The State of the Operating System Market

Here's exiting news. For the first time in 15 years, the Windows market share fell below 90%. On the upswing is Mac OS X with 8.87% of the market, and Linux at 0.83%. Source

These numbers are important for a number of reasons. For starters, Microsoft is gradually loosing it's grasp on the operating system market. Apple is doing a fantastic job of nipping Microsoft's monopoly.

As for Linux, you may noticed that it enjoyed 0.93% market share in August. I suspect this has been due to the release of UMPCs like th Eee PC. As the fad cooled down, chances are the sales cooled down as well. However, while visiting Future Shop on the weekend, I saw five UMPC with two of them running Linux. That's a 40% market share for Linux just there ;). As I predicted earlier, the rise of cheap computers will continue to hurt Microsoft as they are struggling to compete against free and open operating systems.

To put the numbers in perspective, here's a little report I put together with my trusty OpenOffice Calc:


A couple of interesting trends to notice.

Windows has been steadily loosing ground. This year alone, they've lost 2% of their market share. The year before that, 1.94%. Ouch! I can see why Microsoft was in a rush to deliver Vista. They needed something to help them regain the ground that they are loosing to other operating systems.

Apple has more than double their market presence over nearly five years. I personally attribute this to Mac OS X and Steve Job's marketing genius. Mac OS X is a true Unix operating system with a gorgeous interface slapped on top of it. This means that newcomers to computer have a system which is simple and inviting, while power-users have a solid Unix machine to hack. Personally, I feel that this has been a stroke of genius on Apple's part. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, or adopting Windows, they took advantage of FLOSS to custom build a rapidly growing operating system that is leaving Windows in the dust.

Linux is still barely a blip on the radar, but is still growing. Between this year and last year, Linux enjoyed a growth of 30%. I feel that this is important, since Linux is already well established on the server, but is struggling to gain traction on the desktop. I'm of the opinion that this increase is due to the UMPC explosion earlier this year. Linux is slowly by steadily spreading to the desktop.

What remains to be seen is how next year will play out. Windows 7 is due out in mid 2009, and sounds like Microsoft may actually get this one right. I don't expect to see the same level of anticipation as there was with Vista, since Windows 7 sounds like the Windows Vista that customers where expecting to get in the first place.

Linux has definitely penetrated the market. It is becoming more and more of a household term but retains a mythical aura. It has become one of those buzzwords that folks like to throw in conversation.

I'm a very poor prophet of the future, but I would like to predict some exciting movements next year. I believe that Mac OS X will continue to climb. I suspect that Linux may drop a bit, now that the UMPC buzz is dying down. Windows may regains some of it's share. I would even go so far as saying that Windows' market share will remain stable next year — that is, no significant drop or rise.

However, in the years to come, as cell phones are starting to overlap desktop computers in terms of functionality, I suspect that this is where we will see Linux shoot up. Reading about the buzz on Windows 7, I'm getting the impression that Microsoft is positioning Windows to be a competitor not to Linux or even the Mac OS X, but for the iPhone. Unfortunately, I don't think they are going the right way about it. Microsoft's vision seems to be focused on the tablet PC. Windows XP running on a tablet PC was introduced in 2001 by Bill Gates. However, seven years later, tablet PCs failed to make a dent in the market.

The reason tablet PC have not replaced laptop is due their limitation. As cool as they look, they are nowhere near as useful as a regular laptop. For instance, most do not have a keyboard, or a cover for the screen. Also, a tablet PC cost considerably more than a regular laptop. As for competing with cell phones, a tablet is simply too bulky to haul, and whip out whenever you need it. Thus, the tablet PC is not the best of both world. It's just an expensive toy.

I have no doubt that multi-touch displays a-la-iPhone will become de facto in a few years. But once again, Microsoft is playing catch-up since Apple has already invested heavily in the technology, and has already benefited from the fruits of their research. Linux is also multi-touch aware, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the community builds with the technology.

One more OS to note is OpenSolaris. When Sun Microsystem initially decided to open-source their flagship operating system, I was skeptical. My original impression is that Sun was hoping to breathe back life into the venerable but ailing SunOS before it sputtered and died. To my surprise, it looks like OpenSolaris could quickly become competition for the likes of Ubuntu. As much as I like Linux, I'm please to see solid competition on the horizon. I would go as far as to say that OpenSolaris is an operating system you may want to keep your eyes on.

