds of IP with protections administered by completely separate agencies?-
All conspiracy theories aside, he probably doesn't make a significant distinction between patents and copyright in his mind. Both are the legal tools used to protect the right to profit from creation and invention.

[b_baggins]

Stop with the logic, already. Don't you know that Microsoft is the Antichrist? Sheesh. Get with the program, already.

[bwanderson]

In reply to:

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On a total installed user base measure, Linux is probably a bigger threat to the Mac OS than it is to Windows. Similarly, with Apple switching to Intel processors (X86) the Mac OS is a bigger threat to Linux than is Microsoft. The reason that this is true is that both Apple and Linux have more to lose (or gain) as a percentage of total users. Microsoft can easily afford to lose 5% market share but if either Linux or the Mac OS lost 5% in total market share it could be a catastrophic change to either platform.

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Of course this is predicated on Linux being as polished and usable as MacOS X. Most Mac users would look at linux and run screaming. Its UIs are all confusing, and the few which aren't bewildering are all but useless.
Hardware support is spotty at best (firewire? 802.11g? Audio?). And how do you install an application? Mount a disk image and drag the app to the applications folder? I don't think so! And let's talk about WHICH distro you should choose. There is an entire galaxy of distros, most of which vary only slightly, but which are incompatible with each other.
Linux poses more of a threat to itself than it does to Apple or MS. The only area where Linux poses a real threat to MS is in the enterprise server market. This is one area where Linux really shines and puts everything else to shame. But the desktop belongs to Microsoft first, and then Apple.

[Toe_MW]

Microsoft: The WordPerfect and Lotus 123 of the 2000's.