April 12, 2005

Adobe About to Release Linux-friendly Reader

Remember how I've been telling you that in order for Linux to grow, it is going to have to have more applications built for Linux...well it's happening.

Cnet reports In March, Adobe made a prerelease version of Reader for Linux available for download so that citizens in the Netherlands could meet their tax-filing deadlines. Now the final version of the 7.0 update is ready, Adobe confirmed on Monday.

As more main stream vendors provide applications for Linux it will grow. I'm tempted to dip my toes into the world of Linux and see if I can do everything with non-Microsoft applications. Right now my browser and email client are both from Mozilla. The only reason I use a Microsoft application is for Office Suite.

The Cnet article continues Unsurprisingly, Adobe's move is accompanied by endorsements from top Linux sellers Red Hat and Novell, which advocate Linux on personal computers. Microsoft's Windows dominates the PC operating system market, but some chinks in its armor have shown with the Firefox Web browser and OpenOffice.org desktop software suite.

Interestingly enough, just today News Factor writes how open source database MySQL is challenging Oracle and writes It is not as impossible as it might seem. "It's not a matter of a small fish eating a giant one in a single gulp," said META Group analyst Charlie Garry. "Rather, it's more like how you'd eat an elephant. Piece by piece."

With new features in the latest version of MySQL, like subqueries and a new binary format, the company has become a stronger competitor against much larger companies, and seems poised to bite into their revenues. Even more importantly, said Garry, MySQL might actually spark some fundamental changes in the market.

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