March 21, 2006

Gates looks to expand view beyond Windows | CNET News.com

Gates looks to expand view beyond Windows | CNET News.com

Microsoft's release of these new tools for developers is a very important event . There's a very interesting dynamic at work here, I think, that may be the key to Microsoft's suceess or lack thereof.

Many 'open source' folks are anti-Microsoft. AJAX and related tools for building web mashups and applications tend to be more open source centric. Because of this, many developers may shun the Miscrosoft tools and opt for other options and gravitate more to the Google/Firefox/Linux camp than Microsoft's. Nevertheless, Microsoft is a major force to be reckoned with. I note that Ballmer this week is touting a 'people centric' approach for businesses, thus moving away from the desktop/productivity focus of the past.

This is a fascinating era in software and services development. Users have much to gain.

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