San Francisco, USA, as in previous years, as an example, a group of paradise of the fanatics of Linux sports. The composition of this huge population is still clear: technical believers from open source communities can communicate with more realistic ways; the famous experts and scholars continue to talk about it; those largepers around Linux still will still be for their respective purposes Do our best to attract the sight of public opinion.
However, the rules of the entire Linux world have been quietly changing in the last six months. The SCO v. IBM has not given more clear statements for more than a year. Linux users and enthusiasts have been a bit impatient. Of course, more people just use the farce of SCO as Linux development. A small episode on the road.
The world's second largest Linux vendor SUSE was acquired in Novell in November last year, and SUSE is just a close relationship with SCO, IBM, IBM even immediately pulled 50 million US dollars to Novell, which made Linux world The pattern has been quite subtle and far-reaching changes, and all new and old forces are recalling in turmoil and look for new balance points.
Then, a new round of frontal counterattack was started by Microsoft, which was hated by Linux world. Since February this year, the US advertisements launched in the United States have begun, Microsoft swept the global media advertising offensive has continued to now. Microsoft lists the survey results of three third-party surveyors such as IDC, Meta Group, and Giga Research in publicity, about Windows and Linux TCO (overall costs), and some examples of typical users replace them from Linux to Windows, which is simple Clear: Linux is higher than the TOC of Widows. "The stage of Linux emotional use has passed, and now users have become more calm and more practical." This is the Martin Taylor of Microsoft Platform Strategies, Martin Taylor, is said to reporters at the end of July, he is It is Microsoft's number one designer on Linux strategy.
At the beginning of April this year, Sun's CEO McNile chose to accept Gates's amount of up to $ 1.6 billion in a consecutive agreement, and Many industry people were excited when Sun and Microsoft took up for ten years. "This agreement Obviously, it is a shot to the Linux industry. "Linux is no longer as attractive as ever, and the cooperation between the two giants will offset the advantages of Linux in the server market." But Linux spirit leader Li Nas Towus Torvalds immediately said that this agreement "is the wounds of the two fights in each other", not for Linux's "evil alliance".
The signs of all kinds seem to be predictive, although the value of some of the spiritual levels or business levels represented by Linux itself have never changed, but players who participate in the game have been selected to continue the game from different attitudes or angles. For more mature and actual users, they are now enthusiastic about Linux's enthusiasm or coldness. Under such a situation, do you really have to go back to the days of Linux?
Give me a reason for Linux
Although at the LINUXWORLD 2004 conference in early August, major IT manufacturers have shown great enthusiasm, and statistics from IDC and other authoritative investigation agencies have also shown very positive and optimistic on Linux's development trend in the global market. Information, but corresponds to this, there is also no signs of stopping of Linux and doubts.
The first thing is that Linux is not safer. In fact, for such propositions itself, it seems that only Microsoft will be more concerned, because long, Linux has developed an important reason, that is, Linux platform is safer than Windows platform. If there is no Windows as a reference, it will lose its meaning if it is safe accordingly. June this year, Symantec's CEO John Thompson said that Windows will leave unsafe impression, mainly because Windows is a mainstream operating system, "long-term industry popular Linux safer concept is actually a misunderstanding. "Thompson's speech inevitably attracted violent attacks throughout the open source community, and even analysts believe that" This is what the self-defense of Microsoft is used for self-defense? " "But similar views are also representative. For professional information security, the security risks faced by users will not decrease because of the different operating systems, the viruses and hackers are not only the Windows operating system, while Linux has consistently strong core advantages. There is a vulnerability. The Linux kernel vulnerability event from November last year has made many people re-considered the security of Linux: "More people see the source code, does not mean that the code will become safer." Moreover, More importantly, who is responsible for these security risks in the business model of Linux's open source software?
"Open source software is as if it is scientific and magic compared to science," Linux's father Towsworth never doubt that open source software means more stable, safer, he said, "in the scientific system, everyone The theory is built on the theory of others, and the whole system is stable and disclosed. Magic is not, the magician has some secrets, but they never tell others, they will keep this secret and refuse Others develop some new things on their basis. "
Really let Touroz worry is the legal dispute facing Linux. "The only thing that I am worried about is the development of open source movements, mainly because there are some legal disputes. Although our work is performed in accordance with legal requirements, there are always some people who want to use legal issues to hinder open source sports. Development. "In Tourvo, it is quite mature from the 13-year-old Linux. It will not encounter challenges, and software patent issues such as SCO IBM will be There is a huge impact on the future development of Linux. The facts also prove that Towsworth is not reasonable.
In Munich, Germany has promised last year, in 2004, the operating system of 14,000 computers will be replaced with Linux from Windows. Munich Mayor Christian Ude even said: "Through this decision, Munich can guarantee that its main IT organization can do not rely on suppliers, and also get stronger competitiveness in the software market." This is the largest Windows The plan for transferring to Linux has excited the entire Linux community and all open source sports supporters are very excited, but in recent, the implementation of the program is due to the Munich Government worried that the EU new patent regulations that will be taken into effect will allow them to face trouble. The problem is temporarily put on hold.
One of the founders of Open Source Sports immediately said at the LINUXWORLD 2004 conference in San Francisco: "This is a bit political, the Munich government suspension plan is to highlight their political claims." "Because the original support Linux is just hope Using the subject's theme to reverse the support attitude of the German government for the New Patent Act of the EU. "However, the Munich Munich is still said that this incident is only temporary, and the future will still adhere to the original decision.
