Letter from Microsoft
Franck:
It was my call to put this letter into the newsletter. I felt that Microsoft's view of its operating system was significant. So many people rely on Microsoft technology that I thought it was important to share this letter with readers. Regardless of the fact that it is not GIS specific, all GIS software in the market runs on Windows. It is important that as technologists we understand Microsoft's strategic vision.

With regard to balance, we will always try to provide other information affecting the deployment of information technology solutions. In this case, an operating system is obviously an essential part of IT. Hopefully you also recognized that we posted a press release on Sun Solaris yesterday. I also thought it was significant that Sun, in their most recent release of this operating system, is now giving it away for free. That isn't GIS either, but it certainly affects users who rely on Sun platforms to accomplish their GIS tasks.

Thanks for writing to us and thanks for reading Directions. You input is valuable to us.
Best regards,
Joe Francica
Editor-in-Chief
Directions Magazine