| By Maureen O'Gara |
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| January 1, 2000 12:00 AM EST |
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15,135 |
If you're looking for a David and Goliath story, you don't need to look any further than Michael Robertson, CEO of Lindows.com. As the first major player trying to sell Linux desktop computers in a retail environment, he's felt the full wrath of Microsoft's fury, including a lawsuit claiming that Lindow violates Microsoft's trademark on the Windows name. In this "sneak peek" of an upcoming interview in
LinuxWorld Magazine senior editor James Robertson talks to Michael about the future of Linux on the desktop, the struggle to de-geekify the operating system, and what it's like to go up against the largest software company in the world.
LWM: For a medium- to large-size company contemplating a transition to Linux, one of their concerns is going to be, "Who is our IT support safety net?"
Robertson: First of all, it's important to assess where things are today. If you have a Microsoft product, it doesn't mean you get to call Microsoft. You have to pay Microsoft if you want to call them and talk to them. The point here is that there's no free support from Microsoft, in fact if you want to call Microsoft there's no one to call.
The interesting dynamic here is that if you buy our office suite, which happens to be StarOffice, you actually get free telephone support in 24 languages, which you don't get if you buy Microsoft Office. So the ironic twist here is that the new kids on the block, the StarOffices of the world, have said "we have to provide better support than Microsoft to be able to win customers over." Theres an interesting flip here, that you can get free support from a Linux-based software developer, be it the OS or the application, often as part of the basic license, without having to engage in any service contract. If you do need additional support beyond that, of course, there are lots of organizations that you can pay to get that. And because a lot of the software is open source, you're not beholden to any one company who can charge you whatever they want. Bottom line, there's better support options for desktop Linux out of the box today.
LWM: Some recent reports have indicated that while Linux has a lower deployment cost than Windows, it may have higher support costs.
Robertson: That's propaganda from Microsoft. When you commission a study, pay them enough money and they'll come up with any conclusion you want. Let's look at the numbers. Microsoft makes 1 million dollars of profit per month selling two products, the OS and the office suite. Now Microsoft can come up with all the studies they want saying they're cheaper that the alternative, but it's complete nonsense.
LWM: For an enterprise, what would be the advantages to moving to a desktop Linux strategy?
Robertson: Cost. Cost is the number one reason. You can expect to spend one-eighth of the cost of a Microsoft PC for a similarly equipped desktop Linux PC running Lindows OS. The second advantage is much easier maintenance and support. And I say that because they never have to deal with serial numbers, activation codes, product databases; they never need to deal with any of that because most of our products are flat-fee licenses. That's the accounting, logistical side of things. There's also the technical side of things; if you were here, I could should you how I can set up a new computer, click one button, and install 14 programs that we use as a standard distribution here at Lindows.com. You can't do that on Microsoft, right? Set up your computer, and click one button, and say "OK, you're ready to go." There are dramatic upfront savings, and then on the technical front and logistical front, additional savings and advantages for desktop Linux.
Read more, including Michael Robertson's thoughts on Microsoft's strategy, in the premier issue of LWM, on newsstands in August
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