However, although the isolated incident is temporary, many industry insiders believe that with the increasing number of Linux camps, a series of new challenges and stumbling blocks will inevitably be born. The patent dispute caused by intellectual property protection law will become the biggest contradiction of obstructive opening and sources. This contradiction is difficult to solve by the software industry and even the information industry; on the other hand, open source software self-license rules It will also bring some troubles. For example, according to experts, there are more than 50 different licensing methods for open source software. These licensing methods have different rules templates, which is easy to cause confusion, and lack of reasonable legitimate Business license contract. Because GPL (General Public License) specifies that any program must be published in a free form, and any modification of software products will not affect the efficacy of the file. The "Commercial Week" recently published the article, and even the seemingly spring breeze is now in a struggling situation. The core problem is actually very simple: open source software as a commodity, any user has the right, but software products The truly intellectual property owner does not exist at all, which is undoubtedly a very absurd thing. "If you want to protect intellectual property, you can use a lot of ways, such as patents, copyright or trade confidentiality, but each company can have its own right to choose. We think that if there is this kind of intellectual property protection, then We will stand behind the customer. "Taylor said in the evening.
As a result, the existing mode of open source software seems to have encountered more and more challenges and resistance in front of the traditional commercial software model, and these challenges and resistance is a part of Microsoft to respond to the Linux strategy, even though Taylor has vowed Date: "Linux will Will always be all in all. "
Distance from friends and enemies
For more than 1 year, Microsoft has throws 13 research reports about its own products and Linux. Of course, it is easy to think that the result is: Almost all reports contribute to Microsoft. In the front counterattack from the beginning of this year, Microsoft has even set a special column named "Get The Facts" on its homepage, and vigorously claims that Windows is cheap than Linux.
From the three survey reports published on the Microsoft website, the first report was released by IDC in 2002. The conclusion is: five aspects, printing, document sharing, Web and security commonly used in the enterprise IT department Only the cost of Linux on the web project is lower, and in the application of Windows possess, the comprehensive cost of the five years will be 11% ~ 22% lower than Linux; Meta Group's report shows that in the mainframe application, Windows The cost of Server 2003 is lower than Linux; the conclusion of Giga Research is that Microsoft's .NET development platform is less than 25% lower than the J2EE / Linux platform in development and support costs.
There is no doubt that Microsoft is in the context of Linux into a patented dispute. It is indeed very old to seize the cost of the cost, but see those "Microsoft's requirements", "by Microsoft", or The graphs of the agreement will understand that Microsoft has played a pivotal role in the entire process of these reports formed and published.
Obviously Microsoft now has no longer vane for Linux, and begins the identity of "Linux's biggest enemy", and has adopted a proactive strategy. And Sun at this stage and Microsoft, just allowed to leave such an impression in the industry: Is it the biggest company that is hurt by Linux? Is it necessary to revenge with Microsoft?
"Microsoft and Sun teamed up to solve their respective legal and financial disasters." Some analysts bluntly. From the current situation in Sun, the revenge of Linux is not talking about, and Sun has incorporated Linux into its own strategic system, using Linux armed PC and medium and low-end servers to make up for high-end products online Solaris Some weak links. With Linux help, Sun seems to have retrieved a long-lost passion. "Sun may have a very tired of" all of our techniques ", all of our technologies," Totoz Review, "If you want to get customers, you need to show love to customers, not right The enemy's hate. "For this, IBM is undoubtedly uncontrolled. Although IBM is not the inventor of Linux, it has never sold Linux, but the huge investment of more than ten billions of dollars is making Linux gradually becoming the world's most sought-in operating system. It is said that at least 12,000 IBM employees are engaged in linux. Work, there are 200 programmers who write Linux code, the purpose is just to "share with the world". According to IBM, this is to give more customers who are tired of Microsoft monopoly. Jim Stallings, general manager of IBM, said: "No one wants to be monopoly and control, customers have been dominated by a single retailer, Linux makes you can get rid of this, we now have more than 50 A agreement similar to Munich. "
However, soon, "Forbes" wrote that IBM also has a greater goal, that is, weaken Bier Gates company, which reflects the next evil battle in the field of technology, and the two sides will compete for the rule of computer industry in the next few years. right. When IBM's spokesperson evaluated the case of SCO, "Linux may not be directly affected, if it will directly cause impact on Linux, mainly fear, uncertainty and doubt, the biggest case in this case The winner will not be SCO, but Microsoft. "
IBM can even give up some temporary vested interests for "greater goals". For example, from IBM vigorously promote Linux direct results, IBM is only 20% of the market share of X86-based Linux system. Third, And HP is 28%, Dell is 22%. At the same time, Linux's strong momentum also gave another competitor of IBM to find a stable fulcrum of profit growth, Oracle even has regarded Linux as an important strategy of its 2005 fiscal year. It seems that IBM's competitors are gradually benefited from Linux.
Some analysts have critored IBM trying to make Linux a tool for selling hardware, but at this stage, such scenarios have not appeared, but with Microsoft maintains a more intimate relationship HP has a better Linux sales score. But IBM is still full of enthusiasm. At the 5th LinuxWorld China Conference opened on August 24, IBM's booth still occupied the most eye-catching central location, and IBM vice president Rod Smith, who visited China, also brought another year to "open calculation." "Open computing" "Open Calculation is reflected in hardware as standardized plugs and card interfaces, reflected in software as a variety of communication and programming interfaces (standardization). Open calculations include various open standards Business Software Solutions and Open Source Software Solutions. "
IBM clever explanation, business software and open source software are part of IT ecosystems, commercial software can be very good to achieve open, non-special interface, so that both can not only coexist, but also supplements with each other. So, do you need to know Linux's open source mode? IBM said, no need. (Internet Week / Chen Qiong)
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