Open Source is a Growing Industry

According to Matt Asay, of CNET.com, Open Source will become a $22 billion industry by 2010. And if you include all the inhouse work that firms do with open source platforms, you can add an additional $19 billion, making the total industry a $41 billion industry. Overall, this means that up to 20% of software sold in 2010 will be based on an open source platform. Wow. Does Microsoft need to start being worried?

Gartner Research estimates that Desktop distribution growth of Linux will plateau by the end of the 2007 and its growth rate will remain constant through 2010. They claim that the real growth will come in databases/middleware applications, as many firms are developing new products on open source platforms (such as IBM).

Software Proprietary Developers and Vendors may need to watch out, as there seems to be a sectoral shift in the industry towards OpenSource.

EA calls for an open gaming platform

Could the days of console wars be over? If EA CEO has anything to say about it, it may be true. EA envisions a future with a standard gaming platform, where users can play video games over the internet (think Shockwave mini games in the current era). Hardware will no longer be the leader in the industry, as software companies will have stiff competition over a unitary hardware platform.

Below is link to Engadget for the full article (originally a BBC report).
http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/19/ea-wants-an-open-gaming-platform/