Is Google Harming Linux

Google is a huge supporter of Linux and open source. They strive to ensure that their products work on Windows, Mac and Linux. However, it recently hit me that their cross-platform development may actually be harming the image of my favourite OS: Linux

Recently, Google released the Chrome browser. In my opinion, the fine developers at Google did a marvelous job re-inventing the browser on every level. After trying-out the browser, I must say that I am more than impressed. There is only one detail that annoys me: Chrome is only available on Windows. Google promises that it will eventually make its way into Linux and the Mac. But when?

This is what is harming Linux (and the Mac to some degree). I personally feel that it was a mistake to release Chrome for Windows only. That seems to communicate that development on Linux is very difficult compared to Windows. I agree that there are important differences between both operating system, but there is a slew of open-source cross-platform libraries that could have been used to permit a simultaneous release between Linux, Mac and Windows.

Google is not alone in that. The MyEclipse IDE, which runs on Linux, Mac and Windows, has some features that are either stripped down, or unavailable outside of Windows. Again, that communicates not only a lack of love towards my favourite OS, but it furthers the impression that Linux is a difficult platform to develop for.

It's true that Windows has a huge market share compare to the Mac or even Linux. Thus, there is more money in the Windows world. However, the Windows market share is slowly being eroded by Apple and even Linux. I'm a very poor prophet of the future, but current trends seems to indicate that alternative operating system will become very important. For example:

• UMPC - Ultra-Mobile PCs. Many come with Linux pre-loaded thanks to the smaller foot-print.
• Cell phones — Again, Windows is not very prominent there
• The rising Apple market share
• One word: Vista

I'm willing to bet that in not too long, development for alternate operating system will be seen as a necessity. This type of situation is not uncommon. I remember the web about 10 years ago. It was considered normal by web developers to code their HTML for Internet Explorer specifically. Today, that is a big no-no. I don't remember seeing one of the infamous 'Best View With...' button on a website in so long. Thank you W3C!
Another issue to keep in mind is the current distrust that many organizations and governments have with Microsoft. The OOXML fiasco has harmed ISO's reputation in a way that it may never recover, and Microsoft's tactic of committee stuffing has been well documented. The EU still have their eye on the behemoth, and even my province of birth is challenging Microsoft's dominance.
Microsoft may be the next IBM. They will not disappear tomorrow, or even after tomorrow, but their relevance and influence over the market will lessen over time. This will open the playing field for alternative operating system.
As a software house, you have two choice:

1. Edge your bet on the Microsoft platform, and ignore the alternatives
2. Develop products with cross-platform compatibility in mind

Which one are you going to choose? If you choose option 1, then get ready to fork out money into the four to five digits (at least) to buy the Windows development stack. That will typically include Windows (XP, Vista or Server), Visual Studio, Microsoft Office and so on.
On the other hand, most of the cross-platform development tools are open-source with optional corporate support if desired.

Wine Success Stories

I've had a bit too much Wine recently. Not the hard kind, but the soft(ware) kind. I'm talking about the Wine project, a great piece of software that allows a user to run Windows program natively on Linux. The name Wine is a recursive acronym that stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator. The reason for the name is to emphasize the fact that Wine does not 'emulate' Windows, but provides a translation layer instead. This means that instead of re-writing the Windows functionality (API) in Linux, Wine simply translate a regular Windows function into a regular Linux function. Thus, a Windows application running in Wine thinks it's running in Windows, however, whenever it asks Windows to perform a task, the request is processed by Linux. From the perspective of Linux, Wine is just another program that runs in memory. Linux will receive request from Wine, and execute them normally, not knowing that it comes from a Windows application.

Wine is also available for other operating system like the Mac.

In the past week alone, for different reasons, I ended up going back to Wine. Normally, I prefer to run native Linux applications. For example, I use OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, GIMP instead of PhotoShop and Eclipse instead of Visual Studio. Typically, an application written specifically for Linux will 'feel' natural and better integrate itself with my desktop. This is important since Linux is not Windows, Since there are things I can do in Linux that I can't do in Windows, I want to be able to take advantage of that!

I don't mind paying for a piece of software if I feel it's worthwhile. For example, I purchased a license for Mandriva Linux, Cedega and MyEclipse, even though they are mostly free software. I use free software because it is free as in free speech, not because it's free as in free beer. However, most of my money usually goes towards games.

Sure, I have a Wii and a PlayStation 2, and I enjoy both greatly. However, there are too many great games for the PC to ignore that market. Though many great games are available for Linux, like Doom 3, Unreal Tournament and Neverwinter Nights, many are not.

