Desktop Linux 'will force Microsoft to innovate'
The open-source software movement will revitalise commercial software rather than undermine it, says Novell
Open source will force software vendors to create better products, but will not be its downfall, according to Novell.
Matt Asay, Novell's director of Linux business office, said on Tuesday at the Linux User and Developer Expo 2004 in London that Linux threatened the proprietory software industry with innovation, rather than extinction, and accused companies such as Microsoft of failing to come up with exciting new applications.
"When was the last time that Microsoft Office got significantly better? It's been pretty much the same product for a while now," claimed Asay, speaking at the Linux User and Developer Expo 2004 in London.
"As things stand, creativity has gone, and that's one reason that Linux on the desktop makes sense. It'll be good for Microsoft, too. They won't like it, but it will force them to innovate," Asay added.
Asay compared people who say that open source is bad for the software industry to titans of the music industry who opposed new technologies, such as the tape cassette and the VCR -- both of which generated billions of pounds in new revenue for record companies.
