The Penguin Takes Flight (Linux)

Business 2.0 ^ | Dec 2002 | Erick Schonfeld

[taxcontrol]

After creating a program that makes Linux as easy to use as Windows, Miguel de Icaza is trying to make it just as simple to produce open-source versions of thousands of new Windows applications.

http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,45454,00.html

[taxcontrol]

Open source efforts for .Net replacement from the same guy who did Gnome. Might have significant impact on Java and possibly Microsoft. FYI only. No claims made by me. Follow the link for details.

[lelio]

I saw a demo of .NET by MSFT at a local Java meeting. I was impressed -- its Just Like Java (tm) in some respects, but it has the Windows platform as its base. So you can easily plug in thing like security.
That's where I think MS could leverage their advantage. They own the desktop and its easy for them to include simple hooks into the OS. Granted you could do the same with Java, but you'll have to get another download and it would likely be spotty.

[BuddhaBoy]

The significant impact will be felt by Sun Microsystems.

Mono helps Microsoft destroy Java, and increase the footprint of .NET beyond Microsoft developers.

All of the middleware players supporting Sun, start developing for .NET, and pay licencing fees to Microsoft instead of Sun. Linux users buy cheap Intel boxes instead of expensive Sun workstations. Mono programs also pay Microsoft licencing fees to get their .NET programs running on Intel boxes. Sun's oxygen is cut off, and they die.

[shadowman99]

To be more accurate, this is really a Pro-Gnome (and Mono) article than Pro-Linux. Gnome has been ported to Linux, BSD and Solaris.

[krb]

How does this affect KDE?

[taxcontrol]

The Linux tag was only to set the stage for others. In particular those that may not wish to read the article could skip it. But your point is valid.

[taxcontrol]

Not sure that there will be a direct impact. It is my understanding that Mono is not tied directly to Gnome. As such, I would expect a Linux user be able to still use either.

But I've been disapointed (and wrong) before.

[krb]

I wonder how this stuff relates to XML?

Microsoft's next big change is supposedly a full-frontal embrace of XML technology.

[lorrainer]

And all this time, I thought al gore invented Linux. Why, isn't that cute "Tux" character based on him? See, he was wearing a tuxedo when he married Tipped, and...

[taxcontrol]

I'm no coder so my opinion is worth about as much as the electrons used to write this :-/

I tend to see XML as more of a system to system protocol and .Net (and Mono) as more an intra system protocol. Meaning that it is designed to work within a system.

[taxcontrol]

LOL,

Yeah, the ol Gore - Tux connection. Why I'm SURE he fully understand the details of video drivers and TCP/IP.

/excessive sarcasm

[PrairieDawg]

You wrote:

So you can easily plug in thing like security.

If you can easily plug in security in the MS world why haven't they done so yet???

Just wondering...(I don't think they can, FWIW)
PrairieDawg

[MonroeDNA]

Is this "Lindows?"

[MadIvan]

UNIX, in whatever flavour, is definitely the way ahead. I've been using a system running Mac OS X since visiting the USA, and it is far more user friendly, faster, and more stable than the Pentium 4 Windows 2000 machine I have at home.

Microsoft people may want to kill me for saying so, but if their product was approaching Mac OS X, no other competitor would have a prayer.

Regards, Ivan

[taxcontrol]

No, Lindows is a windows on Linux box. What the article is talking about is a Open source version of Microsoft's .Net

Think programing language like C or C++ - not entirely accurate but close enough for comparison.

[taxcontrol]

MadIvan,

I've not seen an OS X box. I understand it to be MAC OS on top of a Linux kernal - am I wrong? Nice to hear it is working better for you.

Did I understand correctly that you are visiting the US now? or did you mean that you went to the states and when you got back, worked on the MAC?

[MadIvan]

I think Mac OS sits on top of a UNIX kernel, not a Linux one.

I am presently in the states and using a Mac whilst I'm here - it's all that is available to me, but it's so good, I want to get a Mac for myself.

Regards, Ivan

[taxcontrol]

Well welcome to the US!

Always nice to have our friends (esp Freepers) from across the pond come pay us a visit! If it is a business trip, I hope you will get a chance to do a little vacationing.

[lelio]

If you can easily plug in security in the MS world why haven't they done so yet???
Heh, good point! By 'security' in this case it was in a demo of web services. You queried a server and it sent back a WS security request. Up popped a dialog box asking you to put in your smart card. Press Okay and continue.
To do that in Java it would be a little harder -- you would have to have a daemon that sits there and filters all WS requests and responses and pop to life when requested. Then it would have to know how to deal with the hardware. It could be done, but it would be difficult.

[lelio]

Try to think of XML as just a way to hold the data in a way that's program-understandable w/o having to know the format of the data.
I'm surprised MS is embracing it as having a proprietary binary only file is a way for MS and others to hold on to their market share. Perhaps they've seen the light, like bioinformatics firms, that there'll be a market for file format converters and they should just be more open and can extend their reach more easily.
One thing I like about XML is that it is just about data. You can have a stylesheet to present it to you in a browser, meaning that a web site wouldn't have to do all sorts of funky formatting to support N number of browsers, just write a couple of stylesheets and have people use them as an overlay to the data.