Company looks at mirror, grabs hammer, smashes it to pieces

But the problem was never the mirror; it was the company.

As we recently pointed out, Vista and other products are in fact the catalysts and the cause for the assault on Free software. Free software has not magically evolved overnight. Rather, Microsoft is reaching a sad realisation. Development is hindered in a very nasty way, due to lack of modularity that made it unmaintainable.

Development, however, is not the only factor. Linux is a risk for other reasons. It is associated with competition that is based on price. Yesterday, another short report talked about Microsoft's attempt at subscription-based (pay-as-you-go) operating systems. Microsoft is trying to reinvent itself. Meanwhile, it does not like anything it sees. Consider the short essay "Microsoft: FUDing to Hide its Fears?".

Even more galling, Dell recently bucked the system by announcing they'll optionally install Windows XP in new machines because so many potential buyers didn't want DRM-crippled Vista. To add insult to injury they're be adding an Ubuntu Linux-equipped line later this year, and Michael Dell himself publicly professes to using Ubuntu, OpenOffice.org and Firefox on his laptop.

In reference to Dell's recent move, see the following new article:

Despite Microsoft's statements, Gunn insists that Microsoft is not happy.

"I think it is evolutionary; it is common sense; and it is the future," Gunn said. "It gives the user the ultimate option of which solution they want. It puts the user in the driver's seat."

Also, consider this:

"An awful lot of customers are going to Microsoft and saying 'we need you to interoperate more easily with our Linux server.' They're thinking if they've got one Linux server, then how long is Microsoft going to keep the Windows servers there," Mr. D'Aprano said. "People are thinking about paying thousands of dollars to migrate to Vista with the costs of retraining, software licenses, hardware updates being incredibly significant. This explains why there's been so little interest in upgrading to Vista."

The mirror in our story, which can be equated to Linux, is just a scapegoat. Microsoft's failures have Linux take the blame. The weapon of choice is an absurd legistlation.