Posted on: Tuesday, March 4, 2003
Linux poised to challenge Microsoft's dominance
By Byron Acohido
USA Today
Sterling Ball is Microsoft-free.
Two years ago, the maker of Ernie Ball electric guitars and strings was slapped with a $90,000 fine by the Business Software Alliance for what the company says was unwitting use of eight unlicensed copies of Microsoft Office.
Microsoft then clipped a news story referring to Ernie Ball's run-in with the BSA, an industry association it co-founded, and attached it to a letter to area businesses warning they could face similar fines. The letter also pitched Microsoft software upgrades as a way to eliminate that risk. Ball paid the fine. Then he wiped Windows and Office off his firm's 80 personal computers and switched to "open-source code" software programs, which do much of what Microsoft's products do at a fraction of the cost.
Open-source software resides in the public domain, unlike Microsoft's proprietary software. The flagship open-source product is the Linux operating system. Its underlying code, or kernel, is continually improved by programmers worldwide. Anybody can download the kernel free, customize it or buy packaged programs from suppliers such as Red Hat, SuSE and Turbolinux.
Ball figures he has saved $80,000 so far, and expects to save more because he won't have to pay for Microsoft upgrades. "I used to be furious at Microsoft," says Ball, whose company is based in San Luis Obispo, Calif. "Now, I thank them because even with the fine, I'm way ahead." Microsoft wouldn't discuss Ball's situation but says it no longer sends out such letters.
This year, Ball could get some company. For the first time in nearly a decade, Microsoft faces genuine competition for the heart of its monopoly: its Windows operating system and Office software, now on more than 90 percent of PCs.
An array of free and low-cost open-source alternatives are gaining traction in governments and classrooms, as well as among a few companies. Many of those switching face tight budgets.
Many also don't like Microsoft's new licensing plan, which, research firms say, raises software costs for companies that typically wait four or more years to upgrade.
"Microsoft's desktop franchise is under a bit of a threat for the first time in years," says James Governor, London-based tech analyst for research firm RedMonk. "We've reached a potential slipping point."
How far open-source software reaches into desktop space is yet to be seen. Hewlett-Packard Vice President Martin Fink, author of "The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source," says it will be incidental until a Fortune 500 company switches and demonstrates that it is cost effective.
That might take a while. "Microsoft has such a lock on the desktop, it's going to very difficult for other technologies to penetrate," predicts IDC tech analyst Al Gillen.
Most likely, the growth of open source will occur fastest in foreign markets, where Microsoft is less entrenched and governments are active in finding alternatives, and among small companies, such as Ernie Ball, where networks are smaller and more easily changed.
