Off Topic -- very interesting read about giving away software applications to beat microsoft at it's own game...
upside.com
Breaking Windows
September 07, 1999
by Larry Magid
For years, Microsoft has been fighting the notion of Net-based applications. The idea of running programs over the Internet threatens
Microsoft's multibillion dollar Office application business, as well as the company's crown jewel--the Windows operating system.
Sun Microsystems, on the other hand, has long trumpeted the value of
network-based applications. I can't remember when it coined the
slogan "the network is the computer," but I know it was long before
many people were talking about running applications over the Net.
Well, it appears that Microsoft may be in the process of meeting its
match. Despite what Janet Reno and Joel Klein have said (generally
correctly) about Microsoft's monopoly, the company has a vulnerable
spot. And it seems Sun, AOL/Netscape, IBM, Oracle and lots of
other vendors are more than happy to exploit it.
Sun has launched the most visible attack on Microsoft's hegemony with
the announcement that it was purchasing Star Division, maker of
StarOffice. Star's suite of applications does pretty much the same thing as Microsoft Office, only it does it on Sun's Solaris operating system, OS/2 and Linux, as well as Windows 95/98 and NT.
The mere acquisition of the company means almost nothing, but I'm curious as to the impact of Sun's decision to give away StarOffice for
the "F" word ("free") to anyone willing to download a 64MB file or pay
a nominal fee of $9.99 for a CD. I've played with the software and,
though I haven't put it through extensive testing, it does seem to be a pretty reasonable facsimile of Microsoft Office, at a much more
attractive price.
The mere fact that it's free may or may not have an impact. Corel's
WordPerfect Office and Lotus SmartSuite aren't exactly free, but they
are often available for a song and, like StarOffice, are both an excellent alternative to Microsoft Office for anyone wanting to buck the system.
Yet, free is a lot better than cheap. I can't help but wonder if
Microsoft's corporate customers might abandon ship when faced with
an opportunity to save hundreds of dollars per seat in exchange for
using Sun's free Office-compatible software.
Microsoft, of course, is no stranger to the idea of free software. It put quite a dent in Netscape's market share when it started giving Internet Explorer away for free while Netscape was still charging for its product. It forced Netscape to compete by giving away its software, which eventually eroded Netscape's raison d'etre as an independent company and led to its strong desire to merge with AOL.
What's most interesting about Sun's play is that free software is only
the first step. The next step is to issue a network version of StarOffice that can run via the Internet. Sun has said that this would be offered for free, or at least bundled, with other network services. Microsoft retorted that it plans to issue an Internet version of Microsoft Office--but that it may charge a rental fee for its use.
A fee for running software on the Internet? That's practically sacrilegious. Hardly anyone charges a fee for Net-based services.
Why, you can do almost anything on the Net (except read the Wall
Street Journal) gratis. If Microsoft tries to charge users for access to its Office suite, it might run into some resistance. That wouldn't matter so much if Office had additional benefits than being a rationale for companies to run Windows.
But the fundamental problem with Net-based applications, from
Microsoft's perspective, is that they don't require an operating system.
They'll run on any platform, even so-called "thin clients," making them inherently unattractive to Microsoft.
Sun isn't alone in its efforts to change the dominant platform from the PC to the Net. Another Microsoft nemesis, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, has announced his own plans to offer net-based software. Ellison's new startup, NetLedger, is starting to offer Internet-based accounting software for small businesses. As it happens, that's not a market that Microsoft plays in, but the mere fact that businesses may discover the benefits of Net-based applications could be a threat to Microsoft's hegemony.
Microsoft, with its multibillion-dollar war chest, isn't going to take this lying down. I'm not sure what the boys of Redmond have up their
sleeve but, whatever it is, you can be sure they'll be firing from both barrels. Y2K may be a tumultuous year after all.
Larry Magid is a syndicated computer columnist for the Los Angeles Times. To find out about all of his radio, print and advocacy activities, visit his Larry's World Web site. |
