December 17th, 2007
Microsoft fate draws strong open source reaction
One of the best ways to draw a crowd here in 2007 was to mention the word Microsoft.
An August piece speculating on Microsoft’s future was the third most-read piece on this blog for the year.
I compared the company’s lifecycle to that of a stellar athlete, noting that the greatest athletes are often most-loved at the end of their careers, as Brett Favre (right) is today.
At the height of their powers, however, great athletes may be feared, even booed. I suspect a lot of today’s antipathy toward Tiger Woods is due to his being in his prime. He makes it look easy, and it makes the sport look boring.
Microsoft, I argued, is closer to being Favre than Woods. And the young guns challenging its dominance are all associated with open source.
This observation may make it a bit harder to boo Microsoft in the future. But there it is.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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