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August 05, 2009
Microsoft acknowledges Linux threat to Windows
Lists Red Hat and Canonical as competitors
By Elizabeth Montalbano
Microsoft has named Linux distributors Red Hat and Canonical as competitors to its Windows client business.
The company detailed the information in its annual filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The move is an acknowledgement of the first viable competition from Linux to Microsoft's Windows client business, due mainly to the use of Linux on netbooks, which are rising in prominence as alternatives to full-sized notebooks.
"Netbooks opened Microsoft to the possibility that some other OS could get its grip on the desktop, however briefly," said Rob Helm, director of research for Directions on Microsoft. "Now it's alert to that possibility going forward."
In its annual Form 10-K report for the fiscal year ended June 30, Microsoft cited Red Hat and Canonical -- the latter of which maintains the Ubuntu Linux distribution -- as competitors to its client business, which includes the desktop version of its Windows OS.
Previously, Microsoft had only noted competition from Red Hat to its Server and Tools business, which includes the Windows Server version of the OS for server hardware, in its 10-K reports.
"Client faces strong competition from well-established companies with differing approaches to the PC market," Microsoft said in the filing. "Competing commercial software products, including variants of Unix, are supplied by competitors such as Apple, Canonical, and Red Hat."
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Comments received
Kevin said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
Im reading this on a linux box. Lol
JOHN LAW said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
I been using Windows from day one till two years ago . Now I am using Linux at work and office there is no way microsoft can compete with Free software. Linux has much more stuff from music to tools to games , DVD burner , VIDEO .. PHOTO .. and it is free nad STABLE FAST and EASY TO USE .
Chad said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
The linux revolution step 2 :)
Sniffle Dog!!! said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
i like turtles
mike said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
Why does MS see linux as a threat ?it's the other way round MS would like to kill off all the opposition,isn't there room for competition?.
mike said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
Why does MS see linux as a threat ?it's the other way round MS would like to kill off all the opposition,isn't there room for competition?.
Mike G said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
I work in a school and am responsible for ALL the PCs and laptops (100 machines plus)it started with windows 3.00 19 years ago all the way up to xp present day,I can honestly say through (bitter) experience that I dislike MS products I won't have a MS machine in my house,at home I use Mac book Pro and Linux PCs.
MS have only got themselves to blame,they had a monopoly and they dropped the ball !!!
ugly said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
Good. Someone has to give those greedy psychopaths a lesson.
Kidding Myself said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
I too am reading this on a laptop running Ubuntu. In 2007 I bravely and eagerly jumped on board with linux, dove right in and learned quite a bit about it. I believed that linux and open-source could best Microsoft. I mean, how hard could it be to beat the junk Microsoft was selling? Meanwhile, I've patiently waited through four Ubuntu releases for the laptop power-saving features to work on it (still waiting). I can't control my screen brightness, and flash animations on websites run my CPU at 100% and drains the battery rapidly. OpenOffice's spreadsheet, as another example, doesn't have the same intuitive features as Microsoft Excel. After the latest update, Firefox spontaneously crashes--just like IE7 does. And exactly what enterprise management features does Ubuntu have? Microsoft isn't awesome by any stretch of the imagination, but Ubuntu definitely isn't ready for prime time. Sure, Microsoft can't compete on price with FOSS, but with FOSS you also get what you pay for.
PC Programmer said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
I write C++ code for Microsoft PCs, but I use Ubuntu 9.04 for all my personal documents, web browsing and business correspondence. Ubuntu just seems to be more reliable: few crashes, more responsive, less trouble-shooting and it has a cleaner and more-intuitive interface. Linux used to demand specialized knowledge from the user, but's that's no longer the case: Ubuntu makes the installation of new programs easier than on Windows PCs, and the GNOME GUI is the best desktop I've ever used--it's simpler and more direct. Also, most important Linux freeware is better and more stable than its Microsoft counterparts: OpenOffice is rock-solid, the GIMP is better than Adobe Photoshop, and Firefox on Linux blows away Internet Explorer 8. All in all, Ubuntu is better than Vista and Windows 7 for those who use their PCs to get work done!
PC Programmer said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
Also, XP on netbooks is not a wise choice if security matters to you. It's an open invitation to losing one's personal information to identity thieves and hackers no matter what anti-malware software you've got on it. Further, on slower PCs like netbooks, anti-malware programs can make the machine run as slow as molasses. Linux is a better choice for these systems: it's way more secure on the Internet and it runs great on slower and older systems like netbooks or that five-year-old PC sitting in the closet. Old PCs running Ubuntu frequently outperform new ones running Vista! Another option: install Vista or XP, then install Ubuntu 9.04 to make your system dual-boot (it's easy!).
PC Programmer said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
That way you get access to thousands of free programs that run best on Linux. I was blown away by a free symbolic math program called Maxima the other day: it does differential equations, symbolic algebra, matrix calculations, and even plots 3-D function graphs better than any calculator which you can rotate with the mouse. Way, way cool! Try KStars as well: it's like getting your own free planetarium...it'll even run your telescope drive to point at anything in the sky via a USB cable. Also, look at Blender which does Pixar-like animations...you'd have to see it personally to find out just how amazing this software is.
Linux powers over ninety percent of the world's supercomputers--it's a grown-up operating system used by millions of business professionals, engineers and scientists every day. Do give it a serious look: you can get a disk from ubuntu.com for a dollar here in the U.S. I installed it on three of my PCs without doing anything arcane at all...it's easy to use!
Johnny said on Saturday, 08 August 2009
Ubuntu Linux is better than Windows Vista!
Joe Gibson said on Sunday, 09 August 2009
Turtle soup.
DarthTesla said on Sunday, 09 August 2009
I'm writing this on a very happy PCLinuxOS 2009.2 box. There is nothing wrong w/ Windows or Ubuntu, but I was under the impression they were for bitter, older people. Sorry.
RealNeil said on Sunday, 09 August 2009
I use Win 7 on three boxes, Ubuntu on one box and also have an iMac 24".
Vista was such a dog that I checked out Ubuntu and liked it allot. Free is good and MS (The Borg) cannot compete.
Rob Dunbar said on Monday, 10 August 2009
Microsoft faces "stiff competition"? On servers, yeah, but. . . on desktops? When Acer has ditched Ubuntu for netbooks? When, oh, what is it now, 93% of desktops/laptops run Windows in one form or another? The only competition MS has is its own messed-up product. Yes, I want Tux to rule the world, but it just ain't happening. So, why in the world would MS say this, other than to con the SEC?
Sal said on Monday, 10 August 2009
This is good. This is what competition and capitalism is all about! Now Microsoft better get it's act together and produce a better OS with better security and less bugs or it may find itself losing business.
Web Developer 701 said on Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Adobe needs to port their Creative Suite to Linux, Windows is very useful for folks working in a corporate environment, but Linus is far more useful for us programmers....
Ubuntu-user said on Wednesday, 12 August 2009
ha! finally microsoft is going down :)
Thomas said on Sunday, 16 August 2009
If it wasn't for Vista I never would have found Linux.
Thanks MS for making an overpriced over DRM'd nightmare of an OS forcing me to try something new.