Hello all,

I always see post asking what will be after microsoft. My question is what will be the last thing microsoft will try to do to hold on to there marketshare?

A big corp like microsoft is not gonna just let linux/mac/or whatever take over the market without doing something to try and keep there hold on the market.

What do you people think? Will they try to give away software in hopes of switching users back, lets face it they have the money?

How about......I'm tired of these same threads over and over and over and over and over again....

Sure......they'll give it away............sure........that's it. Yep.

If Linux starts to take over the market, then that would prove that the open source model "works" (not that I don't think it already does). If that be the case, then MS might jump on board and start "GPL'ing" their software.

The one major change that MS would have to get through their heads is the fact that success doesn't always correlate with profitability.

This is not the same thing. Everyone likes to post about the aftermath but the fact is in the phase of transition microsoft is gonna do something. If you did not feel like contributing, and had something useful to say why not skip and go to the next topic. If everyone here dreams of a day when linux or something takes over the market then there is gonna be something that microsux does to try and stop it. We are not gonna wake up one day and boom linux/mac or whatever is now the computer software giant, there is gonna be a transition and M$ is gonna fight it.

Doubt it.. but this issue has as Whitehat pointed out, been discussed to death. I beleive we've all exausted the argument by now, since all these threads mearely repeat themeslves.

Um....yes it is.........do a freakin' search Gumby.

Ummm, so now we have to turn to name calling huh! well I guess it would take a real donkey to see this thread as one of the others.

I have been a meber of this forum and love the debates. They all speak of the aftermath maybe you should consult with your memory and read some. What if so and so was the computer giant alot of posts like that but what you seem to be missing is MICROSOFT is the giant and that is reality! They are also not gonna back down to linux just so linux or whatever can become the computer giant. Oh well in my eyes this is a valid post but in your eyes it is just another one of the rest.

I am sorry whaitehat that this not conform to the likes of your posting greatness.


Toodles!

I'll stop right now and let the moderators handle it from here. I don't appreciate being called a vulgar name. I called you Gumby. Gumby is simply a funny fictional character. It is not a bad thing. I'm just saying you might want to do some searching and reading before posting stuff that most people are sick of seeing posted

Good day sir...
Whitehat

Why do ALL of these threads assume that Microsoft is going to die? That is why all these threads ask the same question. And Whitehat is right, this is a recurring thread - asking what the penultimate actions will be does not make it original, all the previous threads have discussed the final actions and the prior actions.

Judging by Microsoft's previous actions - when they want something, they buy it. If it looks as though Linux will seriously threaten Microsoft's desktop business they will simply buy a distro. They would have no problems selling it - Lindows is a pay for distribution, Mandrake is both pay for and free, ditto Redhat, ditto SuSE. None of these appears to have suffered adversely by asking the community to buy their products.

Then let's look at Novell. They wanted to get into Linux in a big way. They could have released Novell Linux v1.0 and gently nutured it over a period of months (years?) intoa mature fully featured system, but they went the other way and bought a respected, used and known distro and also one of the better known mail clients and desktops.

This is what MS will do if they feel it necessary. Imagine the advertising - will you download a distro supplied by a college guy who codes in between classes and trying for a date or will you buy from a worldwide company who will offer telephone and email tech support, a company with thousands of programmers, a company with business links worldwide, a company who can guarantee that their system will integrate seamlessly with your current (Windows) environment, a cmpany you know you can trust? Buy Microsoft Linux.

Joe Public who just wants to surf, type and play games WILL NOT CARE about Microsoft's gouging and the general feeling towards Bill Gates and his corporation in the community. Large companies will feel comfortable buying from Microsoft because it's what they do now anyway. And games and hardware will work because companies already have to make things work with Microsoft products.

To summarise this (fairly) long and (fairly) ranting post - Microsoft may notice a small blip and then it's business as usual.

Read through the other threads (esp. the long "Can you live without Windows" thread and it's siblings) and you will see all the posts you will get on this thread. You'll have "Windows is wonderful, I have no problem with it", you'll get "I'm l33t, all I need is a command line", you 'll get "yah boo sucks to Microsoft" and all points in between.

No matter what your original intention with this thread, it will spawn many off-topic discussions, it will mutate beyond your original desires and it will then evolve into an identical sibling of the others threads.

Woo - glad that's off my chest!

There's a high likelihood that they're going to lose market share....... Public Sector infrastructure ??? - go to Linux Today and watch it happening over the next 5-10 years......we're already seeing the first rumblings now.......

Whitehat, you shouldn't have returned here after your first post. You already stated you're tired of these type of threads, yet you continue to post here. And even though I'm sure it's all well meant, you'll have to admit it doesn't do nothing for his discussion. BTW, who started the namecalling stuff? Right.

That's just wrong. I call him Gumby, and he calls me Jackass and I'm the bad guy? WTF?

How about you do a search on what he posts and what I post. You'll find that I am a bit more helpful/productive than he is.

This is just wrong.

Though this thread could have just been contributed to the many Microsoft type threads, lets quit while were ahead with any name calling and the such before it gets out of hand.

Let's keep it clean, fun and constructive or another thread will get closed if it continues.

Regards.

To anti_microsoft:

I would like to appologize for calling you Gumby and being generally disrespectful to you about this thread. I mean no harm and I hope that we can look at this with no hard feelings. Sometimes I speak before I think.

Even if Gumby is a comical name I shouldn't have called you that, and/or poked fun at you because I thought this thread was similar to others I've seen.

All in all, you seem like a nice guy. Again, I'm sorry.

Peace brother,
Whitehat

To unSpawn:

I'm sorry for sort of attacking you regarding all of this too. I will think before I speak next time.

Peace brother,
Whitehat

accidental double post...

Sorry