Being well aware of Microsoft strategies he fears that Microsofts Windows 8 will be mainly a Windows store as opposed to Apple store.
He fears that margins in the gaming industry will be going down due to a Microsoft attempt to monopolize the sales of games via the Windows shop, and leave Steam out in the cold.
It is the openness of Linux and the guarantee that no single company will be able to coup it -that makes it attractive to Valve!
He probably knows what he is talking about:
He argued that one of the last remaining things keeping people away from Linux was the lack of games. Valve is working to bring Left 4 Dead 2 and other Steam titles to Linux in a move that Newell describes as "a hedging strategy." If his predictions about Windows 8 come true, he says "it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."
But...
Does he not know that Linux is based on Microsoft code? That Microsoft will probably make the Linux companies pay them anyway? Has he not heard of the Suse/Novell deal?
And what about the Android Linux deal where all the cellphones sold are one of the major income sources of Microsoft these days and way more than Microsofts Win phone systems?
Google consistently refers to this as extortion.
Or could it be that he knows that there is nothing to it, besides the dinosaur size and power of Microsoft.
Richard Stallman might not like that the openess of Linux is a commercial quality that makes it interesting for big business, but I bet that Linus Torvalds loves it
As do I....So a big thank you to Microsoft and Windowes 8! You have contributed to provide the one thing that Linux lacked - Serious quality games!
Once this is a reality more and more people will make the transition to Linux - there simply is not much to hold them back anymore - unless you love to spend time and money on fighting viruses....
