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Microsoft Sends Linux Survey
GnrlFajita writes "According to Newsforge, Microsoft is sending Linux users a survey asking why they use Linux, and what can be done to make Windows better. The article suggests taking the survey (or surveys, one for business users and one for home users), then sharing your answers with others in the community." Newsforge and Slashdot are both part of OSDN.
...how about fully documenting all protocols and formats used (under a nice license) so that people can make products interoperable?
How about making Windows Free?
0110100100100000011000010110110100100000011000100
Windows 2000 and Windows XP are superior to anything Linux for home users. Here is an opportunity to ask Linux users why they use Windows, and what can be done to make Linux better.
Dear Mr MS Marketing,
I use linux because
1. I expect to own software I pay for
2. I expect software I pay for to work as advertised
3. I expect not to be foreced into downloading other components I don't want of said software to keep my machine secure. (IE media player has to be downloaded to make explorer secure)
4. I expect to not be forced to give up all and any reasonable legal rights when I open the package.
5. I do not want to deal with software that guarantees via the liscence agreeement that the publisher can remotely look at my computer at will.
As soon as the law makers get their opposable digit out of their anal orpheus, and restore a modicum of protection to consumers I don't have any faith that any of the points that I have outlined above will be addressed. Lets face it, you pay for the software, break open the box, and you have no legal expectation that the software will work, in any way shape or form.
AngryPeopleRule
"Science is about ego as much as it is about discovery and truth " - I said it, so sue me.
it's called marketing outsourcing.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
number of CPUs
please select from:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
anyone saw a mobo with 5 CPU slots?
#
#\ @ ? Colonize Mars
#
This makes me wonder about the integrity of their claims, because it's hard to imagine that anyone at Microsoft believes that the best way to reach their customers is via Linux Users Groups. So, if that's not really their intention, what ARE they trying to do?
One of the guys in our local user's group, Anthony Earl, suggested that we give them some ideas that will slow them down, like strict security on the desktop. James DeWitt suggested "Clippy, only MUCH BIGGER!" Sean
Microsoft (and others) publish their interfaces to their COM objects. Why exactly do I need the source? (Keeping in mind that even if I fixed the OS on my machine, getting the patch to all machines, like my customers', would be a bear.)
Come on, MS reads /. too. If they don't know why we don't like them by now they will never get better.
-- Cheers!
Regardless of what business you are in, knowing the competition, and what they do better then you is important. I think this survey is kind of interesting, for MS to be saying 'Hey Linux has our attention and some of our target market likes it better, lets find out why'.
On top of that, there's at least one mistake in the format of the survey.
i ty/centers/management/surveys/sus_survey.aspxr example. Or, they'd contract out to a survey company, which is their normal route.
When entering processor speed, 1.1Ghz to 2Ghz is two options.
The whole thing just feels somewhat unprofessional and hacked together. The options just don't gel.
Given the amount of time and effort real marketing men put into surveys (and I've been on the wrong end of far too many), it just doesn't feel like something microsoft would put out.
Plus, they would normally use microsoft.com to do the survey; http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/commun
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I smell hoax.
Remember kids, it's all fun and games until someone commits wholesale galactic genocide.
>> But seriously, we all complain about MS's problems, now we've actually got a outlet to complain to. If you don't speak up now, you really have no room to speak later!
Its not that microsoft doesnt know their weakness or why people go after linux. They know the reasons behind all these. And people have on so many occasions shown them what is the problem with MS softwares and the business practice followd by MS and why they dont like it. But the response from MS have been less than encouraging at best and bullying at worst. This survey is also, I suspect not something to know the "heart and mind" of linux users and tailor their software according to that. But I would suspect that they will use the informations from such linux studies to look in to ways to CIRCUMVENT these problems in a clever way. MS cannot and will not change their busniess tactics easily. Their entire business culture is build upon un-ethical and shoddy practices. To expect any revolutionary or fundamental change from them is naive at best. They have never even admitted their wrong doing any time despite being found guilty on so many occasions. That itself shows what sort of a mindset the people at the holm of Microsoft does have.
http://www.nasirudheen.blogspot/
Anyway, if this is truly from Microsoft, it is an extremely interesting development.
I thought just the opposite. This is what MS needs to do to gain respect. They flat out asked us "Ok, tell us, what do you think, we value your opinions and we want to know." MS has never done this before.
