On Fri, Aug 16, 2002 at 07:51:14AM -0700, Michael Halcrow wrote: > Remember what happened with Netscape and IE? Basically, Netscape had a > jump-start on the market. It was a great browser. Microsoft decided that > they wanted to wrestle the market away from Netscape, so they shipped IE > with Windows, giving it away for free. Even though IE at the time was an > inferior product, the fact that it was free and easily accessible led to > its domination of the market. Eventually, IE surpassed Netscape in > quality. Netscape died. > > Now compare to OpenOffice and MS Office. Basically, MS Office has a > jump-start on the market. It is a great office productivity suite. The > Open Source community has decided that they want to wrestle the market > away from MS Office, so they're shipping OpenOffice with Linux, and they > give OpenOffice away for free to Windows users. Even though OpenOffice > at the moment is an inferior product, the fact that it is free and > easily accessible will lead to its domination of the market. Eventually, > OpenOffice will surpass MS Office in quality. MS Office will die.
Can you say pie in the sky? This is wishful thinking that will not come to fruition in the near future. The more realistic outlook is that MS Office will continue to be the #1 office suite for many years to come, while OpenOffice may chip away at the market share. OpenOffice vs MS Office is more like the waves of an ocean vs a rock cliff, and a lot less like the sudden landslide you predict here. I am sure OpenOffice will soon be the better product, but that is not all that matters. MS has the superior marketing plan, distribution method and network, and they have a better tie in to the general public. It is difficult to unseat an incumbent. To think otherwise is wishful thinking, and not anchored in reality. -Michael ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from the BYU UUG discussion mailing list, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "UNSUBSCRIBE" as the message body Visit the BYU UUG website at: http://uug.clubs.byu.edu/
