Microsoft
will release a version of Office to run on Linux within the "next couple of
years", according to the chief executive of the
Open
Source Development Lab (OSDL).
"They did it once with Apple; they will do it again with Linux," Stuart Cohen
said during an interview with
vnunet.com at the
LinuxWorld
conference in San Francicso.
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OSDL aims to advance Linux and open source. The consortium employs Linux
founder
Linus
Torvalds, and is funded by IT vendors including
IBM,
HP and
Intel.
Cohen argued that Microsoft will be compelled to create a Linux version in a
move to pre-empt the further rise
of Sun
Microsystems' open source
OpenOffice
productivity suite.
"Microsoft will fight the total cost of ownership [issue] with a very
inexpensive office solution," he said. "I do not think that they will open
source Office, but they will make it available to run on Linux desktops."
The software offers a free entry-level database in an effort to fight off
competition from open source competitors.
Cohen claimed that Microsoft is starting to soften its stance against open
source. "They are trying to cooperate," said Cohen. "They have now acknowledged
that Linux is here to stay."
The change is attitude is limited to Microsoft as a company, he stressed,
maintaining that Windows and Linux will remain fierce competitors.
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