The Continuing OS Saga
by
Randy Mears
I never thought I’d see it but here it is. Sun Microsystems is going to produce servers with Intel Chips! In exchange, Intel will endorse Sun’s Solaris operating system. With Microsoft Vista on the horizon, the timing is interesting, to say the least.
Here is an article that talks about how Vista’s detractors are calling it a “weak imitator” of other operating systems. The article doesn’t identify these “other operating systems” but I must assume that Solaris is one of them, along with Linux and Apple’s OSX.
In light of the above and along with Apple getting set to introduce Leopard in spring, are we getting ready to see a new round of OS wars? Microsoft is so dominant that it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll see a major shift anytime soon but the Vista article does explore an interesting idea. It states that “… programs coming over the Internet are emerging as a more powerful force in computing than software tied to individual desktops.” With the emergence of Web 2.0 applications and improving browser standardization, they may indeed have a very good point. But it could be a moot point as it relates to the OS wars.
While the availability of a sophisticated and popular browser will increasingly be a determining factor when selecting an OS, Microsoft’s formula for success will likely remain intact for a time. After all, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still holds a commanding lead in the browser war. It is now more obvious than ever why Microsoft fought so hard for Windows to have its own, integrated, Internet browser.
