05.19.07
Patents: The Spear Of Fear
In ancient times, one of the weapons that soldiers used was the spear. The good thing about a spear is that it gave the ability to repeatedly hurt your enemy (enemies) before the enemy could get into sword range.
Microsoft is looking in its rearview mirror, terrified at the approaching juggernaut that is FLOSS. As more of the market uses FLOSS in place of proprietary software, Microsoft’s market share and profits are limited. Microsoft has been the leading software company for many years, so seeing competitors that are parrying their every thrust must loosen their sphincters. Now they have pulled out the equivalent of the nuclear bomb and said in effect, “We are willing to use this if you continue to threaten our dominance.”
I have read that eventually, it was learned that a sword-bearing soldier could beat a spear-bearing soldier more often than the reverse. That is, the victory comes up-close-and-personal, not from far away. I would caution Microsoft that using patents as weapons instead of building great customer-centric products is not the road to continued success. It is the road to slow death, like the one chosen by the Detroit automakers.
I believe that FLOSS is the future of software. This does not mean that proprietary software will die out. However, I believe that proprietary software is destined to become primarily a niche product. For one thing, the high margins that some software companies (including Microsoft) have received can not continue indefinitely. For another, things like TUR place the user’s interests underneath those of the vendor, which also can not continue indefinitely. Enlightened users will seek software from vendors that are less hostile to their own interests.
The knowledge that this is coming fills many of the proprietary companies with fear.
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion only. It does not reflect the views of WebConnect Consulting or any employers, relatives, or anyone else.
