Linspire has announced an agreement to license voice-enabled instant messaging, Windows Media 10 codecs, and TrueType font technologies from Microsoft for its Linux distribution. Additionally, Microsoft will offer protection to Linspire customers against possible violations of Microsoft patents by Linux.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2005-07-06
"Really? For MS Office? How many calls do you get, for which version? What about the OS X version?"
For Office 2007, you get unlimited calls for 90 days (90 days after your first support call, not 90 days after you purchase the product). For previous versions it was 2-4 free calls depending on the edition. Mac support follows the same guidelines.
I haven't posted anything negative about Linux at all, and nor would I. The point I'm trying to drive home is that MS deciding to port Office to Linux isn't a decision that's made by someone waking up one morning feeling that it's the right thing to do. It would take years of planning/coding/testing, and would cost 10's if not 100's of millions of dollars. I'd love to see it, but if anything the Linux community themselves are preventing this from ever happening due to their attitude towards closed, proprietary software in general, and specifically towards Microsoft. Again no one is right or wrong, it's just completely different mindsets, and MS would need a completely new business model for their LBU (Linux Business Unit) should they ever decide to form one.
Member since:
2005-07-02
Really? For MS Office? How many calls do you get, for which version? What about the OS X version?
It seems to me that many pro-MS posters here are so negative in their views of Linux that they are unwilling to compromise - and yet a Linux port of MS Office would do wonder to repair some of the burnt bridges between Microsoft and the Linux community!