NEWS: Anti-Linux Plan by Microsoft Failed

This seem's like a pretty interesting story I was reading while browsing yahoo.com I got it from there so ofcourse you can see it there, but here it goes:


Anti-Linux Plan Fails


Software giant Microsoft's efforts to disparage the open source software initiative have backfired, the company admitted in an internal memo posted at OpenSource.org.

• Red Hat's Switch Campaign
• The OpenOffice Experiment
• What's New on the Open Source Front?



The memo detailed the results of Microsoft's Attitudes Towards Shared Source and Open Source Research Project, and was presented at a Microsoft internal Linux (news - web sites) Strategic Review in Berlin, Germany, in September 2002.

The research project aimed to improve Microsoft's understanding of how certain groups perceive open source, Linux, Shared Source and the GPL (General Public License), according to the memo, and to understand which messages would be effective with each audience.

The group that posted the memo, the Open Source Initiative, is a nonprofit corporation that manages and prootes the open source effort.


Positive Messages Strike Chord

According to the document, telephone interviews with developers, managers and business leaders in the United States, Brazil, France, Germany, Sweden and Japan were conducted between late July and September 2001.

"Messages that criticize OSS, Linux, & the GPL are NOT effective," the study found. And messages that aim to undermine the open source effort "are only marginally effective in driving unfavorable opinions around OSS, Linux, and the GPL, and in some cases backfire."

In contrast, the memo noted that more positive messages "are very effective -- both across geographies and audiences."

Microsoft was unavailable for comment. The company did confirm the memo's authenticity to news source on Wednesday.

Microsoft's survey also found more than 80 percent of all respondents were familiar with open source, and 78 percent with Linux. Fully 86 percent said they had a favorable impression of Linux. Japanese respondents had the highest amount of familiarity with open source and Linux.

Forty percent of respondents cited open source's low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as among the top reasons they supported it, while nearly one-third said their attraction resulted from open source's status as "an alternative to Microsoft."

Microsoft also measured respondents' familiarity with its own Shared Source effort, finding that a majority had not heard of the initiative, though 47 percent had a "positive" reaction once they did learn about it.

Linux Deployment Notable

But a quarter of developers worldwide told Microsoft they are interested in broad deployment of Linux within their company, with German and Japanese developers leading the way.

The company's findings mirror what some analysts have predicted about the use of open source,and specifically Linux, applications at the enterprise level. "Right now, some people are actually saying, 'We're going to defect,' [but] that class is in the minority," Yankee Group senior analyst Laura DiDio told the E-Commerce Times.

A recent Yankee Group survey noted that 38 percent of respondents said they are considering alternatives to Microsoft products since the company's new licensing structure was announced.

"Where you would find the actual defection -- and it's not a mass movement, it's more around the fringes -- are the smaller organizations," said DiDio, "for example, school districts that have said, 'Hey, we can't afford this.'"

It seems to me that *nix is gaining market shares if various news releases are to be believed. Probably due to the increase in the number of corporate people who understand and can make *nix work in a business environment. If i were just starting out, maybe 20 or 30-ish, i'd make a concerted effort to gain competent *nix certification status and stay close to the developers of those OS's. Not to say i would ignore MS, because lots of private people, businesses and probably government will continue to use and update annually their MS OS's and Office Groups. But some other very important businesses have converted to *nix lately, where updating the MS family has become a significant figure on the wrong side of the balance sheet, and there is no reason to believe the migration will stop anytime soon... especially as young, *nix knowledgeable admin folks climb the corporate ladder to CEO's, COO's and so forth. As for me... Well, i'm too old to get serious about manipulating the open source with any degree of security, so i'll just let MS do the fixes and patches on my OS's and office groups, then download them while i sip my freshly brewed Yukon blend.... :)

In the end, the article brings up a point of which I never thought. Although Linux is ideal for many situations, it seems as though it would be extremely ideal in the classroom. I'm sure it's being done somewhere, but just think for a second. Many schools are still using old computer equipment and old software - neither of which they can afford to upgrade. Linux brings to the table both stability and dramatically decreased cost. Maybe there will be a "movement", if you will, in this arena. I mean, it's already being put into place in patrol cars in Yorkshire England as I recently read in an article here on AO. It's inevitable that Linux will eventually gain a fairer portion of the marketshare. Now, I'll keep it real - I know they've got a long way to go, but it'll catch on, and when it does...oh, won't it be a happy day??? Oh happy day! Erm, sorry about that...I got carried away there... :D

Heh, I agree with both of your posts AND I have to say that based on this article, it seem's Microsoft know's it has a SERIOUS competition now. I think M$ is starting to be worried of Linux! :) Anyways, I've said it once and I'll say it again, OpenSource Forever!!! :D

Yeah babe !!!

Open source rules excepts when you don't know anything about the environment.... *nix is great and reliable but you saw how long it took people to get to find the control panel icon .... ca you imagine them to swithc overnight to *nix ?
I think that some customer service will ahve some nightmares about that .... too bad but there are a lot of improvements and they keep on getting more users friendly !