Wall Street Journal Interative Edition (today ... revisited)
Less is more: Linux, a free computer operating system, is quickly gaining popularity despite widespread use of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. Just this week, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Silicon Graphics Inc. said they would offer Linux on some computers. Software devotees say the Linux system is simple and elegant, while Windows is laden with features that slow down its performance. So there was considerable bemusement on an Internet discussion group recently when John Carpenter, a Microsoft marketing official, admitted that Linux has indeed attracted the company's attention. "It will certainly drive us to put new stuff into our products," he promised. Of course, Linux fans say that would only bog Windows down even more. When asked about it later, Mr. Carpenter said he didn't mean to imply that Windows would necessarily get bigger, but rather, because of Linux, "Microsoft will continue to have to innovate."
He obviously meant to say, "Microsoft will have to start innovating". |
