Comment Re:The settlement isn't so bad (Score 1) 290
Word (and the entire office suite for that matter) for Linux would in no way further Microsoft's OS monopoly. Think about this:
If Microsoft were to be split into two or more companies (which we can all agree would be a solution), then it would be in the best interest for the non-operating systems division to release as much software as they could for as many operating systems as they could, with the obvious cost concerns in mind. The reason is they would want people to have as much choice in every other aspect of their computers other than software they design.
So what would happen then, if we force Microsoft to support other OS's in all of their non-OS software? They behave like multiple companies. If people want to run Windows with Office, and IE, they can. On the other hand, if they just really like Office, they could run Debian with Office and Lynx if they were so inclined. Each MS product would be judged on its own merit, which is fine. MS knows this, which is exactly why they don't want to have to do it, since the majority of the software just doesn't measure up.
If Microsoft were to be split into two or more companies (which we can all agree would be a solution), then it would be in the best interest for the non-operating systems division to release as much software as they could for as many operating systems as they could, with the obvious cost concerns in mind. The reason is they would want people to have as much choice in every other aspect of their computers other than software they design.
So what would happen then, if we force Microsoft to support other OS's in all of their non-OS software? They behave like multiple companies. If people want to run Windows with Office, and IE, they can. On the other hand, if they just really like Office, they could run Debian with Office and Lynx if they were so inclined. Each MS product would be judged on its own merit, which is fine. MS knows this, which is exactly why they don't want to have to do it, since the majority of the software just doesn't measure up.
