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.
No doubt that their display will consist of Linux running on an Xbox.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
No doubt this means that the more childish among us will make us all look bad. Sigh.
Hi pot, this is kettle. You're looking mighty black today!
I am sure they will be pushing .NET, with Mr Gnome following close behind. Oh well hopefully people will have sense to stay out of the clutches of the evil empire.
Though being a huge corporation with mounds of cash they might just have some Hot Booth Babes .
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.
----rhad
Slashdot needs to interview Natalie Portman.
Haven't you heard the news?
The personnel manning the stand must have balls bigger than their brains. This deep into hostile territory they ought to have air support.
"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them." -- George H. W. Bush
Their booth will be right next to the exhibit floor exit, with a big sign that says "WE HAVE THE WAY OUT."
Call (206) 338-5780 COLLECT for information about a genuine BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, or Ph.D.
Who are you?
Or, more specifically, male or female?
Does mooning their booth make the community look bad?
That depends. Since most geeks don't have ass's like britney spears I am very much betting it would make the community look bad. Nobody wants to see hairy ass, nobody.
... to do so would only result in no further invitations to similar conferences, and getting them bad press amongst a market I'm sure they see as potential customers.
More likely, I expect they'll have information about their Microsoft Windows services for UNIX
Showing off services for Unix goes much further toward generating revenue for Microsoft than trying to tell people why *nix is bad or somehow inferior. It actually shows that Microsoft cares about interoperability with *nix. True of false, that's probably the message they'll try to convey. I'll withold my opinions on the validity of that message.
Remember, in the end MS is out there to make money. Ruling the world is just a means to that end.
1. That $200000 prize for Linux on X-Box is just too tempting.
.Net for Linux.
2. Office on Linux.
3. DirectX compatibility-layer for Linux.
4.
5. Finally, a unifying desktop environment for Linux: 'LIN32'.
6. A new kernel, now featuring Palladium (tm).
7. No product, they just want to say goodbye to all of us before new laws make Linux illegal. Possibly they'll be mooning _us_.
8. The booth contains a powerful explosive, set to go off as soon as a keep-alive timer from a PC running Windows XP fails. Talk about a 'blue screen of death'...
9. They are not yet aware that they are invited to a _Linux_ expo. It is all a weird joke by Larry Ellison.
and finally... (drumroll please!)
10. They have ported Microsoft Bob to Linux!
Actually the goatsex guy would probably give it a go.
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 hear alot of people saying something to the effect of "I hope that the MS booth gets trashed because MS Sucks" This is probably EXACTLY what microsoft wants. Think about it, MS has done all it can to portray Linux as a system designed by crackers and script kiddies, one stop short of terrorists. How do you think the government will react if MS get physically attacked at a trade show? MS Will say: "See, we told you that those Linux geeks are all hackers, you cant trust them to make secure systems, but you can trust us, were the victim here." Which is what will happen im sure.
Yeah, I've been needing something to load test my machine with.
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?"
It is probably best that we get this all talked out now, and treat them as fairly as possible. However:
There are lots of things that could be done to convince Microsoft that this is a really bad idea.