Open-Source Predictions For 2007

Open-Source Predictions for 2007

“Open source came out on strong in 2006.Open-source web browser Firefox gained market share against Microsoft’s Internet Explorer with more than 200 million downloads. OpenOffice.org, the open-source productivity suite, was used on desktops by more than 200 million people.”

I think it is note-worthy to mention that a common “theme” throughout this article is the open-source operating system, Linux. Ryan (CyberNet) and I discussed this “theme” a bit on the CyberNet Forum:

“And with as much as I like Vista I think this is a very valid point:

Open source advocates would like to believe that Vista, the new version of Microsoft Windows operating system, will fail to appeal to businesses and consumers because of its high cost, security issues, and closed nature (see Linux Faithful: Vista No Threat and Vista is Bad for You, FSF Says). “Vista won’t set the world on fire,” says open-source supporter Eric Raymond. “It will limp through 2007 looking lamer and lamer as it becomes evident that it’s not more than a glorified service pack, and one that completely fails to solve Microsoft’s security and reliability problems.”

I don’t think most people are going to switch to Windows Vista until it comes pre-installed on their PC’s.”
I have to agree with Ryan here, the only way I will ever get Vista is if I buy a new PC with Vista pre-installed or if Mozilla were to stop support for WinXP (could happen with Firefox 4 in late 2008), but even in the case of the latter, I would just switch to Linux instead.

News Source: Red-Herring

Alt Predictions 2007

Not your ordinary or boring predictions, Wired News columnist Lore Sjöberg goes out on a limb. Predictions include New RIAA Lawsuits, Nintendo Wii & Aliens, images from Mars, Nokia’s newest ‘do everything’ (sort of) cellphone, and more…including my personal favorite prediction, this one about Google:

“After another round of acquisitions, including MySpace, Flickr, Yelp and Barry’s Totally Awesome Whitesnake Tribute Page, Google runs out of websites to buy. It decides accordingly to acquire itself for an unprecedented $10.4 billion in stock. “Google is the leader in search and a strong competitor in several other online venues,” says a Google spokesman. “It’s only natural that Google would want to partner with such an internet powerhouse. That’s why we’re proud to announce Google Google, which will be in beta for the next 15 years.”

Check them all (sadly nothing about Firefox though) out here at Wired News: Alt Predictions for 2007