One such game is Morrowind. I shudder to think how many hours I wasted on that game. It's one of the main reasons I purchased Cedega in the first place. Cedega is a product based heavily on Wine that concentrates on providing as seamless an experience for running Windows games on Linux.

My loving wife is currently on maternity leave, taking care of Mr. George Henri. She selflessly invests much of the time taking care of the kid. But I don't want her to get overly bored. So, what is a husband to do to keep a wife busy? Buy her computer games, of course!

Microsoft Windows for (Nearly) Free?

This is a follow up to Microsoft Windows for Free?

Shortly after I wrote this entry, a couple of interesting events occurred. As I predicted, Microsoft went ahead to compete with Linux on ultramobile PCs (UMPC) like the Eee PC. They are now offering Windows XP Home for $32 US. It's not free, but it's getting close to cheap. Actually, it's not free in either sense of the word, since Microsoft dictates what it considers a UMPC. The maximum specs are: 1G of RAM, 80G of hard disk space, single-core processor running at 1Ghz, screen size of 10.2 inches and no touch screen capability. Anything higher than that requires the vendor to buy Windows XP at their regular price.

That's fair. It's their product, so they can choose how it's licensed. However, I fail to see how they plan to compete with Linux on this field with those restrictions. Furthermore, the $32 US is only for Windows. This means that if you want Word or Excel, be ready to fork out more money. I'd be surprise that Microsoft would allow the vendors to ship Windows with OpenOffice prepackaged. Have fun playing Minesweeper!

With Ubuntu, I have a full fledged desktop with my office suite. The full install that takes up less disk space than Windows — And the $32 stays in my pocket.

Another interesting event is the fact that One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) recently announced that they would support Windows XP on the XO laptop. What a shame. To me, that alienates the whole concept of the XO — learning. How can they learn in a closed, controlled and censored system that greatly limits their freedom. Some of those children who are growing up in a dictatorship are denied yet another freedom. That is a massive loss for them.

Those poor children are denied freedom in the world of computing to further entrench the monopoly of an American company. I cannot help but wonder what goes on in the mind of folks who are more concerned with buying yet another, bigger yacht on the back of those children.

I remember in the early days that OLPC decided that the XO should only use free software (as in free speech). Thus, both Windows and Mac OS X were refused early on. Steve Jobs, president of Apple, went as far as offering Mac OS X for free (as in beer) for the XO, but was denied, since he would not free (as in speech) the software.

In their 'philanthropic' move, Microsoft is charging about $3 for Windows XP. Of course, that does not include Office or anything like that. Just Windows (Yay! Minesweeper!). Furthermore, to allow the XO to dual boot between Windows and Linux, the machine will cost an additional $7 to make.

Since Microsoft is all about their image, I was surprised that they did not offer Windows for free as Steve Jobs did with Mac OS X. I mean, $3 per copy isn't going to register a blip on Microsoft's revenue radar. So, why?

The only thing I can see is anti-thrust. Microsoft is having enough problems with the EU and the Department of Justice, that they may be reticent to offer Windows for free out of fear that it will be perceived as an anti-competitive move.

Though I may be painting Microsoft as a nasty, greedy ogre, we have to remember that they cannot force people to buy their products. They are doing a fantastic job of both painting their software as the 'only' option and — more importantly — hiding the true monetary cost of buying (and using) Microsoft software.

As long as the average consumer remains ignorant of both of those aspects, they may never realize that there are alternatives — much less of the need for those alternatives.

Thank you Microsoft!

Microsoft is considered by many open source advocates to be the arch-enemy of Linux and free software. I think it's fair to say that Microsoft fears the success of Linux and the free/open source movement. They are doing their best to make compete. However, free software is not their traditional competitor.

Because GNU/Linux is free (as in speech), and is freely (speech & beer) available to anyone, they cannot buy it out and close it as they have done with some past competitor. Because free software is developed by a (tightly or loosely knit) community that may or may not receive corporate sponsorship, they cannot hinder the development. Because the software is free (as in beer), they cannot compete in terms of price. Even Internet Explorer is more expensive than Firefox. Though it may be a 'free' download, remember that you must buy Windows to have Internet Explorer. Thus, as part of what you pay in Windows, you also get Internet Explorer. In other words, Internet Explorer is just another (unfortunately inseparable) component of Windows — not a free download.

