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Posted: Mon, June 20, 2005
Michael L. Robertson - The ITWales Interviewby Sali Earls
In the late 1990s, Robertson founded MP3.com, where he established the largest collection of digital music in the world, amassing more than 1 million downloadable MP3 files. He also spearheaded change in corporate business music services and put the power of CD creation in artists' hands by offering a host of support technologies and services. As an authority on the fields of Open Source, digital music, Voice over IP and more, Michael L. Robertson, has been featured across a range of media including ABC, CBS, NBC, Billboard, CNN, MTV, Wired, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Linux Journal, Business 2.0, and more. Now Michael L. Robertson speaks to Sali Earls of ITWales. You've recently launched Linspire 5.0, as the first mainstream Linux. What does the new software have to offer users, particularly smaller businesses and home users? With the release of Linspire 5.0, Linux has made the same leap that Microsoft did when they went from Microsoft Windows 3.0 to Microsoft Windows 95. No longer do you have to be a computer science major to run Linux on your desktop or laptop computer. Many of the Linux internet and office applications have taken a giant step up in quality. At the same time drivers and the overall interface have matured so wifi, USB drives, printers, etc will typically work right out of the box.For a small business, just starting out, why should they consider going Linux over the alternative? Cost and security are the two biggest motivators for any business to consider Linux. Businesses can expect a 90% savings when using desktop Linux over Microsoft Windows. By taking advantage of Linux software instead of proprietary products like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Frontpage, etc. and by removing the need for many security add-ons business will experience enormous savings. In addition, there are no bothersome activation codes so it's much easier to stay compliant so the software police will not bother you. Another enormous advantage is Linux immunity to Microsoft Windows virus plagues. XP users and IT staff spend a good deal of time constantly dealing with security, patching Microsoft Windows, updating virus software, remove spyware and blocking pop-ups. Linspire 5.0 comes with all the security you need right out of the box including a smart firewall which blocks just the bad stuff. It's refreshing to just focus on doing your job and not have to worry about constant maintenance necessitated by sloppy programming and poor engineering choices. In addition, with desktop Linux you greatly minimize the threat that corporate information will be compromised. Research indicates that by 2007, one in seven ERP servers will run on Linux, and by 2008, the Linux market will exceed £18 billion. Can you explain the sudden explosion in Linux and Open Source software? Microsoft has a nearly 20 year head start, so naturally it takes time for any new technology to catch up. Microsoft's dominant market position and tactics has been able to block choice for a long time. But you're seeing Linux challenging that dominance now. When given a choice people use products which are in their best interest. In spite of Microsoft sponsored "research" which indicates that Linux is more expensive the attractive economics are readily apparent to anyone doing an objective analysis. Add to that the greatly diminished security issues and a newfound ease of use and Linux becomes even more attractive.You are a well known, and outspoken advocate of Linux and Open Source. How do you think the market will develop and expand over the next few years, and what other technologies do you think businesses should take notice of and buy into now? I think the server market is relatively mature for Linux with a couple of leaders like Redhat and SuSe. On the desktop it's not as clear who the leaders are. There are many smaller outfits and therefore many competing technology approaches which makes the selection process unnecessarily complicated for the end customer. Some healthy natural selection will happen over the next few years and one or two leaders will emerge around desktop Linux. Those leaders will be the companies that entice retailers and distributors with a profit incentive to put Linux desktops and laptops on store shelves.Back in 2003, you donated $200k as prize money in a contest to translate Linux to Microsoft's XBox. More recently you won a dispute with Microsoft over trademarks. Why do you feel you must your neck on the line for the Linux community and go up against the big guns so often? I think it's about having the courage to stand-up for what you think is right. I have two young boys and I want them to grow up in a world where consumers have digital freedoms, choices and ownership of their own property. To achieve that I'm willing to battle for open formats and standards like MP3 and SIP as well as open source software. Open technologies reduces vendor lock-in where companies have the leverage to block competition and force consumers to use their service, pay for upgrades, etc. My belief is that the world will be a much better place if we insist on open technologies and I'm always willing to battle for that cause.The recent Holland Open Source Conference saw a paper presented on the subject of "trivial" software patents. This is a controversial subject, but one currently gathering momentum in Europe, where an open letter has been sent to Microsoft regarding their patent of "IsNot", amongst other things. While patents are about ideas rather than source code, what impact do you think this trend will have on small software developers, and the Open Source community in general? The IsNot patent application is a classic example of the absurdity of the current situation. It's a real travesty that the patent system which was initially designed to encourage innovation is now being twisted into a blunt instrument used to beat back competitive threats. Large software companies like Microsoft are trying to amass a library of patents that they can use to threaten or litigate against newcomers. Patent defense can be expensive even for nonsensical patents which is why it can be a powerful weapon to slow competitors and could threaten the growth of Linux.itwales.com readers can find out more about the subject of trivial software patents, and read the open letter to Microsoft here. If you have any thoughts or comments on the subject please contact the editor. Read more about Michael L. Robertson and Linspire at www.linspire.com. For further information about Linspire, please contact the exclusive UK distributor at www.phoenixglobalsoftware.co.uk, or purchase and download Linspire from www.linspire.com/uk.
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Celebrated within the
Linux community, and often viewed with trepidation outside, Michael L. Robertson is the founder and Chairman of Linspire, Inc. The company have
recently released a new version of their Linux based desktop operating system as a real and credible alternative to Microsoft Windows. |
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