Let is take a close look at what you are asserting.
NGUI platform:
1) Easy Email (killer) - Is it superior to Notes or Exchange? Hardly. Who has the most penetration? Not NSCP. Why should anyone switch? NSCP will only proliferate in new business (admittedely there is much), converts are not going to be many.
2) Easy document publishing and retrieval (killer) (it is not so easy)
(2a) Binary - any (real) replication services, I doubt so, but I don't know for sure.
(2b) Text - Yeah, ascii text, but how about the rich robust stuff like word, excel, 1-2-3, access and the like (not to mention the stuff that is ALREADY by far the industry standard on the desktop, where most "text"is originated). Have you tried Office 97 yet? It doesn't sound like it. It is practically an Intranet in a box.
(2c) Multimedia - MSFT and Lotus can create, publish, and retrieve multimedia content fromboth the client and the server end, can NSCP say that. how about extending the applications with custom development tools.
3) Open directory services (killer) - Maybe, but who doesn't have this.
4) Open distributed app services (killer) - Whose ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION is better (read as more functional right now) than DCOM and Active X.? Not NSCP's.
5) Fun, open, and available to everyone - Available to everyone (as long as you don't use Java), I can agree with, but the stuff is not half as functional as the MSFT code, so you can drop the fun.
6) Attract all kinds of participants. - 5 million prgrammers and over 10,000 apps, you mean sort of like Windows :-)
<NSCP's there, RCM, mining its claim, expanding its wealth, blazing trails, pioneering with the best of'em. #:o)>
I agree, NSCPis doing a slambang job, but their lack of a suite of productivity apps and their Johnny come lately development tools puts them at an extreme disadvantage. The purchase (or strategic licensing) of Corel's Wordperfect Office and Java Office is just what they need (as well as the licensing - purchase would be costly if they need a suite as well - of a good visual development tool form someone who needs the money such as Borland). |
