The interview with Tony Scott “Good for us, bad for them” (August 23) was an eye-opener. Despite pointed questions, he had nothing to say except for claiming a few brownie points.
Microsoft is laggard in everything except desktop operating systems, Office and gaming. Internet Explorer has not been able to pass the Acid 3 test which signifies that it is not standards-compliant.
What Mr Scott would fear to accept publicly is the rise of the Ubuntu operating system and how the future release (Meerkat) is being adapted to netbooks (where Win 7 has not been ported). Mobile applications have been hammered and its newer version was greeted with a big yawn. It’s difficult to compare search engines in terms of content but Microsoft-funded agencies have been claiming Bing’s “meteoric rise”. The fact is that Google does not need to shout about its offerings.
There is a serious lack of choice from OEMs while buying new hardware. Mr Scott may not be aware that Linux has been ported to almost everything under sun. I run my entertainment servers attached to Wi-Fi that streams music and is connected to the web on 10-year-old legacy systems ported to Unix which does not need a reboot. Windows does not provide “support” to old hardware.
It would be more prudent to focus on open-source software which is secure, scalable and can be adapted to one’s needs. We as a country should not spend precious and scarce resources on closed operating systems that don’t allow users to effectively utilise them.
Abhishek Puri, on email
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