Giving Linux a shot on the desktop
In response to the Feb. 22 Perspectives column by Charles Cooper, "When technology chops matter":
It's almost March--the month of college basketball in the United States.
IBM's team, wearing the traditional white on blue, has been prominent in its TV advertising as of late. But what about that guy named Linux? Is he really in the game, or is he a phantom, sixth man on the court?
For all its talk about this "player," IBM has yet to allow Linux to actually take a shot on the desktop. I'm agnostic when it comes to operating systems, preferring to use the best platform for the job at hand, but many of my rabid Linux colleagues are wondering out loud about IBM's plans. If this operating system truly displays promise on the desktop as well as the server, IBM had better show a little more support for the product.
The company might start by freshening up its expensive investment in Lotus
Office and modifying it to run in the native Linux environment. With Microsoft inflating Office and taking it into unknown territory, one would think a potential opening in this huge market for wide-ranging productivity suites could mean a win-win situation for both IBM and Linux.
What's more, Palmisano may use this marriage as a genuine method to reinvigorate the IBM faithful by moving to partially even the score with the rogues from Redmond.
Dennis Jugan |
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