If MS shows respect and tolerance to the open-source community, it can win over many Linux fans. Too often, they've spread FUD about Linux, and they write off Linux users any chance they can. If they show signs of friendship, and even show interoperability with open-source products, that would lessen many people's hatred of Microsoft.
I just want to read and write word, excel, powerpoint and access files without having to buy MS Office because it is so expensive.
All of my gripes are related to server use. You want too talk about desktop use, send the survey to OSX users.
This is golden. Right off the survey, written by microsoft employee(s), suggested reasons you might not like M$!
foo mane padme hum
You have three choices: a) abstain, b) fill out the survey in good faith, c) answer disingenuously and randomly.
If this survey were actually going to be used to improve Microsoft's _products_, then giving them helpful advice might be fine. But Linux is just one small factor in their long-term product strategy, and your answers aren't going to turn that very large ship around. What this _will_ be used for is marketing. You might well see Linux-user-targeted marketing materials come out of this that mention the top three reasons people have given for being dissatisfied with MSFT products, even if the product itself hasn't been changed at all.
If you don't want their marketing efforts to combat Linux more effectively, then add some noise to their data. Make random choices from the multiple-choice sections, and write something inoffensive but inaccurate in the essay portions.
Linux does have bigger problems that Windows. Difficult installers and obscure, overcomplicated package management systems are just the tip of the iceburg. Then we get into all the bugs or missing features that KDE/GNOME have. Like no way to change the screen resolution without editing xf86config in KDE and no way to get a columned list view of files in Nautilus in GNOME.
Yes, these are bigger problems that Windows doesn't have. In Windows, installation is easy, package management is (now) painless, and there are no major missing features or bugs that can't be solved with either some GUI workaround (as opposed to Linux's often "edit some obscure config file") or a quaint third party program.
Despite these problems though if you can muddle through them Linux is still better than Windows. It's filesystems are vastly better written, the kernel is ten times more stable, and best of all it's the most configurable operating system in existence. You can make Linux look any way you want.
I'm nowhere close to being a guru on Linux. I still can't even make it through a Debian installation (partly because my internet connection sucks). I despise portage and apt-get. RPMs, IMO, would be far better if they didn't suck with their can't solve their own dependencies problem. And worst of all, I have 10 years of experience with Windows. But despite all of this against Linux, I still prefer it over Windows.
So, as you can see my from my post, it's easy to both critisize and love linux at the same time, and that is exactly what I believe Microsoft is doing.
You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
Did anyone have a problem filling out the survey with Firebird? Whenever I submitted it, it said that I hadn't answered all the questions. Then it highlighted almost all the questions, all of which were answered.
I don't use their products so why should I care if they are better or worse? The reason we are complaining is that their security problems affect us (worms flooding networks etc etc). The survey is not about fixing those problems so it doesn't consern me and I am sure they can affort to pay someone to do their market research. We support free speech not free labor.
"The whole thing just feels somewhat unprofessional and hacked together. The options just don't gel."
while your asumption might be true, it may in fact be a hoax, but i have seen surves and microsoft.com and webpages that are just as shaky. for a while there, if youe screen resolution wasn't a certain size thier little javascript floater things in the webpages would overlap the text of the articles and they weren't veiwable, even in IE. they fixed that since then but,...
Dear Convicted Monopolists,
Back in the 80's you made the decision that you would gain more marketshare by turning the PC hardware market into a commodity market. That is fine. That is a business decision. The open source community is now turning your cash cow market niches into commodities. Furthermore, we are setting the price per unit at as close to zero as we can manage. I don't want to hear a peep out of you about it being unfair. And if you make any claims about your products or open source that aren't true or that are in any way misleading, expect us to challenge them, loudly and in open forums that are not sympathetic to you.
If you want to sell to us, you will have to recognize one thing: the customer is always right. That applies to every customer, all the time. If you disagree, it isn't our fault. You have repeatedly told the open source community that we are wrong. We told you we don't need you. Retract every lie you have ever told to us or about us. Repudiate them publicly. Then, refund all of the money we've had to pay for hardware that came with Microsoft products we never wanted. After you are done with that, we might be willing to fill out a survey explaining why we don't ever want to use your products and why we look forward to your eventual bankruptcy.
Sincerely,
One happy Linux user.
