Microsoft Office 'operating on Linux is inevitable'

According to Stuart Cohen, CEO of the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL), Microsoft has done the same with Apple, it makes no sense for them not to release a Linux-compatible version.

OSDL is seeking to accelerate the development of open source technology in general. They invited the father of the open-source operating system Linus Torvalds to join and is now backed by many companies, including IBM, HP and Intel.

Cohen believes that Microsoft will be forced to create a version of Office running on Linux to eliminate the popularity of the OpenOffice office suite developed by Sun Microsystems. " That product will appear only in the next one or two years ," Cohen predicts.

He said Microsoft is beginning to want to eliminate the opposition to the open source world. " They want to cooperate and they accept the existence of Linux, " Cohen said.