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Not So FAST for Unix/Linux

Microsoft bought its way into the enterprise search market when it bought Fast Search & Transfer ASA, with its semi-eponymously named FAST line of search tools (makes it almost easy to remember). FAST was a multiplatform system and is just as easily installed on Linux or Unix boxes as it is on Windows.

That will all end with next round of Windows-only search tools. The good news? While FAST won't install on Linux/Unix, future versions will still be able to search across them.

Should Microsoft directly support other operating systems (other than Mac OS)? Shoot your best advice to dbarney@redmondmag.com.

Posted by Doug Barney on 02/17/2010 at 10:12 AM


Reader Comments:

Thu, Feb 18, 2010 J. IN HAWAI'I

Much as the first couple of readers commented, although I understand why M$ doesn't want to support competitors' Unix/Linux desktops and workstations, I think this sort of business decision is short-sighted and ultimately self-destructive. Many of us in larger businesses have a mix of different OS workstations, like it or not, and when a particular vendor chooses not to support us - their customers - they had best expect us to re-evaluate *everything* we buy from them! (This is why my organization is now in the process of dumping all of our MS Office 2007 for open source "OpenOffice"...)

Thu, Feb 18, 2010 Russell Scotland

It may not always be easy, convenient, or hugely profitable to support consumer choice, but it is the right thing to do. Always.

Wed, Feb 17, 2010 R. in Colorado

The final straw between me and SUN was when they purchased a great, but not cheap, 3rd party tool. I had used it on many applications running on Microsoft web servers.

When SUN bought the product, they killed it for MS platforms. From that point on, I only had bad things to say for SUN and JAVA.

Microsoft should not be the same.

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