Finally, Microsoft cannot compete in terms of freedom. Their End User License Agreement (EULA) determines what you can and cannot do with their software. In the free software world, the license protect both your freedom to use the software, and the freedom of the software.

So, how is a multibillion dollar corporation to compete against the penguin and the likes? FUD is their answer. FUD stands for 'Fear, Uncertainties & Doubt'. Or, in Microsoftspeak, 'Get The Facts.'

In the hopes of driving people away from Linux and free software, Microsoft created a site called getthefacts.com. The site is a direct attack on free software. Though the so-called 'facts' presented by Microsoft are an assault on both intelligence and reason, I think that the biggest looser of the site is Microsoft and a major victory for Linux. For starters, I think that any reasonably intelligent person understand that asking a Honda salesperson what they think of the Ford Focus over the Civic will not get them an unbiased, objective answer. Why should it be any different with Microsoft?

What MSFT may not realize is by setting up getthefacts.com, they have provided immense exposure to GNU/Linux and the free software movement. The website presented free software as a true competitor and alternative to Microsoft products. Folks that had never heard of Linux before are now becoming aware of it thanks to Microsoft. Furthermore, IT directors who rely on Microsoft to keep them up to date with the industry are kindly informed of alternatives to Windows and Office.

For this, I say Thank You Microsoft. There is nothing like corporate backing to promote free software. After all, it's time that Microsoft catches up with the market, and joins the ranks of Novell, IBM, HP, Apple, etc who are all users and backer of free software.

Control Panel for the Eee PC

This week, I wrote a small Eee PC control panel that takes advantage of the wonderful eee kernel module. The control panel runs in the background and is available through the system tray. Pointing on the icon gives the general status of your Eee PC. A click on the icon will bring up the actual panel. From there, you can control the fan, the front-side bus (overclocking) and the voltage (from what I can understand).

Obligatory screenshots:
The system tray icon & tooltip

The control panel


The control panel is written in Gtk+, and works great on my eeeXubuntu. I would assume that it works fine on the default Xandros install or even (K)ubuntu. From start to end, the control panel was created on the Eee PC, proving that it can be used to get actual work done.

For the convenience of Debian or Ubuntu users, I've create a deb package. Otherwise, a tarball is available with a pre-compiled version of the control panel as well as the full source code. Of course, it's all GPL ;) Please copyleft.

eeectl.deb
eeectl.tar.bz2

Before you install the control panel, make sure you install the eee kernel module available at http://code.google.com/p/eeepc-linux/. Detailed installation instructions are available at http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:overclockfsb.

This is a first for me in many ways, so please forgive any stupidity or ignorance on my part. I've used Gtk, Glade and GkSu APIs for the first time, and I've created my first .deb package. I'm more than willing to learn from any guru who may find improvements to my little application.

Of course, usage of the Eee PC Control Panel is entirely at your own risk. Though I use it on my own machine, I cannot be held responsible if you fry or brick your little machine.

Hope you enjoy!

(Before you ask, there is no Windows version, nor do I intend on creating a Windows version. For starters, I'm not willing to buy a Windows license for my Eee PC. Someone else can take care of that)

Beware the Microsoft Poison Pill

As someone who uses mostly free and open source software, I can't help but be wary and cynical of Microsoft's position toward open standards.

If you are wondering why many of the members of the open source community feels that way, here are some facts:

Microsoft is well known for their Embrace, extend and extinguish (EEE) tactic. The moment a standard comes out that is supported by the industry, Microsoft launches their old tactic. They will 'adopt' the standard. Make changes to it that will only work with their software, ensuring that the standard becomes a Microsoft-only standard. Then, when the competition is mostly dead, they drop support for it.

Here are some notorious examples:

• Refusing to support CSS standard for nearly a decade to ensure that webpages had to be formatted specifically for Internet Explorer.
• Attempting to break Java's write-once-run-anywhere promise by adding Microsoft-only extensions.
• Support for Unix applications using POSIX
• Support for OpenGL to which Microsoft created a competing standard: Direct3D.

Each of the above technologies were once embraced by Microsoft, and most of them have been mostly abandoned. There are many more examples.

Another notorious tactic is to release multiplatform products to accelerate their acceptance as a 'standard,' then abandon support for those products. Examples include:

• Internet Explorer for the Mac and UNIX.
• Windows Media Player for the Mac
• 'Sponsoring' Silverlight on Linux through Moonlight.

