Microsoft Says IBM/Linux Their Biggest Threat

krypt0n0mic0n writes "An article at The Register shows that Microsoft sees IBM and Linux as the biggest threats to their market domination. Microsoft's Eric Rudder is quoted as saying that Linux is a "formidable" challenge and that "IBM is our greatest competitor. In the way they sell products and compete in corporate accounts." It goes on to say that they believe the NET server will be a challenge to these competitors."

Comments

Microsoft

[SpanishInquisition]

Who's threatening you today?

Images from bad movies

[interstellar_donkey]

We've done it! We've captured the MS brain bug!

Doogie puts his hands on it.

"It's... It's afraid!"

Crowd cheers.

Help Microsoft Donations!

[jsonmez]

I am starting a fund to help Microsoft since IBM and Linux are being mean to M$. Please send me money so we can help our favorite company when they are in a time of need.

Used to be

[Bilbo]

Humm... Before, we were a cancer. Now, we're a puppy. Well, that's a step up... I think.

Re:Used to be

[Anonymous Coward]

Humm... Before, we were a cancer. Now, we're a puppy. Well, that's a step up... I think.

So is microsoft saying they are trying to kill puppies?

Re:Used to be

[Bodhammer]

Picture clubbed baby penguins

But is it housetrained?

[Bodhammer]

"Linux is free like a puppy." I've used Linux for years and it only occasionally craps on the carpet or chews my shoes. Now Windows on the otherhand...

Re:But is it housetrained?

[g()()ber]

Windows allow thieves to crawl into my house and catch fire to my carpets and steal my shoes.

Re:But is it housetrained?

[zCyl]

"Linux is free like a puppy."

And windows is expensive like a child who becomes an infant again every two years.

It costs you a fortune, craps all over, you spend all two years struggling to train it to feed itself and properly dispose of its waste, then it reaches the terrible twos, and becomes an infant all over again. There's no way to win in that game.

This *is* a surprise, I must say.

[Dthoma]

"Microsoft sees IBM and Linux as the biggest threats to their market domination."

In further news, the sky is blue.

Re:D-U-H!

[unicron]

I just love the Slashdot news filtration system:

Routers story: Microsoft announced today they are changing one of the business plans of one of their departments for a limited amount of time in order to better compete with linux.

----SLASHDOT FILTER ACTIVATED----

MICROSOFT, THE SCURVY DOGS OF REDMON, HAVE ADMITTED UTTER DEFEAT!! EARLY THIS MORNING, BILL GATES HIMSELF, THE HIVE MIND OVERLORD, WAS DRAGGED KICKING AND SCREAMING INTO THE STREET WHERE HE WAS JUSTLY AND FAIRLY BEAT TO DEATH BY 20 SCRAWNY, PALE TEENAGERS. THIS IS A GREAT DAY INDEED FOR LINUX FANS, AND LET IT BE KNOWN SUCH IS THE FATE TO ANYONE WHO MAY CHALLENGE OUR O.S.

WORD IS BOND!

In Related News:

[dubiousmike]

Ford announced IT'S biggest competitors were other car manufacturers.

Duh...
Who else makes OSs for PC architecture.

IBM name change

[Roached]

...and in other news, Stallman is demanding that IBM henceforth refer to itself as GNU/IBM...

Re:I don't think so

[drightler]

In my experiece with managers it alomost seems like the logic is "It must be great, look at how much money they charge for it!".

They still don't get the "Free" part, do they?

[gosand]

From the article:
However, Flessner articulated Microsoft's response to Linux. "Linux is free like a puppy. It looks free but when you get all the pieces around it, it doesn't work out so free. There's a lot more than I/O and memory management to make up an operating system."

Whereas Windows is like a puppy that you can only take to one vet when he gets sick, and it is the same vet everyone else is taking their puppy to. And the vet has a very busy schedule, he is deaf and blind, and tells you that the puppy got sick because of something you did. Even though the vet sold you the puppy knowing he was sick. And the medicine he finally gives you for your sick puppy to cure his barfing gives him the shits.

What a dumbass analogy. They still don't get the concept of Free vs free, do they?

Libere, Gratis, Linux

Re:Why do they get away with their TCO nonsense?

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft is free like that first hit of heroin served in shiny comfort at your local Microsoft distributor, where they cater to your comfort and play soothing muzak. Your Microsoft rep will make sure that any questions you have will be answered promptly at a low per-question service charge, and Microsoft's cadre of highly trained accounts management professionals will be happy to explain the Microsoft Dosage Assurance Policy whereby you can lock in access to your heroin under easily explained terms.

Right, time for me to make this one an anonymous post, I think.

Who ELSE could vie for "biggest threat"?

[timeOday]

BeOS? OS/2? Amiga?

This is like bragging about climbing the "tallest" mountain in Kansas.

Re:You're going to think I'm joking, but I'm not..

[Eric Damron]

"The .NET runtime is seriously cool technology. Sure, the motivation for creating it may be sinister, but who really cares? .Net is simply a better mousetrap and MS should be rewarded."

How should we reward them? By sticking our willy into their better mouse trap and letting them slam it shut maybe?