Yes, it's clear that M$ thinks the immediate threat from Linux is that
they will loose the server market. However, scary as it is to think
that they will try to introduce (in effect) propriety protocols, the
picture you paint shows wht in reality it's not a problem.
As you said, it's hard enough managing a network with simple and open
protocols. For M$ to keep OSS on the back foot, they would have to
constantly "upgrade" (read: change in some subtle and incompatible
way) their protocols. These upgrades would have to come at a faster
rate than the OSS community could cope with.
This is a two-edged sword. If M$ pushes a new protocol or "extension"
onto the Internet (or even into a corporate LAN/WAN), they will
*break* that network. It will break because it is simply not possible
to upgrade all components of a network at once, and older components
will not understand the new extensions. The result is that the new
servers will have to be put back the way they were.
So I don't think their tactic will work. Nevertheless, I think the
U.S.A. DOJ should take a good look at this internal memo.
Regards,
Richard....
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