Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft To Exhibit at LinuxWorld Expo
Earendil writes "Linux Today has a confirmed report that Microsoft is going to be an exhibitor at LinuxWorld Expo. One can only guess at what Microsoft's motives might be. It will be interesting to see the reaction to the appearance of a Microsoft booth." No doubt this
means that the more childish among us will make us all look bad. Sigh.
Well, Taco you can start making slashdot look less childish by using a decent Microsoft icon, instead of the Bill Gates borg.
SIG:Slashdot: indymedia for nerds.
First they ignore you...
Then they laugh at you...
Then they fight you...
Then...
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Bleah! Heh heh heh... BLEAH BLEAH!!! Ha ha ha ha...
My first question after reading the headline, and even after reading the article was "Why?" Does Microsoft expect to try and win converts? I seriously doubt it, and I don't think anyone will believe that they have something to contribute. So, why?
I think they are trying to cause a reaction and get people upset. They can point to this and say, "Look at how uncivil and mean these people are. Do you really want to be associated with them?" This will give them more leverage in the business world, where professionalism means quite a lot. Remember, MS is more about marketing right now than solid products.
I dunno. Just a thought.
"...At the end of the day"..."when everyone goes home, you're stuck with yourself." RIP Layne Staley
Isn't that usually you? Seriously, nothing personal, thats what the site is about, but your comments after most story submissions tend to represent the worst elitist, one sided opinions of the community.
Why does them pushing .NET not make sense? Gnome supports it and De Icaza love it. Hence my guess that Microsoft will be pushing .NET, cause I doubt they really "love" Linux.
They've been running ads, along with UNISYS, for a while now, about a certain offering. Who doesn't expect this to be the focus of their exhibit?
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Remember, in the end MS is out there to make money. Ruling the world is just a means to that end.
>Considering Microsoft has called the GPL a "Cancer"
>and attacks linux publicly whenever possible by
>telling outright lies, how can we ever look bad?
Despite the truth that only the informed few know, the ignorant masses will much sooner believe Microsoft because **money talks** (trough PR).
Anyone throwing eggs will be branded an anarchist, terrorist, you name it, just like most protesters protesting anything these days. The excellent points about MS trying every dirty trick imaginable to defeat Linux will very likely not make it to mainstream news sources. Throwing eggs will give Slashdotters a chuckle, but will do little to forward the cause of Linux and like-minded projects. It will just give the rest of the world more ammunition to ignore our legitimate concerns.
A little maturity goes a long way towards credibility, people!
Just think how many places that use Linux will be willing to pay $50 for the ability to use Windows apps. Microsoft will make money, and increase market penetration w/out giving anything to the community.
Lemme ask you something.. What the hell is wrong with Microsoft, as a commercial corporation, writing an emulator layer for Linux? They're not going to be able to take over the kernel. They're not going to be able to force their opinions or policies on anyone who doesn't use their brand of emulation, and to tell you the truth (no offense to the WINE folks), I'll bet that they will write a pretty damn good emulator. The only thing evil and borgish thing that they might do is to modify their Windows software to only work on *their* emulator. And I bet if they knew how to prevent WINE from running Windows apps, they would probably have already done it.
There is a huge market for Windows apps, even amongst Linux geeks. It might be a game that only runs on Windows, or it might be an specialized app, or it might be solitare for all I care. The fact of the matter is that there was obviously a need for WINE / WinForLinux / VMWare.
As for not giving back to the community - well, there is a long list of folks who have taken from the community without giving back. Part of software freedom is the understanding that there will always be people who take and never give.
Do you have Linux and a DotPal? Click here now!
I guess if I were Microsoft I would want to be there to "gently reeducate" those IT guys that run MS shops but are considering Linux.
If I were an IT guy going to the show as a seeker of answers, I would see what Linux has to offer and ask people why I should switch my servers over - get their real life experiences from those that made the switch. If I were an MCSE, possibly investigate how much I'll have to learn to make the switch.
If I saw the Microsoft booth, I'd then want to ask MS why I shouldn't switch my servers over to Linux and then weigh the pros and cons in the days/weeks/months after the show, probably do a little more investigation. If the booth isn't there, I might not ever ask MS what the cons would be to making the switch.
The booth might be there to spread FUD/pro-MS information to those on the fence about considering Linux for their servers or recommending Linux to their bosses.
Plus it doesn't hurt when some kid is mooning your booth while you're talking to one of these on-the-fence guys so you can say "You're gonna trust your company's servers to these kids?"
What Microsoft does with its money is quite another thing, and is subject to intense scrutiny from investors, analysts, and federal investigators. Investors and analysts want an aggressive, cutthroat control freak, and that's what they're going to get, too.
Finding God in a Dog
There is ONE type of product that M$ does well, and makes an honest living with - Input devices. This is the ONLY area where I've seen them actually innovate. (Mouse wheel, first company with an all-surface optical - The grid-pad opts from Sun don't count).
As long as they stay far away from software, they're golden.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Some of the big Open Source Developers are almost violently opposed to Microsoft. And if MS in on the turf and they do ack like children then the Buisness people who are there to determin if Linux suits there needs sees this behavior they may just leave with the opinion that Linux hasent matured enough for the buisness class. Or better yet for MS a crazy Open Source Developer attacts a MS representivie, then that is one more OS(Open Source) developer put into jail and one less OS programming. So if we act like a kids that are acting like the level of my writting (probably 2nt grade). Then MS looks good.
And if we are all professional which I think may be closer to the truth then MS will have the opertunity to give their side of the story. Eather way it is win win solution for MS.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
There are lots of things that could be done to convince Microsoft that this is a really bad idea.
Yes there are, and this would be the ideal time for them to happen. Then the PR machine would roll...
"Would you trust your business to..."
"Do you want your government run by..."
"This is what you can look forward to as a Window's user when you work with Linux..."
They have millions to spend on spin and are waiting for their "Rodney King" moment.
We have to be at our absolute best. Showing the business world that we can them in any mixture of Linux/Windows/MAC/UNIX/MVS, that meets their business needs. That the Linux community are the technologists who can improve the business model while reducing costs.