Robert Pogson

The dinosaurs were big. They were at the top of several food chains. Then things changed. The dinosaurs could not change fast enough and are no more.

That is happening with software. No longer do the big boys call the shots. They try, but are embarrassed when the little guys, scurrying around down below, ignore demands.

M$, for instance, ignored the Internet for years until it became sufficiently important. They ignored GNU/Linux, too. Now, the web is evolving and they are desperately trying to change but they have too much baggage. Look what Google is doing. They are not afraid to change and will thrive. This looks like light is about to enter the box M$ has closed around itself.

Any one of Google’s new technologies is a threat to M$’s monopoly. Together, they are a hurricane reshaping the landscape forever. M$’s response is to install servers and to release yet another service pack to Vista. They took six years to release a new version of their old software, complete with backwards compatibility with old bugs. Google has spent a couple of years preparing for Web 2.0 and they will catch the wave this year coming out of the economic recovery.  The difference? FLOSS works.