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.
Remember, in the end MS is out there to make money. Ruling the world is just a means to that end.
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.
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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?"
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.