#1 Stability - Windows 2000 fixes this, relatively speaking. Still, it wasn't even targeted to me, the home user. Figures.
#2 Webserver - I've been known to run a website off my cable modem, and while Windows could handle this, the 10 concurrent connections thing is ridiculous. They can't figure out how to license it to make money, without making is useless to me, that's their problem. And don't even get me started on IIS/PWS exploits.
#3 Command line - It's taken a few years for me to become competent with it... but I never want to go back to the control panel bullshit. I don't why they're so scared of it, short of being ashamed of dos.
#4 Developer tools - Let's face it, I'll never be a kernel hacker. The little coding I do, does suck, and that will never change. But I can, with so many languages, I couldn't even list them all. And for free. Compare this to $600 for a non-crippled Visual Studio. C'mon... something is wrong here. No provision is made for the hobbyist developer. Trying to wring money out of someone that is constantly broke like I am, or maybe even a teenager, just so they can write little doodad programs, it stinks. Hell, maybe even a crippled VS would do, if it were free. Even command line tools. The only guy I know who can honestly be called a guru, says that he might never have tried linux, if there had been some sort of hobbyist Visual C in win3.11/95...
#5 You never innovate. Ever. Just steal ideas... I can think of 20 things off the top of my head that windows could improve, if it cared to. For brevity's sake, here's one example: Why can I only copy/paste one thing at a time? I'd much rather have a queue-based copy, so that it doesn't overwrite the last clipboard object. To select which to paste, hold the control, and keep tapping V until my correct paste appears. This is so simple, so obvious, that a loser like me sees it. Why can't the geniuses at M$? And don't even start with the little graphical widget in Office, not only is it Office specific, but it's the wrong idea. Duh.
Last four options in the "rank the reasons you like Linux for the home" section:
The satisfaction of not giving Microsoft more money.
I don't trust Microsoft.
I don't want to use proprietary software.
I don't want to use commercial software.
I was almost taking the survey seriously until I saw those options.
Oh, and why would Microsoft use surveymonkey.com to run a survey? I've been accosted by Microsoft many times to answer surveys, and they have ALL been HOSTED at a Microsoft site. This whole thing just smells bad.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
The best reply to this has been one that Jonathan Hutchins posted to our KCLUG mailing list:
The purpose of the survey is to identify the IP addresses of people, cross-referenced with their feelings about Windows and Linux. As an added bonus, they get a nice identity database of Slashdot users due to this article. They'll log the referer and the IP address along with the survey answers and then they've got a nifty database that includes the physical location and personal information of people online and their level of hostility towards Microsoft. Now the next time you run Windows update, your IP is also logged there, with more direct information on your personal identity. They cross reference this with the survey info and they know: a) who you are, b) where you are, c) if you're a slashdot user and d) how you feel about them and all the other details of the survey. It's a huge privacy issue if you don't have an anonymous IP from which to complete the survey from.
At any rate, if they truly want to know why I don't like Windows and why I as a sysadmin would refuse to run it on any of our servers, here it is (again):
I'm not going to submit it to their damn survey. I'd rather do it this way. It's called an open letter. But then I guess they just don't like *anything* that's open.
"No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
I see lots of people posting their comments here; why not just fill out the survey? Are you afraid that MS might take your ideas and *gasp* build their OS better and more secure, adding competition to the market which benefits everyone?
I'd like to see all you armchair referees tell MS what you really think. MS is literally "asking for it", so tell them their OS sucks and why Linux is better. Isn't this what you always wanted to do?
Couldn't resist the opportunity:
How to improve Windows:
Improve the company that makes Windows: Were we to develop a multimedia product for Linux, we could be far more certain that our Linux vendor would not eventually take over the whole market pie (like a Commie Dictator) by obscuring the API to Linux and using other draconian tactics.
You have embittered the very people who once rallied to your banner and helped you build a once great product. We don't fear Open Source for any reason; We fear Microsoft.
How to improve Linux:
Take over 99.9% of the consumer, embedded, laptop, desktop and server markets -- faster than it has been. Put the Destroyer of free and open computing markets out of business. BTW, this survey feels like being watched by an All Seeing Eye...
[end]
(Just felt good to get 5+ years of bitterness off my chest.)
Is this how SCO is going to find out who to sue?
