For Open magazine subscribers
 
'Tis the merrie season of Retail, Retail, and more Retail, and we have
been thinking hard about Fed Chairman Greenspan's polar warning that 
businesses now have "no pricing power." The proof is how Microsoft is
facing  the mother of all its enemies: the deflationary "Wal-Mart
economy." This week's editorial examines how the intense application of
information technology to retail distribution, cut-throat competition
among PC makers, and Linux desktop leaps in quality are coming in for
the kill.

For those who want to see more Open Source FUD counter-attacks, take a
look at our report on the second coming of "The Business of Open Source
Software" event in Canada. Last year, the attempt by Canada's Open
Source persuaders was to preach and provide networking for business
users and IT practitioners adopting Open Source. This year, BOSS is 
back
with more ambitious plans and opportunities to showcase an office
environment based on Open Source software.

And spread the word to colleagues who have fallen off the Open wagon.
They need to return. Your work schedules aren't getting any easier.
Technology changes and market flipflops aren't getting any more
predictable. Open is there to provide you with much-needed context.

Speaking of context: Tell them to sign up in time for our next issue.
We're doing a special, expanded report on that magic, but 
misunderstood,
word, Collaboration. You'll see what's new in information quality,
business-collaboration strategies, shared-space phenomena, and a
detailed look from OpenBench Labs on how SuSE takes intelligent
content-creation to the next level with OpenExchange.

Just click http://www.open-mag.com/6038919297.htm to go straight to the
subscriber home page and story links. And remember to send a copy to
your friends mired in proprietary systems.
 
Regards,
 
The editors of Open magazine