Linux News...

[Bruce Smith <bruce@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Microsoft says linux making gains on windows


September 28, 1998


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Reuters [BR] via NewsEdge
Corporation : Microsoft Corp. said Friday in a filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission it expects its Windows
operating system to have more competition from rival operating
systems such as Linux. 

``Over the past year the Linux operating system has gained
increasing acceptance, and leading software developers such as
Oracle and Corel have announced that they will develop
applications that run on Linux,'' Microsoft said in its annual filing
with the SEC. 

Linux is the free version of the UNIX operating system that runs
on Intel-based PCs and Internet servers. It was developed by
volunteers around the world who coordinated their efforts using
the Internet. It is the most well-known of the so-called
''open-source'' software which proponents hope will help bring
down prices for commercial software. 

Microsoft faces a trial Oct. 15 on a federal complaint that it has
abused monopoly power over operating system software for
personal computers, using that monopoly to compete unfairly.
Microsoft denies that it holds a monopoly. 

In a news release earlier in the day, the ``Project to Promote
Competition & Innovation,'' a strong critic of Microsoft, said
that about 90 percent of personal computers run on Windows
and ``97 percent of PCs are shipped with the Windows operating
system on board.'' 

Jim Cullinan, a spokesman for Microsoft, replied: ``Our products
are very popular and many companies see the benefits of
Windows. We don't comment on specific market share.'' 

The critics said ``a visit to any computer store'' will dispel the
assertion that Microsoft does not hold a monopoly. 

``The sales personnel will show you many brands of personal
computers, but unless they brand is Apple they will all run on
Windows,'' the Project to Promote competition said in a
statement.