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Our Blogs Open Sauce IBM, Ubuntu strike on eve of Windows 7 launch
Our Blogs Open Sauce IBM, Ubuntu strike on eve of Windows 7 launch | IBM, Ubuntu strike on eve of Windows 7 launch |
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| by Sam Varghese | |
| Thursday, 22 October 2009 | |
  
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The packages can be used on "a company's existing fleet of personal computers (PCs) or even low-cost netbooks." The reference to "existing fleet" refers to the fact that most of those who switch to Windows 7 will have to buy a new PC to take advantage of any features that the new system offers. The message is repeated quite a few times in the joint media release. Neither company is shying away from direct confrontation either, announcing the deal as an "open standards-based alternative to Microsoft Windows 7" and one which offers "50 percent savings and runs on existing hardware." The low costs, quality, reputation and savings of the packages are all driven home in an aggressively worded release. The companies said that the IBM Client for Smart Work, which was based on IBM productivity and collaboration software, would assist businesses "to save up to 50 percent per seat on software costs versus a Microsoft-based desktop, in addition to avoiding requisite hardware upgrades. The package allows companies to use their existing PCs, lower-cost netbooks and thin clients." The taunts did not end there. The release continued: "The new IBM package can be embedded in business processes. It is compatible with SOA-based IT environments and gives people a complete, open, and secure alternative to closed and costly Microsoft desktop software. At a time when the US economy is still very shaky, the release claimed that "independent market estimates ranged up to $US2000 for the cost of migrating to the Windows 7 operating system for many PC users. New PC hardware requirements account for a significant portion of the added expense." There was no source cited for this claim. In August last year, IBM, in collaboration with Canonical, Red Hat and Novell announced what it called the Microsoft-free PC. On September 24 this year, IBM and Canonical had launched the Smart Work client in Africa. But it's the US where it will be make or break. The US solution includes word processing, spreadsheets and presentations from Lotus Symphony, a free download; Lotus Notes or the cloud-based LotusLive iNotes for email at $3 per user, per month; cloud-based, social networking and collaboration tools from LotusLive.com from $10 per user, per month; and Ubuntu GNU/Linux for netbooks, laptops, desktops, and servers. More than anything, the announcement is an indication of Microsoft's waning power in the industry. In the past it would have been unheard of for any tech company, no matter its size, to try and rain on Microsoft's parade. Revenge would have been swift and devastating. Such a thing would never have happened, specially not on the eve of the launch of a version of Windows that simply has to succeed for Microsoft to have any credibility after the fiasco known as Vista. IBM, obviously, has not forgotten the early days of computing when Microsoft scuppered its personal computing ambitions in the shape of OS/2 and gained control of the personal computing industry. |
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