In the words of PJ from Groklaw, 'People aren't as dumb as Microsoft needs them to be' and I'm very thankful for that. Sure, there are folks that are strong partisans of Microsoft, paid or not. However, I think that the majority of the world is starting to realize that Microsoft is not all the gold and glitter they pretend to be. The EEE tactic is starting to backfire at Microsoft. For example, Opera has recently filed a lawsuit against Microsoft. In their press release they make mention of the "Embrace, Extend and Extinguish" strategy by name.

But EEE is not the only tactic that Microsoft uses, especially recently. I may not be a fan of Microsoft, but I don't think they are stupid. They are not where they are today in the marketplace out of blind luck (neither are they where they are because of technical superiority). The other tactic used by Microsoft which infuriates me is their total refusal to embrace standards. Be careful, I'm talking about embracing, not extending. Microsoft has split the market countless times by creating their own proprietary standards.

Examples of established standards Microsoft is refusing to support are:

• ODF (Open Document Format)
• SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), a W3C standard.
MathML

...and the list goes on.

Some may argue that to remain competitive, Microsoft should not have to adopt competing technologies, but that's a fallacy. For starters, many of these standards existed before Microsoft created their competitors. Also, if Microsoft is not required to support 'competing' standards, their competitors should not be required to support Microsoft's proprietary standards either. Hint hint: Mono & Moonlight.

The latest trumpet blow from Microsoft is Open. You've got the Office Open XML, the Open Specification Promise, Microsoft Open License, Microsoft Open Value and even (GASP!) the Open Source Heroes. Now, how many of these so-called open initiatives actually are compatible with the free/open source software philosophy? As usual, Microsoft dances around the real issue: GPL compatibility.

So, how is this new tactic different from EEE? It's not. And that what I want people to realize. Microsoft is in the stage of Embracing and Extending open source. They are attempting to create a powerful divide between the 'Microsoft Open Source' and real free software (à la GPL) so they can move in for the Extinguish stage. I cringe every time Microsoft uses the word 'open' just as I cringe when someone pronounces my first name like that of a popular denim wear. It's not right to my ear. It's an abuse of the language that I'm familiar with. Furthermore, unlike Alanis Morrisette's poetic use of the word ironic, Microsoft is purposely muddying the water of the language to spread a thin layer of FUD jam to conceal their poison pill.

So, next time Microsoft slaps together a marketspeak sentence with the word open strewn in, look up Embrace, extend and extinguish, and think twice before you hop on the bandwagon, because it is not going in your direction. The Microsoft Open Bandwagon^tm is headed in one direction only — towards 1 Microsoft Way, and the ride can be very bumpy.

Enjoying the Asus Eee PC

Having just received my Eee PC, I'm still getting familliar with it's capabilities. The keyboard requires getting used to, but I'm getting better. As long as I don't have to use the right shift key too much, I can almost achieve the same typing speed as on a regular keyboard ;) All joking aside, once you get used to the keyboard, it's actually quite pleasant.

I got the 8G model, which means that I have a whooping 8 gigabytes of 'hard disk' space. While this is tiny compared to a regular hard-disk, which is usually over 100 gigabytes for a laptop. However, for my needs, I think that 8G, or even 4G should be enough. Since the Eee PC supports SD cards, I'm using a 4 gigabyte card for my /home partition (for Windows users, think My Documents).

The pre-installed operating system is a custom version of Xandros Linux (which is based in Ottawa). Though the default is fine for most people's need, I wanted something that gave me more -- so I installed eeeXubuntu. I removed the default Gnome games, Abiword and
Gnumeric to save space, and them promptly installed:

• OpenOffice.org
• Java 6 SDK
• Eclipse
• C/C++ compiler
• Free Pascal & Lazarus
• Anjuta IDE
• jEdit
• Frozen Bubble
• Cedega
• Firefox 3
• (and a few more which I'm sure I'm forgetting)

I've got ~640M of space left (which ought to be enough for anybody) on my system partition. Not too bad, considering I've got a practically complete portable development system.

One of my goals is to get Morrowind working with Cedega. So far, no joy, but I'm not about to give up. I know some folks got it working, so I'm sure I can as well.

If you are going to install eeeXubuntu or Ubuntu, be aware of the Eee Wiki. One of the coolest trick I found is how to enable the ALT+F11 key to make a window take the full screen. That really takes advantage of the 800x640 screen resolution. There are many more cool tricks on the page. Check it out!

