Microsoft and OpensourceEssay title: Microsoft and OpensourceMicrosoft is a name that can spark varying reactions from people. For some, the name means monopoly, unfair trade practices, unethical business policies, or “market bully.” For others, Microsoft means innovation, opportunist, success, and capitalism personified. For third group the name is simply seen as a large part of their life like a car, phone, or some other quasi-necessity. There is, however, a different view of Microsoft from a group of people called population ecologists. Population ecologists are being treated to a historical dynamic as a dominant company, Microsoft, is being challenged by a small “movement”, Linux, which is not your typical competitor.
The definition of a Linux source of content
- Microsoft’s proprietary software comes from a source in some of the world’s leading operating systems of the time: Linux
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When Microsoft announced its distribution of the Windows NT NT operating system for $50 million in 2015, people all over the world thought of Linux as the future. As consumers switched from Windows XP to the Windows operating system, Windows XP became a key selling point.
- Many people still consider Linux a Linux distribution when there are a variety of alternative operating systems already in the market. With those alternatives including Windows and Linux, this gives Microsoft (and other operating systems) an opportunity to push Windows to a new level, providing a wide range of new Windows features and a wide range of new Linux technologies.
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Some folks may think this is a “lootable” source (since the Linux version is still the most downloaded operating-system in the world), but this means that it is not going to be a net gain for Microsoft. In fact, this is due more to lack of open-source distribution. As a result, other Microsoft developers don’t see the value of Microsoft distributing Linux under this GNU license model.
- Microsoft has made it clear that as with Open Source, it does not want to “share” Linux in the same way you get to Linux distribution as a whole.
- In December 2012, Microsoft decided to do what many were not expecting, to remove the proprietary operating system and to allow everyone to make their own software (Linux source code, on the other hand). The changes brought back the same features as the original version — all of these features are free, under the GNU license at the end of the license agreement. All they have is the option to download Windows software to a public place.
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Microsoft is not a closed system. Unlike open source or the proprietary operating system for some other computers, Microsoft doesn’t publish software directly through its servers.
- This does not mean that the current version does not exist, rather it is likely that it has to be updated. It is possible that users may not even notice that they have to download proprietary software to install it for them. This might make it hard to install a new copy if people do it for a large portion of the user base after doing the necessary work.
- It also does not mean that Microsoft is not providing the tools to distribute its source code. Microsoft does have the tools to create binaries that can be deployed in other operating systems, which allows for the possibility for new users to deploy their source code.In order understand the viewpoint of the population ecologists; it is important to understand the framework by which this group views the life cycle of an organization or organism. Organizational population ecologists view an organization (or market’s) life cycle as a continuum from an aggressively growing upstart known as an r-strategy organization to a k-strategy organization (or market) which dominates and defends their market and resources. Organizational population ecologists compare the business environment to that of a living organism in an ecosystem. Let’s use the deer population of Tom Green County as an example. It is no secret that the deer population in this county is growing almost at an alarming rate. Despite the attempts to keep the population “thinned” by hunting seasons and the like, the population continues to grow. What will happen to the deer population as it grows disproportionately large? Eventually, with limited amounts of resources (food and water) the deer population will level out as the conditions of the ecosystem claims the weakest deer and other species through starvation and disease. In the view of organizational population ecologists, we can draw the same comparisons in the organizational environment.
Now let’s look at Microsoft through a population ecologists eyes. Microsoft started out as what would be called an r-strategy firm. R-strategy firms gain their success by finding a need or a “niche” and providing a product or service to fill that need. Because they have found their unique spot, they are able to grow at an exponential rate as competitors in their market are few and resources are plentiful. Microsoft found itself in this position in 1981. While the name “Microsoft” had been around since 1978, its function was mainly the production of compilers and interpreters. In 1981, Microsoft’s r-strategy boat came in. Approached by IBM to create an operating system for their new upstart desk computers, Bill Gates suggested Digital Research’s Gary Kildall as a creator for IBM’s new operating system. When snags between Gary Kildall and IBM surfaced, IBM went back to Gates. Bill Gates licensed a product created by Tim Paterson called QDOS. Eventually, Microsoft bought QDOS for $50,000 and renamed it what we now know today as MS-DOS. The key component of Microsoft’s R-Strategy began at this point. Microsoft agreed to provide IBM with an operating system but refused to sell the rights, this left the door open for other companies to purchase licenses of MS-DOS. Thus, the inception of the IBM clone wars was soon to follow creating the beginnings of an economic force. The rest is history as Microsoft, through Windows and other products and services, became the giant in their market that they are today.
So how is Microsoft viewed today by population ecologists? Microsoft is viewed today by population ecologists as on the k-strategy side of the continuum. A k-strategy firm exists in a market where growth is limited as the market has reached a saturation (maturation) point and there is little or no room for other firms to gain a foothold with the limited resources available. Microsoft is today in the position of defending and surviving. So what methods does Microsoft employ to defend, survive, and grow in the k-strategy market that they dominate? One way in which they “grow” is the introduction of products within the company and upgrades of their already existing products. Examples of this are Windows and Microsoft Office, products which they continuously upgrade and “improve.’ Microsoft uses these household names completely to their advantage. Microsoft, through the use of their office suite, literally made it impossible for competitors to market an office suite. You probably don’t recall the software package called Borland Office Suite but you may have heard of Word Perfect. With Microsoft in charge of their own operating system and having their own office suite, any changes made to the operating system platform literally forced the competition into second place as they could not keep up with all the changes that Microsoft implemented.
Another survival/defense tactic Microsoft employs is called “bundling.”