The Linux Extremist

Some studies have said that a person’s IQ drops over the summer; this is possibly due to the brain being less used during vacation times. Or it may be because the searing heat makes it difficult to think of anything else; in Britain, yesterday was the hottest July day in recorded history.

Given that everyone was apparently trying to find somewhere to hide from the heat (I found a group of people hiding in an air conditioned hardware store intently looking at a demonstration video for a mop), a little item on BBC News apparently escaped much notice late yesterday evening. The article is entitled, “Microsoft ‘opens to competition’”.

The article states that Microsoft has announced a set of 12 “principles” to which it intends to adhere from here on in. They have said they’re no longer going to punish manufacturers for supporting alternatives to Microsoft software, which theoretically means Dell could bundle OpenOffice with a Windows PC without fear of consequences. Also, they have promised more transparency for non-Microsoft developers to build Windows applications. Additionally, they’ve have said they will be “more energetic” in their support of interoperable standards.

If this is to be believed, Microsoft sounds like they’ve caved, big-time. It’s great publicity, but can the leopard change its spots?

I wonder. I don’t find it coincidental that Microsoft is announcing these “principles” at the same time that it stated it was going to continue to adhere to the 2002 antitrust settlement with the American government beyond its expiry in 2007. That 2002 agreement was hailed as a sea change in Microsoft’s behaviour, but since then nothing has fundamentally altered in the way they do business.

I also don’t find this announcement entirely unconnected with the European Union’s recent decision to levy a heavy fine on Microsoft for anti-competitive practices. Thus, there is a whiff of male bovine excrement about Microsoft’s announcement, tinged with the cheap perfume of spin and the underlying scent of decay. They’re in trouble and under pressure; they have to at least appear to be taking a more conciliatory line.

To quote Winston Churchill, this is not the end, nor is it even the beginning of the end, but it may be the end of the beginning. There is going to remain a distance between Microsoft’s rhetoric and reality, but given the scrutiny that Microsoft has faced in recent days, there has to be some actual movement to go along with the words.

This is a time for the Linux community to increase the pressure, not slacken it. Alternatives like Ubuntu, OpenSuse and Fedora need to continue to be promoted and developed. Let’s see how interoperable Office becomes with OpenOffice and if Microsoft falls behind, let’s demand that they keep their word. Also, Microsoft should be challenged particularly on Principle 5, namely, “Microsoft will not retaliate against any computer manufacturer that supports non-Microsoft software.”; let’s see if Dell or HP will start stocking computers with OpenOffice as standard without fear of consequences. Indeed, let’s see what happens to Dell or HP if they offer Linux-based PCs instead.

What Microsoft needs to realise is that the days of one dominant operating system are drawing to a close. A future of diversity awaits in which they are one choice out of many; adherence to open, interoperable standards will mean that this plethora of choice will not lead to chaos. The only question that remains for Microsoft is if they are going to embrace this future, or be dragged kicking and screaming towards it. With this announcement, at least their present screaming has lowered a few decibels.

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