Nobody's going to tell SCO directly that they are strapped for cash (can't afford licenses or lawyers) so they have a couple thousand linux boxen instead. So MS puts out this 'improve windows' survey to do that job. Then they 'publish' the results to 'select partners' , SCO being one of them.
Then SCO knows who will be a pushover for setting precedent. Maybe that or get the 'proof' that IBM is able to refute accepted by another judge in another venue.
In other words, don't fill out this survey unless you've got a few hundred million dollars laying around and the will to spend it on lawyers.
"Let him go, Ralph. He knows what he's doing." --Otto Mann (simpsons)
They would shake their heads, chuckle, and say "So I guess they really are just a bunch of tinfoil-clad malcontents. To hell with them." Then, they'd get back to work and, within the hour, make more money than you ever will.
Uhm...ever heard of VBA? Where I work it is standard practice to use VBA and excel to write data to EEPROMs using MsComm, which actually works quite well. I would consider this an "advanced" feature of MS Office.
Microsoft could have crushed the Open Source movement if it had given away one of it's development platforms for free. If they had fostered a Java-esque or CPAN-esque software repository... if they had given free SDK's for windows out... if they supported or encouraged the development of free servers, browsers, desktop systems, and support utilities... THEN Microsoft could have crushed the Open Source movement when it was just beginning.
... would you? Many people say yes, many people say no. Are enough people that are lazy enough to "just stay with Microsoft" developers? Are they a large enough group that they'd cripple the OSS movement?
But, then... it wouldn't be "Microsoft" would it? If Microsoft does these things... will Microsoft keep "Microsoft-like" control over the software market?
People are lazy. If you could do everything you do now on Linux without having to learn Linux
I doubt it. But, I think that it's still early enough for Microsoft to do a complete 180 and hold it's market share virtually indefinately. Try this on for size: GNUM, GNUM is Not Unix by Microsoft. I'm sure they'll call it something different.
[signature]
What gives? there are a lot of slants in this survey. Look at #10 for the business side:
10. Rank the importance of server operating attributes to your organization. (1 indicates a preference for low product cost and more administive and end-user time. 5 indicates a high up-front product cost but less user effort)
What gives? I already use mutiple servers that are FREE: E-Smith AND Easy to set up. It takes, honestly, 15 minutes to set up (Includes formatting drives), and 15 minutes to install filters if it will be used as a web proxy. Then I leave it set for 6 to 8 months. It doesn;t get any freer withless effort.
Yes, you can have it both ways.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
-- The Doctor, "Doctor
We were recently graced(?) by a visit from Microsoft's CFO John Connors. Standing in line for buffet lunch a few of us gladhanded Mr. Connors to ask why MS had to charge so much for just the starter kit tools to be able to even do minimal work, specifically Visual Studio and .NET development tools. We politely explained we were more inclined to learn and work with their technology if we didn't have to invest $2000 (approx) just to write "Hello World".
Lunch platter in hand, Mr. Connors graciously, even animatedly listened and discussed this with us, agreeing vigorously, saying at one point (and I paraphrase), "You guys are ABSOLUTELY right! These are very good points! I'm going to look into this! I've enjoyed this conversation!"
My peers were impressed, almost giddy! "He listened to us!, He's going to look into this!..." I interjected my doubts, but they were not to be subdued.
Mid-afternoon that same day when Mr. Connors had to make his exit, he stood up at the podium, thanked everyone, then said (and I paraphrase here, too), "During lunch, your developers were asking me why Microsoft has to charge so much for our development tools. And it occured to me, Microsoft just happens to be in the business of making money!"
True story, but hardly unbelievable. (but, unfortunately, the reason I post this anonymously).
I can't find a correct answer to this question:
9. What region are you from?
USA/Canada
Africa
Asia
Europe
Middle East
South America
Carribean
Mexico/Central America
Australia is sort of Asia, but not really. How am I meant to answer this survey if they don't even put an Oceania region to choose from.
This survey does look rather unprofessional. The questions are a tad unbalanced and doesn't really seem well thought out. For instance the two cluster related questions limits you to 8 nodes in your cluster. Also I'm not sure what to make of these questions:
low price and greater complexity vs little easy setup and administration with high price
easy setup & lousy administration vs difficult setup and great administration
since both seem to imply that you can only get one or the other. I don't feel the questions really describes the current situation with Windows vs. Linux in more than a very superficial way. Also I take isssue with the comparison being against 2003 which relatively few people have any experience with yet.
