*BSD News Article 66485


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From: byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: Historic Opportunity facing Free Unix (was Re: The Lai/Baker paper, benchmarks, and the world of free UNIX)
Date: 18 Apr 1996 20:51:03 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology - College of Computing
Lines: 108
Message-ID: <4l69vn$jb@solaria.cc.gatech.edu>
References: <4ki055$60l@Radon.Stanford.EDU> <4l0fv9$1bfs@news.missouri.edu> <4l2u61$fdg@solaria.cc.gatech.edu> <4l4crd$nus@miso.cs.uq.edu.au>
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In article <4l4crd$nus@miso.cs.uq.edu.au>,
Warwick Allison <warwick@cs.uq.edu.au> wrote:
>byron@cc.gatech.edu (Byron A Jeff) writes:
>
>>Word6
>>Word6
>>Word6
>>Word6
>>Word6
>>Word6
>>Word6
>
>Too short sighted.  Did Netscape go and write a Word6 compatible WWW
>browser?  No.  Applications *don't* live forever (Word6 cannot load Word3
>documents, for example).  

Netscape didn't need to. However look at the large number of Word6 to HTML 
converters. Very few Windows users write web pages to begin with and those
that do write in Word and convert to HTML or use a graphical HTML editor.
Only unix folks do 'cat > index.html'.

Face it. Microsoft has a stanglehold on WP on the desktop. If you can't 
interoperate with their format, there is no hope of making inroads into
the desktop market.

>
>We *MUST* base our applications on open standards (eg. HTML, not Word6),
>or we will be forever dragging behind the proprietor of the standard.
>That is fundamental.

Agreed. We need to flank by promoting a standard format, but we also have
to interoperate with the existing format too. A standalone converter is
fine. But if your application cannot deal with the format that several
billion documents are in, you can't compete because you're not even in
the ballpark.

Typical conversation between a free Unix advocate and a potential new user:


Advocate: With FreeUnix you get 32 bit, multiuser, multitasking, and
seemless built-in networking, along with X-windows YADAYADAYADA....

PNU: I have 1000 word 6 documents and another 500 excel spreadsheets. I also
do Quicken and MS-Mail with attachments. Will free Unix help me?

Advocate: Not exactly...  YADAYADAYADA

The PNU has already tuned out the advocate. Free Unix isn't for them because
it doesn't do what they're used to doing.

Both Microsoft and Intel understand that you cannot grow without keeping
the existing legacy base. the 8086 is based on the 8080 so that the
existing CMP code base could easily be translated. You can take a program
that was written under DOS 2.0 and run it on a Pentium under 95 or NT.

While old applications and old formats are phased out, compatibility is
still maintained.

It is fundamental to move to an open standard, I agree, but we have to
be able to support the monumental existing base of documents and spreadsheets
while we transition to the next phase. We should also beat Microsoft to
the punch be introducing a free open standard for documents and other
files along with the tools for creating, editing and converting existing
documents into the new format. And unlike microsoft we'll have tools
that run under '95 and NT for these tasks.

That's how to assult the desktop.


>
>A free WWW Netscapegold-like product (or simply NetScape Gold - it's the
>editor one, right?) could subvert the Word6 market.  If someone sends you
>a Word6 file, tell them you want it in HTML instead (they can get a free
>Word6 modulethingy for writing out in HTML, I understand).

Many users either won't or can't do it. They don't understand the process
and will become easily frustrated at the process. They will ask the
legitimate question "Why can't you just use the .doc attachment that I send
you? Everyone else can read and print it, why can't you? Why must I convert?
Don't you use Word?"

Trust me I've been in this conversation as recently as 2 weeks ago.

We need both the long term and the short term. We need to cut Redmond off at
the pass just like NetScape did with the Web. If you dictate the marketplace
instead of following you can win the war.

So I'll amend to the following strategy:

- Come up with a free/open file formats for documents, spreadsheets and 
other file formats.
- Create a free application that operates in that format plus can import
(and export) documents in common current formats (Word 6 in particular
or even RTF) Make sure the application is available for all common
systems. Standalone converts for this is fine.
- Promote the hell out of it.

Just remember folks for the average user it's all about applications.
If you give the user the application they use all the time, they will
not care in the least about the hardware, OS, or anything else. If you
can do it for free, you've got 'em just as long as it interoperates with
what they're used to.

BAJ
-- 
Another random extraction from the mental bit stream of...
Byron A. Jeff - PhD student operating in parallel - And Using Linux!
Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332   Internet: byron@cc.gatech.edu