There is still much work to be done
I never thought that this day would come: Microsoft is no longer relevant.
These changes didn't happen suddenly, it was an almost imperceptible change. One day I just realized that an overwhelming majority of my friends and peers use a variant of Unix on a daily basis. Many have not used Windows in years.
Linux users once felt like they needed to count themselves to prove that Linux mattered, now people are unaware they are running Linux. Eleven years ago, people were predicting the doom of Apple as their stock hit the bottom and Microsoft invested $150 million in them, today Microsoft is running advertisements attempting to save face from Apple's iconic "I'm a PC" advertisements. It's all pretty unbelievable when I stop and think about it.
So what changed? I'm not sure that I care about the "how" of the matter, I'll leave it up to the historians to figure that one out. I like where things are, I'm even more excited about where they are going.
Nobody has "won", not even close, there is still much work to be done. I get the distinct impression that the Free Software community has just finished laying down the groundwork upon which true innovation can be built - innovation born in the 1970's held hostage by incompetence until now ... that is a topic for another day.
There are still plenty of things to argue about in this area, there always will be. I just don't care to argue anymore, I don't have to. And there lies the crux of the matter: Free Software stands on its own merit.
These changes didn't happen suddenly, it was an almost imperceptible change. One day I just realized that an overwhelming majority of my friends and peers use a variant of Unix on a daily basis. Many have not used Windows in years.
Linux users once felt like they needed to count themselves to prove that Linux mattered, now people are unaware they are running Linux. Eleven years ago, people were predicting the doom of Apple as their stock hit the bottom and Microsoft invested $150 million in them, today Microsoft is running advertisements attempting to save face from Apple's iconic "I'm a PC" advertisements. It's all pretty unbelievable when I stop and think about it.
So what changed? I'm not sure that I care about the "how" of the matter, I'll leave it up to the historians to figure that one out. I like where things are, I'm even more excited about where they are going.
Nobody has "won", not even close, there is still much work to be done. I get the distinct impression that the Free Software community has just finished laying down the groundwork upon which true innovation can be built - innovation born in the 1970's held hostage by incompetence until now ... that is a topic for another day.
There are still plenty of things to argue about in this area, there always will be. I just don't care to argue anymore, I don't have to. And there lies the crux of the matter: Free Software stands on its own merit.