In a research report from Evans Data Corporation we learn that last year's decline in the targeting of Windows as a primary development platform has been repeated. John Andrews of Evans says "it's clear that a shift away Windows began about two years ago, and the data show that this migration is now accelerating. Linux has benefited, but we also see corresponding growth in niche operating systems for non-traditional client devices. The landscape is changing."
If I were a Microsoft shareholder I might be happier if I could see Microsoft engaging more aggressively with the open source community. It's difficult to steer something with the inertia of a large organization like Microsoft, though, so perhaps they are changing course as fast as is practical. Ultimately even Microsoft will have to realize that they can't do everything by themselves, and specifically that they can't dictate standards (e.g. WSDL) to the rest of the world.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" -- Arthur C Clarke
Musings from the technological frontier
2 comments:
Unfortunately it seems they can and are dictating standards.
I see your point, Doug, but IBM used to dictate standards and eventually they lost their grip on the market because the majority of consumers didn't want to be dictated to. This was particularly the case in networking, where open system interconnection standards were developed precisely to avoid the kind of lock-in you describe.
I agree it's annoying that Microsoft can't see the writing on the wall, but it's there just the same and they would do well to heed it.
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