If we took the total number of Linux clients out there (and projected to be), factor in how many of those are in Lotus' target market (corporations, government, etc.), and then factored in how many of those folks would actually use proprietary s/w (the anti-microsoft advocates vs. the open source advocates), and then divide that number by what Lotus could reasonable expect to get in terms of market sharing (50% maybe), I suspect we'd be left with a very small number.
I don't see companies like IBM as being very aggressive. I would pitch a one-two punch of Linus and Notes with components to replace office, and revolutionize the way desktop PC's are used.
If I had something like Lotus Components that was Java based and would work on Linux, I could eliminate MS Office from at least half of my desktops. Easy. One wave of the hand.
That levels the playing field considerably, and instantly creates a much larger market place.
The problem is, most vendors are waiting for a Linux desktop marketplace to magically appear. It isn't going to happen. A compelling reason/solution is going to have to be developed to convince people to change their thinking.
I think there is such a compelling reason, and it's a huge one:
This discussion came up in the pre release forum (
) and really, when you think about it it makes allot of sense.Having the ability to edit attachments in place is a step forward, but really - MS Office documents contain data. Data that is business intelligence. What does that business intelligence data get you sitting on a hard drive or a network share imprisoned inside of a MS Office document? Not much! But throw that data into a Notes database, even in a simple document library - and now you can index it. Replicate it. Back it up centrally. Incorporate it into workflows. Link to it. Index it in discovery server.
And that's before you start incorporating any business logic into the database and turn it into a real application.
This is huge! It's also a radical departure from common thinking about how PC's should be used, but it makes lots of sense when you think about it for a while.
The bottom line, there is a ton of business information and data that is currently imprisoned in MS Office documents, and that is a shame. Get it out of individual documents that are a nightmare to manage, and get it into Notes databases.
Really, I think I could eliminate office from 90% of my desktops, certainly 80% (the old 80/20 rule). If that's the case, in my environment there are very few people that would require Windows for other applications - most other applications we use have been moved to the web or are being moved to the web (and are currently telnet or 3270 sessions, easily replicatable on Linux).
I think IBM is missing a real opportunity here. MS is already vulnerable in the server space. Take away Office, and their big desktop edge softens considerably.
And if you have 30% of your users that still need a windows app, there are always solutions like Citrix - why deploy and maintain a full-blow fat Windows desktop when a lightweight Linux desktop will do everything you need and more, at a fraction of the hardware, software and maintenance costs?
And what is holding this up? For me, lack of styles and advanced formatting in the Rich Text classes and the lack of a viable way to replicate the functionality of a simple spreadsheet in Notes. If I had that, I could start kicking Office off the desktop left and right...
Eric
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. . . . . . . . . . Think bigger - IBM (and everyone el... (~Pippy Nimniobu... 4.Oct.02) 
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