The Marketleap Report
Vol. 1 - Issue #15 - July 18, 2001

With all the coverage surrounding Microsoft and Windows XP, Marketleap felt it would be valuable to shine the spotlight on alternative ways of computing that aren't bought and sold by the behemoth from Redmond, Washington. 

When it comes to operating systems, Microsoft has become the clear leader in terms of market penetration. Most accounts figure that MS Windows or other MS operating systems are installed on nearly 85% of the computers worldwide.

The Competition

Apple Computers Mac OS still maintains about 6 - 10% of the operating system market. That figure tends to change throughout the year depending on Apple's release cycle. Apple was the first computer to introduce the graphical user interface.  

With the latest version of Mac OS X, the software is now being run from a base of UNIX code (as opposed to an Apple-proprietary product in previous releases). Apple believes that by turning to UNIX as the operating system core, they are ensuring the long-term integrity of their operating system. 

Apple is probably the most viable alternative operating system for most home computer users. Apple already has software available for almost everything you could find on a PC. Choices may not be as robust as those available to Windows users, but the depth of offerings and capability available through the Mac OS are very similar to Windows.  

Another serious alternative to Windows is the Linux operating system. Linux is a free, open source distribution of UNIX that has been modified. Many software developers are turning to Linux because of its flexibility, stability and success in running web-enabled features.  

Up until recently, there has not been a good graphical user interface that would make Linux appeal to a home user. A team of user interface developers that previously worked on the Mac operating system recently released a graphical interface for Linux called Nautilus. Many in the open source community hope that the new interface will speed the spread of Linux and make it more user friendly to non-technical computer users. 

Enterprises are beginning to evaluate Linux more seriously as an enterprise operating system because of the support of vendors like Red Hat and VA Linux. IBM is now committing to spending close to $1 billion dollars evangelizing Linux and the success that companies can find through Linux software.  

Linux web servers are quickly stealing Microsoft's market share as more companies find success and cost savings with Linux implementations. Estimates are that as many as 30% or more of the web servers connected to the web are now running some form of Linux. 

Another alternative operating system for media and graphics professionals is Be Inc.'s, BeOS. The Be Operating System is optimized for web and media applications that traditionally churn a lot of processing power because of inefficiencies in how traditional operating systems were written.  

The BeOS is still considered new territory for most, but its power lies in the fact that you can run the BeOS on a computer that is already running another operating system like Mac or Windows. 

One final, radical view of how people interact with computers puts the Palm OS into the list of computing alternatives. The Palm OS was designed to help an individual keep track of tasks, addresses and notes. The Palm developer community has expanded those original offerings and now database applications, productivity software and applications like web services are available. 

For some, this method of computing ties into their mobile lifestyle more closely than a computer or laptop ever did. The one hitch is the requirement of a Mac or Windows based PC to "sync" your data with. The number of new features available via attachments and expansion devices now offered through Palm devices puts them on par with what a laptop provides. But will they ever completely replace the "mother" laptop or PC? The debate rages. 

For some, the investments they have already made in Windows computers and software mean they aren't giving them up anytime soon. What can those users do to diversify their world? 

Office and Productivity Services

The first example that everyone uses is MS Office. It has become the de facto standard in every business or educational setting to use and request Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. Luckily, there is an alternative to Office that even exports files to those that need Office file types. 

Sun's StarOffice is a solid alternative to Microsoft Office. It offers word processing, spreadsheet functionality, a slide presentation program and other e-mail/productivity programs. AND StarOffice is free if you download it directly from the web. You only have to pay for it if you want a copy on CD with documentation and even then it's only a measly $35. 

The Browser Wars

Most people feel like Microsoft won the web browser war. Netscape Navigator still holds a small margin of web users but support for Netscape has slipped since it came under the control of AOL/Time Warner. A very viable alternative to using Internet Explorer is the Opera Web Browser. Opera was created to run on Mac, Linux/UNIX, BeOS, OS2 from IBM and Windows. It is considered by many to be the cleanest piece of software for browsing the web.  

It supports all official web standards and includes state of the art implementations of its web services. Opera used to be a paid product, but with the recent upgrade to version 5, anyone now using Opera on a desktop computer can download and use it for free. Opera offers all the same functionality of Internet Explorer but without all the ties and information sharing with the operating system that Internet Explorer contains. 

THE Killer Ap

People looking for alternatives to MS Outlook or Outlook Express should consider Eudora because it offers many of the same features, except for the calendaring aspect of MS Outlook. A basic version of Eudora can be downloaded and run for free. Many computer reviewers have praised Eudora as being one of the premiere pieces of shareware on the web.  

Is there a market for alternatives?

The future of how we use computers is being defined every day without direct input from the growing base of computer users. In order to create a democratic Internet, one in which open sharing of ideas isn't dependent on a price tag (or one OS, for that matter), users must embrace alternatives to Microsoft's operating systems.  

Future generations will look to us to explain why we built the system we did if we let one company come in and take control. We don't want to have to break up the system, like we did with AT&T, after the fact. The difference here is that users have a voice in how this plays out by staying educated and seeking out alternatives. The web was built to benefit a few, but it has proven that it can benefit most. If we're going to move the economy into the information realm, diversity in the economy is a necessity for it to continue growing. 

Next week, we'll return to covering more marketing specific topics related to the Internet. Did these past three issues help to educate you? Did you find them beneficial? Let us know what you think and if there are other topics you would like us to consider covering with the same depth. Thanks for your support.

report@marketleap.com.