The alternatives for desktop linux use look random as well.
My guess is that the survey is either a hoax or some department outsourced a request for information in linux vs windows.
Opening up Word resulted in an error stating that Word did not have any Office assistants installed on the system
and that it required at least one to function (or something similiar).
If stupid random shit like that isn't an excuse to be upset with Windows then nothing is.
"we use Linux because it is Free as in Speech."
You could say this in an indirect manner. You could mention, in the section that asks for ways to make Windows better, that Windows would be better if it were "Free as in Speech."
// file: mice.h
#include "frickin_lasers.h"
Package Selection.
Make it easy, with options like in some of the linux installers (Anaconda, whatever slackware uses). Have a 'install all', 'install sets', 'expert (select individual packages)'. Divide everything up into logical sets, and make sure that you have to install required components (and I don't mean IE or Windows Media Player). Perhaps have an 'Express Install' option that will install all the basic sets. You should also have the ability to add/remove sets or packages after the install.
Just my $0.02,
Landrocker
There are just a few reasons to run Linux instead of Windoze.
1. I can back up and restore the entire box effortlessly. You can't do a full disk backup on Windoze that I know about. There is even a page on the M$ site that says it can't be done.
2. Security Security Security
3. Stability Stability Stability
4. I don't need to reboot after every little change with Linux.
5. Patches and upgrades don't render existing services and applications broken and require days or weeks to recover.
That's enough for me to keep using Linux/Solaris/*nix systems.
Banjo - The more I know about Windoze, the more I love *nix
I intended to take the survey, but was referred to a page asking me to enable JavaScript in my browser, followed by explicit instructions for Internet Explorer and Netscape. I use Lynx right now. How do I proceed?
They also try to argue that their JavaScript will be nice to me, and refer me to their privacy policy - a nonexistant page...
If I have one suggestion for Microsoft, it's for them to stop insisting that my computer should run other people's code without asking me (the user) for permission.
to improve their bottomline as well as acceptance across the board while combatting piracy would be to offer a Windows personality that runs on top of Linux. Wine on steroids.
Of course, they have all the knowledge about secret APIs and whatever to make their Wine run perfectly with almost all Windows applications. They could just start with a BSD-licenced Wine variant or save time by buying out one of the companies with closed variants.
This offer would make Linux users stop ignoring sour grapes like unplayable games and applications. It would stop people that don't actually want Windows for reasons other than insufficiently deep pockets from buying Staroffice out of necessity instead of Office. It would certainly not reduce revenue much since most people get their paid Windows versions nowadays as OEM on new machines, and new machines would probably come without a perfect Wine which would have to be paid for separately.
And if people acquired the perfect Wine from Microsoft, they might be more inclined to actually buy instead of pirate further software, if you want to call copying, checking that it does still not run satisfactorily under Wine, and forgetting about it "pirating" in the first place.
The next step of lethal embracing would be to make a later generation Windows as distributed actually run on top of Linux instead of standalone. They would get enterprise-level operating system and security features and performance for free. They could compile their Linux kernel with proprietary compilers that would make Microsoft Linux run quite faster on average than Linux kernels compiled elsewhere. They could put code into the kernel that would not compile except when using those proprietary compilers, keeping the main Linux kernel compilations unable to catch up to MSLinux or Lindows (oops, name taken already), even though Microsoft would provide the source of their kernel changes and additions on demand.
Of course, the favorite Linux distribution would then become Microsoft Linux, since it would come bundled with Microsoft's Windows personality emulator, and since that would be the Linux variant most guaranteed to cooperate with it, even if they sold it separately as well in order to placate antimonopolist laws. But would they be applicable if Microsoft just offers some Linux distribution and a Windows emulator, like quite a few competitors do already?
Be very, very glad that Microsoft currently only thinks about how to improve Windows rather than Linux. They would have the means to succeed with either. And it's one of my worst nightmares to think about what would happen if they gave the latter a serious try.
IBM is also a heavyweight, and they have been very careful about how to get involved with Linux, not wanting to kill the goose that is laying golden eggs and opportunities.
Microsoft would have no qualms in that respect.
1: asking why they use Linux
It's free, it works and does what I need it to (which is a lot more than 90% of computer users need)without crashing
and
2: What can be done to make Windows better
Make it free, make it work and do what I need it to without crashing.
