But I'm posting it, anyway, because throwing Citrix in there makes it
just marginally credible. The thin-client future--the one that *is*
coming--will benefit (drum roll...) *Microsoft*
Am I the only optimistic person on the planet? I really *really*
fail to see how a thin-client world would necessarily benefit
Microsoft; I clarify what I'm trying to say: it is possible
that a certain course/path of the thin-client evolution could
benefit Microsoft; but I refuse to accept the principle that
thin-client dominance *implies* that Microsoft benefits.
I tend to believe exactly the opposite!
Microsoft dominance is based on the fact that they dominate and
have full control over what people do with their desktops. (and
it's a control that takes the form of a vicious circle -- every
one uses Windows because it is the thing that everyone else uses;
software makers create their software mainly for Windows because
that is what people uses -- but people uses Windows because that
is the OS that has most software that runs on it)
Microsoft's arguably worst nightmare, Linux, has had its biggest
success on the server arena, and so far has had very limited
success on the desktop. Microsoft's arguably *second worst*
nightmare is Firefox -- well, the Internet Explorer, actually;
the IE, which at some point was a key element in solidifying
their monopoly (they get everyone to use their software for
accessing the Internet, then make that software non-standard
and only/mainly compatible with their development tools and
their OS's; then they own the world, because every web developer
will be forced to use MS tools, since those are the only ones
that work well with the browser that the entire planet uses),
ironically (and thankfully!) is now being a key element in
people realizing just how unbelievably mediocre their [MS's]
software is, and how unbelievably incompetent they are, at
least when it comes to computer security (something that is
not a secret for people with computer literacy, but that seems
to be a revelation for the average Joe).
So... We have now a world where we only need a web browser and
people need servers where to develop things... A web broswer
can run on Windows, on Linux, on MACs, on PDAs (running Linux,
or Palm OS, or Windows CE, or whatever other OS's), and server
applications can easily run on Linux (and quite likely will, or
at least could, tend to run on Linux more than on Windows).
We no longer need MS Office because there is
www.thinoffice.org
that provides a complete Office suite that runs on your browser.
Tell me again, why does that world benefit Microsoft??
Am I the only optimist on this planet that thinks that a world
dominated by thin-client computing *could FINALLY* spell the end
of Microsoft's monopoly?
Carlos
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