IBM, Microsoft, and Open Source

Twenty-some years ago, IBM was the unquestioned leader in "big iron", the mainframe computers that ran businesses. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was the big dog in the little computer market. Microsoft had begun operating on the assumption that desktop computers could do many jobs faster, better, and cheaper than mainframes and minicomputers. Today DEC is dead and IBM has revived, but Microsoft is the current king of the hill. But for how long?

The past

DEC was founded in 1957 by Ken Olson (an engineer) and Harlan Anderson (another engineer). The company was responsible for making computers financially accessible by smaller companies, but desktop computers were the beginning of the end for DEC. In June 1992, Olsen was replaced by Robert Palmer as the company's CEO. Palmer had joined DEC in 1985 to run Semiconductor Engineering and Manufacturing, but Palmer was unable to stem the tide of red ink. In 1998, what remained of DEC was sold to Compaq, which was then acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2002.

International Business Machines (IBM) dates its history to the 19th century. The company manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, infrastructure services; hosting services; and consulting services, but the PC division was acquired by Lenovo (a Chinese company) 2005 and IBM is second to HP in total revenue.

Microsoft Corporation's original goal was "A computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software." The company was founded to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 and Microsoft became the dominant player in the home-computer market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s. Throughout its history, the company has been criticized for monopolistic business practices. "Embrace, extend and extinguish" is the motto attributed to Microsoft's attitude toward competing products and standards.

The present

Microsoft is frightened by the Linux operating system and by open-source applications such as Open Office, and with good reason: If a free operating system and a free office suite is able to perform most of the functions of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, the long-term future for Microsoft is dim.

But is the threat real?

Currently, no, but Microsoft can do little more than play a delaying game. In the final analysis, open-source applications will take over just as Microsoft pushed IBM and DEC to the sidelines. It's a question of what's "good enough". If a $2000 desktop computer was good enough for businesses in the 1990s, might not Open Office be good enough for office workers today?

Open Office is a viable alternative to Microsoft's Office suite if ...

• You don't need the advanced features of Word.
• You don't need the advanced features of Excel.
• You don't need much in the way of a presentation program (Impress is a far cry from PowerPoint).
• You're able to fulfil your database needs with Open Office Base.

For many users, that's not the case and Microsoft is hoping to widen the gap with Vista and a new version of Office. The trouble is that Vista almost certainly will require a new computer and the new version of the Office suite is so different from previous versions that power users in particular are befuddled.

There are 3 paths forward from this point:

1. Update to Visa and the new Office suite.
2. Continue using the current versions of the operating system and the Office suite.
3. Transition to Linux and open-source applications such as Open Office.

Essentially, Microsoft is betting the company on an operating system they developed without knowing that anybody wanted it and Office applications that will require significant effort for power users to re-learn.

The future

Most of today's users will probably choose either option 1 or option 2, but as Linux and open-source applications become more and more capable, business owners will look at the cost of the operating system ($200 or so from Microsoft or free) and the cost of Office applications (several hundred dollars from Microsoft or free) — and then they'll choose the free applications.

Microsoft will continue to promote TCO (total cost of ownership) but open-source applications are on track to show that the TCO is lower for "free" applications than for paid applications because the applications are becoming "good enough" for people to use in a production environment and the user communities are becoming large enough that users will be able to support each other.

ICANN says RegsterFly.com CAN NOT

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) may have some teeth after all. It has ordered RegisterFly.com to terminate operations and allow those who registered domain names through the registrar to remove those domains by the end of March.

ICANN has told RegisterFly to cease operating as an ICANN-Accredited Registrar on March 31, 2007. Under the terms of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), ICANN must provide 15 days written notice to RegisterFly of its intention to terminate.

The message said, "Effective immediately ICANN has terminated RegisterFly's right to use the ICANN Accredited Registrar logo on its website," but RegisterFly.com was still displaying the logo after being ordered not to.

"Between now and 31 March, RegisterFly is required to unlock and provide all necessary Authinfo codes to allow domain name transfers to occur," according to an ICANN news release. "Any and all registrants wishing to transfer away from RegisterFly during this period should be allowed to do so efficiently and expeditiously."

The president and CEO of ICANN, Dr. Paul Twomey, characterizes the action as "the strongest measure ICANN is able to take against RegisterFly under its powers." ICANN has been trying to work with RegisterFly to address complaints by users, but the Florida company has apparently failed to comply with its agreements.

When the agreement is terminated, ICANN can approve a bulk transfer of all current RegisterFly domain names to another ICANN accredited Registrar, but ICANN has called on RegisterFly not to wait until the end of the month. "They can request ICANN to approve a bulk transfer immediately. I call on RegisterFly to act in the interests of registrants and seek such a transfer from us straight away," Dr. Twomey said.

Nerdly News

WebEx is now part of Cisco Systems

Cisco will pay about $3.2 billion in cash to acquire WebEx Communications, the on-line meeting company. That's $57 per share, more than 20% above the closing price on Wednesday, the day before Cisco made its announcement. The deal should close in this year's 4th quarter.

Cisco, located in San Jose, is mainly known as a manufacturer of networking hardware, but the company has been expending into communications and social networking. WebEx, located up the street in Santa Clara, has created applications for online conferences and secure instant messaging. WebEx claims more than half of the online meeting market and hosts more than 3.5 million people per month.

Cell phones in hospitals

True or false: If you're visiting someone in a hospital, you should turn off your cell phone because leaving it on might wreak havoc with medical devices and kill your friend. Some medical personnel, often the same people who use other radio-based communications devices that emit far more power than a cell phone, want you to believe that this is true. It's not.

A doctor at the Mayo Clinic decided to try testing cell phones. He made 300 tests—incoming calls, outgoing calls, talking, sending data, and receiving data—and the medical devices suffered exactly zero instances of problems. Zero. He tested phones at their highest power levels, too. The recommendation: Relax rules against using cell phones in hospitals.

On the other hand, if you wear a pacemaker, you might want to avoid retail stores that use electronic article surveillance. EAS devices detect the presence of special tags in merchandise and set off an alarm. It seems they can also cause implanted defibrillators to fire and pacemakers to malfunction. The problems are relatively minor and there are no known cases of anyone being injured by EAS systems, but cardiologists say that store personnel should be trained to recognize problems.

The Food and Drug Administration suggests labeling EAS devices to warn people not to stand near them or lean on them.

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