Software for Windows seems to take up much more room than software for Linux. If anyone plans to run Windows on the Eee PC, I would like to recommend they consider using Google Docs. It is a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation package that runs in a web browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox. Using Google Docs does not require you to install and special software. As long as you are connected to the Internet, you can use it. Futhermore, Google Gears should eventually allow you to run online application offline.

Actually, I'm using Google Docs one my Eee PC right now to author this article. So far, the Eee PC turns out to be a fun, yet useful machine. My wife is starting to strongly hint that I'm spending too much time on it. Oups! I think I should wrap up this article, and spend some quality time with her! See ya!

(Hum... I'm a bit disappointed with the Google Docs' HTML exporter. I wish it did XHTML)

A Silver Lining?

Though it's clear and sunny here, I feel like there's a dark cloud hanging over us.

OOXML seems to have been 'approved.' This is bad on multiple accounts.

To begin with, this is a standard that would have never made the first round had it been any regular Joe that would have proposed it. Why? It's broken and riddled with issues.

Also, had it not been so desperately pushed by Microsoft, this 'standard' would most likely have been voted down by every nations world wide.

On the other hand, I'm seeing a silver lining in the cloud hanging over us. Microsoft is a brand that is losing it's positive image with corporations. In other words, they do not have the power that they used to have.

Furthermore, the EU said that it will investigate any possible manipulation by Microsoft into the Poland vote.

Poland is no longer the only country that is suspected of having been manipulated. The accusations are many.

• Germany
• Croatia
• Norway
• Sweden
• US

...and the list goes on.

My hope is that regulators (including ISO) will take a stand, and expose the manipulation that were done during those meeting. Hopefully, this will once and for all expose how Microsoft is desperate to maintain their illegal monopoly world wide.

Oh, and another silver lining to me, Canada voted no. Yay! I'm proud to wear my country's flag.

Three Things Microsoft Should Do

In the last year or so, Microsoft has earned the ire of partners, governments and customers. Forgetting about the Vista blunders, I think that one of Microsoft biggest mistake is to try to induce FUD (Fear Uncertainty & Doubt) into the FLOSS (Free/Libre/Open Source Software) movement.

In a way, I can't blame Microsoft for that. After all, Linux is on the rise, the cost of machines is on the drop and customers continue to look for ways to save money and free themselves from Microsoft's illegal monopoly.

What irks me is that Microsoft seems to think I'm stupid and I'm just going to swallow whatever FUD they send my way. I'd like to think that I'm far from being the only user who is annoyed at how Microsoft is treating us. We are not sheep that exists only to pay a tax to Microsoft (which I don't).

If Microsoft is serious about working with the open source community, here are three things I need to see before I consider working with Microsoft.

Support ODF in Microsoft Office
Sure, they can keep using their half-baked OOXML, but there is not a single valid technical reason why Microsoft Office does not support ODF. Microsoft does not want documents to be interchangeable from office suite to office suite. In other words, OOXML and it's attempt at ISO certification is there only so that Microsoft continues to entrench governments with Microsoft Office.

Use the GNU GPL 3
Most free software is released under the GNU GPL 2 or 3, which is incompatible with Microsoft's OSP (Open Specification Promise) and the Ms-PL (Microsoft Public License). This is not an accident. Microsoft does not want software written using their technology to spread to other platform. Again, it's vendor lock-in. If Microsoft truly wanted to work with the Open Source community, they should abandon the OSP and the Ms-PL for the GPL, or another OSI certified license.

Use and Contribute to Existing Standards
I know this is very similar to the above to challenges, but Microsoft has a fascination with re-writing code that already exists. For example, NUnit provides everything that a developer needs to do unit testing, but Microsoft re-created the same functionality in Visual Studio Team Edition. Using Windows Metafiles and DrawingML instead of the W3C SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) recommendation. Creating the WMA file format when MP3 or Ogg already exists. Let's not get into Java vs. .NET!

This fascination with re-creating the wheel means that the world is always split between true standards (ISO, W3C, etc), and Microsoft. More standards is not better for the customer. If that was the case, there would be different type of incompatible CDs, DVDs and even television that work only for a single cable providers. By having a single standard for CDs, it means that I can buy a CD from Sony (minus the rootkit), and play it in a Panasonic player without having to worry about incompatibilities.

Until I see more action from Microsoft on those three fronts, I will happily continue to develop application on my Linux machine, and I will not care if they work on Microsoft platforms or not.

Links:
OSP - Incompatibility with open source
Ms-LP
Free Software Foundation