Windows will always have some software that Linux does not, whereas most Linux software will gradually become available on Windows. Moreover, the features of the platform itself are becoming more significant as the apps are increasingly available on both platforms. However, the trend towards consumers choosing OSS applications on Windows means that the Windows-only applications are gradually becoming less significant. Consumers choose a platform predominantly based on the apps which are available for it. As it stands right now, Linux support and functionality is a subset of Windows support and functionality. Firefox, Open Office, Apache, GIMP, Blender, Second Life… but all are available for Windows. There is no significant piece of open-source software that does not exist in Windows. Some of the commenters on the blog brought up how the file format may be more important than having a killer ap on the web eg., how Firefox on Windows is opening the web up to Linux users again, OOo or KOffice with ODF., etc. Of course now KDE4 will be releasing many of its apps as cross-platform. Can you hear the dominoes falling as they approach?
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In turn this means fewer software packages, which in turn means even fewer reasons for people to use Free Software operating systems. This translates to ISV interest in desktop Linux/BSD being kept to a barely noticeable minimum. This “strategy” ensures Free Software desktops remain a 5% fringe in the market. Microsoft owes us a big “thank you” when you think about it: we are giving them the opportunity to react on the playing field they most effective on while we are limiting our own resources. How many Windows users have debuggers or compilers or even receive awareness marketing on the part of their primary software vendor (Microsoft) to “Get Involved and Give Back”? Moreover, resources that could be spent making the Open Source desktop environments more compelling are instead being spent on making Windows more compelling in the form of superior applications. This is because the tools necessary to do so are relatively rare on Windows. Making the situation even worse, by keeping people on Windows we decrease the odds of them getting involved and contributing back to the community. That’s actually one of the things Aaron Seigo pointed out in 2004, … :
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