The path to Open Source Desktop?

According to recent BW article, the top 2 requests of PC users from Dell is preinstalled Linux and OpenOffice.

Is that possible that a decision to pre-install Linux and OpenOffice will be adopted? Given that Dell is looking for innovative ideas for its turnaround, it does not sound unlikely, Although that would mean increased costs (compatibility with hardware, support etc), although that would mean increased costs (compatibility with hardware, support etc)

Will such a decision be a major driver of Open Source desktop adoption? Yes!

Open Source Software & Software-for-Advertisement (SFA)

In a recent FT interview, Microsofts CEO Steve Ballmer suggests that open source is not a technolog phenomenon, but just a business model -- does this show how well Microsoft understandsopen source?

"What was the number one different business model that our company has confronted in the last six years? It’s Open Source. Open Source is not a technology phenomenon; it is a business model phenomenon. Frankly speaking, exactly what that business model is, is still unclear."

He also states that Linux's marketshare (>30% in servers) is actually an opportunity for Microsoft, rather than a threat.

Besides open source however, another major strategic priority is what he calls advertisement-funded business model. Think of an extension of the Google search model to more IT web services and software...Shall we call thatSFA (software for advertisement)? Is SFA going to be a disruptive force in software in the coming years? Is SFA going to have a larger impact than OSS (Open source software)? For those of us interested in the latest business-shaking tech trends, that would be a great question to ponder about.

Why Ballmer cultivates "strategic uncertainty"?

Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO) keeps cultivating "strategic uncertainty" about open source software and Linux: Linux, according to Microsoft may infringe on their IP (Intellectual Property) but they are reluctant to become more specific.

What this strategy is signaling is that Ballmer sees open source as a growing credible threat to Microsoft. However, hiding their best "legal weapons" till things get worse, is not the smartest strategy. So either Microsoft does not have any "legal weapons", or they do have but they have not figured out how to use them, or they are working hard to accumulate "legal weapons" but are not there yet. Unless they have decided that co-existing with open source, serves them better than fighting it, and the rest is just "strategic noise"

Modeling nature: Useless arithmetic?

NYT reviews an interesting book by O.Pilkey (Columbia University Press, 2007). The book focuses on the problems of complex models trying to predict (instead of just understand) complex natural phenomena.

If that is the case for natural phenomena, what one could say about social phenomena, where strategic behavior and endogenous technological change increase the complexity some orders of magnitude.

Models are not useless, but their value has limitations that should be transparent. Modelers should strive for transparency of assumptions and limitations, not easy task, because it is then that their work becomes most valuable.

OSS applications becoming mainstream

A recent Network World article identifies open source enterprise applications as one of the seven most important enterprise IT trends in 2007.

The promise of Open Source ERP

cio magazine discusses several examples of mid-size firms that are seeking to migrate to a new ERP system and have chosen an Open Source ERP (e.g. Compiere). Primary reasons? Avoid proprietary vendor lock-in, flexibility when it comes to customization (and cost savings at least for licensing).

As these early adopters had a very positive experience, open source ERP adoption may grow fast in the coming years.