Seriously, this is what it boils down to at base level. I have a free OS, free upgrades, I give and receive free support, submit bug reports etc. and I have not needed to use Win98 on my desktop or WinXP on my laptop for anything. People want documents, send them a PDF and I can say all I need to in spreadsheet with OO.org and no macros and it'll open in Excel.
For me to pay hundreds or thousands of pounds to do the same things I do now with MS would make me either so rich that I don't know what to do with my money or certifiably insane.
Hmmmmmm..... Deep fried and look like Squirrel.
Is it me, or does it seem weird that the URL has nothing to do with Microsoft. It is a hardcoded IP address. Yes it does use .ASP but not .ASPX or whatever the heck that .NET crap is.
I don't think this is from Microsoft.
On a somewhat related topic...
I was contacted by phone, from an outside company (not Microsoft) but sponsored by Microsoft to answer development questions. I was suppose to get $25 for their "brief" survey. I remember the last question.
"What could Microsoft do to get you to use their software?"
My anwer
"GPL all your software"
I never got my $25... Shocker!!!!
The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
15. List the top one or two possible improvements that you would like to see made to Windows.
The surveyor might want to put a little note at the top of this survey, pointing out that Javascript must be enabled for the form to work properly.
From a technical standpoint, I would advise Microsoft to continue working towards greater reliability and security.
But even if Windows leapfrogged far ahead of Linux in both those areas, I wouldn't switch. As I answered earlier in the survey, I don't trust Microsoft. I don't trust their business practices. I don't trust them to be open and honest about what is going on inside my computer. I don't trust them to do anything other than find ways to derive the maximum revenue from me personally.
It's nothing personal. Give Sun or IBM the same sort of complete control over 95% of the desktops out there, and the situation wouldn't be significantly altered. The thing is, Microsoft is forced to reconcile two orthogonal goals: Doing what is best for the users of Microsoft products, and doing what is best for their own bottom line.
They don't know me, and they don't know what is best for me or any other individual. With Linux, I can choose exactly what my computer does, to the extent that my own computer skills will allow. Under the Microsoft paradigm, I can't tinker. I can't experiment. I might be able to study the source under their Shared-Source license if I meet certain requirements, but I can't make improvements. Hell, the rumor mill says that even suggesting improvements can be an ordeal [I can't say I have firsthand experience].
I trust Linux and Open Source because I don't have to worry about other agendas. This isn't because everyone involved is agenda free, but because the process is transparent and no one agenda can dominate.
The big fixes cannot be made to Windows; they must be performed on Microsoft itself. They must stop trying to take over every market, eliminate every competitor, and control the direction of an entire industry. If they open their file formats, become more responsive to reports of security threats, and begin supporting open standards, they'll find they have a huge role in the future of computing.
More likely, I believe they'll stick with the same strategy that put them on top: Crush the competition, embrace/extend/extinguish any good ideas that come along, and do whatever it takes to "maximize shareholder value." If that's the case, I'll continue supporting Linux with my time and dollars, and watch as the world rejects their demand for total control.
16. List the top one or two improvements that you would like to see made to Linux.
More vendor support for hardware. Open source drivers often have to be written blindly because the manufacturer doesn't care to support it.
More application and game support. Especially game support. For example, Microsoft has Windows/DirectX, which is certainly a powerful game development platform. Unfortunately, we're never going to see DirectX ported to Linux, and so long as game developers target only that framework, I think Linux will have to be content with a few crappy ports long after the original.
Linux isn't without its problems. However, the biggest ones that I've mentioned aren't a problem with Linux per se, but with how others choose not to support it.
You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!
letting me buy one license for home use and letting me install it on those machines that I own! The cost can get pretty step for a household when computing as a hobby and having more than 1, 2, or 3 machines ... afterall - I don't feel like buying 6 licenses of XP Professional for each of my boxes ... as least I can buy a copy of Linux and put it on multiple boxes! Until then ... Linux is my choice!
This is a handy way for an IP address to be linked to a self-admitted number of Linux installations. I got halfway through the "at work" survey before I realized that I was quoting my company's assets and Linux installs to a web site on an IP address instead of a name. For all I know, that IP could be a guy on a cable modem, working for SCO or the BSA. No thanks. Not for me.
-j