[Beowulf] How Can Microsoft's HPC Server Succeed?

[Toon Moene]

Jon Forrest wrote:

> But, the question remains. How can Microsoft compete with free?
> How much better will they have to be than standard Linux
> clusters before they get any mainstream interest? What technical
> features could they add that couldn't be added to a Linux
> cluster?

By becoming as good as Intel's Fortran compiler (when compared to 
gfortran/g95) ?

Granted, ifort is free for non-commercial work, but all others pay cash.

Yet I have to see one instance where the ifort development group set up 
"gut the facts" campaigns or tries to buy governments to not use 
gfortran or g95.

I know the head of the group personally (via the Fortran Standardization 
Committee J3).  He asks intelligent questions, like "my people are told 
that gfortran supports feature X of Fortran 2003, while we don't - is 
that true", instead of bamboozling me with misinformation, fear, 
uncertainty and doubt.

Who knows, perhaps one day Microsoft will learn that to be in the 
software business, instead of being an abusive monopolist, means to 
write good software.

-- 
Toon Moene - e-mail: toon at moene.indiv.nluug.nl - phone: +31 346 214290
Saturnushof 14, 3738 XG  Maartensdijk, The Netherlands
At home: http://moene.indiv.nluug.nl/~toon/
Progress of GNU Fortran: http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2008-01/msg00009.html