FYI: Back in the day, MSFT actually shipped a UNIX system named Xenix so it's not totally hypocritical. They hate Linux since it obviously detracts from MSFT sales, but as seen they destroyed Linux in the netbook scene. Most prob due to the monopoly stranglehold they have on the manufacturers or maybe cuz h/w manufacturers can't write/config s/w and end up ****ing up. I think Nokia is an amazing h/w company but for some reason they can't write s/w.

I wouldn't say they "destroyed" Linux, unless of course you believe Microsoft's "We control 99% of the netbook market" BS. When real world sales were totaled, greater than 1/3rd of all sales were Linux. Toss in the additional sales that couldn't directly be totaled (at least not through normal channels, but they have been totaled), and its closer to just over 1/2. That's hardly "destroyed" IMHO, unless you're using victors math. Of course, before they (MS) bribed Asus, MSI and a couple others into totally throwing out Linux, it was more like >2/3rds of the market, upwards to 90%. So bribes and shenanigans aside, MS did anything *but* destroy Linux, even if their FUD machine would like you to think otherwise.

Even Dell and IBM came out against MS saying that their so called "numbers" were a bunch of flying horse ****. Dell even backed it up with their own numbers. So if those couple of sellouts hadn't abandoned Linux, it would still be destroying MS hands down. That's why they strong armed several companies and got them to fold on Linux, and stop shipping it. Of course if you discount the fact that MSI totally boned their deployment of Linux (My gawds, the MSI implementation of Linux was like having your skull gutted with a power tool! :eek), and numerous B&M companies (Best Buy, Walmart, etc) who didn't want to spend the money to train their employees on how to do Linux sales and support, Linux would be boning MS bloody right now.

And before you discount what I say, I work deep in the heart of the Linux and FOSS worlds, so I'm pretty intimate with the data I've posted here. I don't just throw around numbers willy nilly. I like to keep to the facts, and I will stand by those facts, even if they hurt.

WinMo's phone [edit] market share is at the make-or-break point. Combine that with the Office development for Nokia handhelds, and Windows 7 going on the Booklets, and you start to see a big picture strategy here. I'll spell it out in a blog article soon.

Very true. Their best software products (like Visio) were bought from other companies and essentially left alone (mechanics-wise).

Microsoft does an admirable job with industrial design though. As a former product designer I'm usually impressed with their hardware offerings.

Windows Mobile (or CE) won't be tossed just like that because of what happens in the phone market, as the OS is also used in a lot of embedded stuff (more than you imagine!)

And Microsoft doesn't have to destroy Linux, Linux is quite capable of doing that to itself. MS just needs to keep up the usability (more troubles from Apple in that department), because that is where Linux is easy to beat atm. Give Linux some nice user experience and integration and MS will fear it more...

Context is key here: the discussion should focus on phone application for WinMo (or CE). However, the question remains: is there enough critical mass in embedded usage alone for it to survive in just that application? Or does the phone ecosystem subsidize or enable embedded usage?

kde...

and while apple has nice usability, their "only on our hardware" attitude means a limited spread of the API.

as for the linux on netbook thing, i cant help wonder if there where just as many "buy linux, install windows" as there was "buy windows, install linux", at least on the asus front.

and one could see where the boat was heading when dell launched their mini 9 with a rebate on the windows running models that resulted in the better spec high end windows model being cheaper then the low end linux model...

and btw, microsoft is in the strongest position right now to go from software to service provider, going head to head with google.

That's what I mean, Linux went from dominant marketshare to losing out. They lost due to low application support and difficult UI. Just from an anecdotal POV: All my friends returned their Linux boxes in favor of Windoze. The alternative OSs were contracted out and were poorly built, what else can you expect? Just going to average retailers most of their netbooks demo with Win on it.

More importantly, on the comment about Office on non-windows boxes i.e. Office on the Web: I'm making the claim that Microsoft is admitting that Windows' growth will slow down especially in enterprise sales. Additionally, now that Google is declared their Public Enemy #1, I'm pretty confident in saying that Google will win. I personally don't care, but I just think MSFT has finally found itself in a fight they don't fully understand nor have monopoly control to shape market decisions.

Microsoft has two parts to it, the OS and the applications. If the OS can't dominate a market after years of trying, they can still make a profit from applications. If Linux becomes the standard global desktop OS, they'd publish Office for Linux.

There's no shame in this approach, Google releases smartphone clients for Symbian, Apple releases PC clients for Windows, despite both these OSes being in competition with their own.

If the Xbox project doesn't work out, I wouldn't be surprised if MS started publishing games on whatever console is the standard at the time. (And indeed they have published games on the Nintendo DS.)

Symbian's got by far the largest market share of the smartphone sector and it could actually grow that share as it moves onto ever-cheaper devices (the latest touchscreen Symbian is launching for 150 euros unlocked, about one quarter of the price of the unlocked iPhone). The relatively low price of Symbian's hardware makes it possible that it will be the first mainstream smartphone in the developing world, which is a much bigger market than the developed world. Symbian on low-end phones wouldn't be cutting edge, but it would be ubiquitous, which is what Microsoft wants its software to be as ubiquitous software is where software standards are created.