Oh! So Wine is not in the dragster class but a modified chassis street machine. ... Go Linux!
Ok, so the analogy isn't perfect.
It is going to get real interesting watching the power plays over the next few years. Microsoft has the strength of quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus, while Apple has the strength of innovatus dicta. With the distinctly different operating systems now running on the same core processing, it would be foolish of any third party software company to develop in isolation for Windows only. The additional revenue from selling into the alternate OS would be easy pickings. Once software availability is no longer a deterrent to purchasing a Macintosh, the current monolithic structure of the industry is in jeopardy.
Microsoft has a strong software foundation other than Windows and it is certain that any slide in OS market share would not be abrupt, but the company has recently moved toward subscription style revenues from their OS properties. Any erosion in their OS's ubiquitous relationship with the computer industry will be felt and fought against. So, they'll have a bit of their own "incentivized work" to try and sandbag the opposition.
For Microsoft to innovate their way into a sustained OS market share would require a complete restructuring of the company and its OS products from the ground up, which is highly unlikely, not to mention time consuming. No, ... this company will sandbag and stall and make things difficult for everyone.
It is, after all, the way they've done business from the beginning.
Herb |
