[CLUE-Talk] Walmart selling mandrake systems

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 06-19 18:48, David Anselmi wrote:
> Richard Knechtel wrote:
> > 
> > Although I am a devoute SuSE fan, I am gald to see Mandrake (one of the top
> > distros) being sold on a desktop as an alternative to Winblows!
> 
> A prediction: Microsoft's OS monopoly is on its way out.
> 
> I was just reading about network externalities and how they fuel rapid
> growth.  The example was credit cards--they aren't useful until everyone
> accepts them, but no one wants to have/accept them until they are
> useful.  But once use reaches critical mass, growth is extremely rapid
> because the more people who use them, the more useful they are.

Is this similar to what Gates (and others) call a positive (or negative)
feedback loop? Sounds like "The Road Ahead" has some potholes in it! ;)

> This also played a part in Microsoft's success.  At some point, there
> were more PCs than Apples so the software shops wrote more PC software,
> so people had more incentive to buy PCs.  The driver to critical mass in
> that case was price.
> 
> The more people who use Linux, the more useful it is (to the
> non-technical user, using what everyone else has is important).  So once
> Linux reaches critical mass on the desktop, the Windows market will
> implode.
> 
> Again, price and the benefits of Open Source are driving us towards
> critical mass.  It is only a matter of time.
> 
> Passport is a counter to the rise of Linux.  It has the potential to be
> very useful and benefits from the same network externalities.  And it
> will cause MS lock-in.  So fight Passport wherever you can.  And get
> Linux in the schools so the next generation of non-technical users is
> comfortable with it.

Do enough people know what Passport is for it to gain acceptance? I have to
say that I *still* don't understand what it encompasses, but I guess I've
really dropped out of any sort of M$ clue-fulness...every time I hear/read
about .NET, for example, there is this internal voice going,
"la-la-I-don't-hear-you-la-la" - which could probably hurt me in the long
run, but I just can't help myself.

-- 
Sean LeBlanc:seanleblanc at attbi.com Yahoo:seanleblancathome 
ICQ:138565743 MSN:seanleblancathome AIM:sleblancathome 
I've always believed that you shouldn't want to mend a broken heart, because 
that's someone you don't want to forget. Scars can be good. 
-Joseph Fiennes