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"Get the Facts" Campaign Working

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the sad-truths dept.

brontus3927 writes "According to a Reseller Advocate Magazine write-up, Microsoft seems to be winning its war against Linux. Info-Tech Research Group recently ran a survey that is now being used on Microsoft's Get The Facts campaign. In it were some surprising results. 'After polling 1,400 IT managers and CIOs in SMB corporations, his group found that 48% were not interested in Linux, 15% were not sure about Linux, and only 10% plan to evaluate Linux." Despite this, two-thirds of all webservers run Linux. The disparity in these numbers comes from the fact that most smaller companies' websites are hosted by service providers running Linux servers even if the company itself isn't."

37 of 499 comments (clear)

  1. Slowing adoption by panxerox · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Its not like MS can win a fud war against a free / quality product, this they showed Netscape. MS can slow Linux adoption but this by itself wont stop it, but if they combine a campain to slow linux combined with patent blanketing and file format lockin they may be able to marginalize linux.

    --
    "It's so convenient to have a system where everyone is a criminal" - A. Hitler
    1. Re:Slowing adoption by toddbu · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So here's a question for you - Are you looking at replacing any of your applications and servers in the future, or are you going to be content keeping what you have and nursing it along for a while? If you're still actively purchasing new Microsoft software then they are interested in you, but if you're going to want to download patches for your current OS for the next 10 years then they aren't. Your comment holds weight only if you're parting with your hard-earned cash on a regular basis for technology.

      --
      If you don't want crime to pay, let the government run it.
    2. Re:Slowing adoption by FuzzyBad-Mofo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Wow, your comments sounds just like my old company. They refused to look at modern technology because they had 200 (combined) years of experience with obsolete server software. They're bankrupt now..

    3. Re:Slowing adoption by NtroP · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It's not a choice of which one is 'better' (for one of any number of reasons) but which one works best for us.

      My parents had 2 windows PC's. They were constantly infected with viruses, pop-ups and other problems that caused my father, in particular, a lot of data loss. Every couple of months they'd take it in to the local repair shop. There, they would either re-install the OS (blowing away any data my dad forgot to back up) or occasionally sell my dad an "upgraded component" like more RAM, faster CPU, etc. "to help with the speed problems".

      For years I tried to get my parents to buy a Mac. 90% of what they do is platform agnostic and they aren't gamers. For years my dad kept saying, "yeah, macs might be pretty good - I've heard good things about them, but this works better for me". WTF? How is it working better for you, dad? What you mean is that you are familiar with it. You fear change. The thought of a little pain for a world of gain frightens you, and besides, you have all this money and time invested in your current equipment. Which, by the way, you've paid for 10 times over in repair/upgrade fees, lost productivity, and heartache.

      Two years ago I bit the bullet and paid for a G4 iBook out of my own pocket. I configured everything for what I knew they would need including VPC for the one PC-only, gotta-have app my dad uses. I gave it to them to as a gift, spent a few hours with them walking them through the differences to make sure they could do some basic troubleshooting, etc. and sent them on their way. About 6 months later I got a call from my dad saying he was having problems. I thought "crap! this wasn't supposed to happen". It turned out that his virtual PC image had gotten infected with malware (I told him not to surf from within VPC!) and it was "having the same problems his other computers were".

      Phew! Fortunately, I had made a backup image of his VPC drive and had configured all his PC apps to use shared space (on the mac volume for saving data). I old him to drag the bad image to the trash, go to the "backups" folder and Option-drag the Windows2K file back into the VPC Folder. He was impressed. Now he does all his "critical windows stuff" on his mac. I've almost even got him convinced to install Linux (either Xandros or Kubuntu) on his PC's.

      How does this relate to the Parent Poster? All my dad knew, all he'd invested in financially, time-wise, pain-wise, was Windows. And he said "It works better for me". What is that supposed to mean? Better than what? Does my daughter's Daewoo Nubira work better than my Mercedes? Just how would you have to define "better" to make it fit. She's never even driven my Mercedes. Does her car work for her? Yes. Does that mean that, if I were to give her my car, and let her get a chance to get used to it that it wouldn't in the long term work better for her? What are the chances that 10 years down the road she'd be still driving the Nubira? How about the Mercedes (well, assuming I gave it to her :-)?

      At work we still have several servers running RH 6.2 on old, but high-quality hardware. I keep them patched, almost never have to re-boot them (except for the occasional kernel patch), keep the firewalls tuned, and forget them. BTW, they were my first Linux boxes, coming from an all-Windows background. It was a steep learning curve (especially back then, before the simple, graphical installation we have now. But I made the choice to take the risk and it has paid off in spades. 75% of our critical infrastructure has been migrated away from windows. We still use windows where it makes sense. We still have an Active Directory Domain which we will be upgrading to Win2K3 this summer. But, we are beginning to implement OpenLDAP and plan on letting that slowly take over the AD duties wherever we can. We are rolling out OpenOffice/NeoOffice and FireFox on all new computers by default.

      I can say which OS's in which

      --
      "terrorism" and "pedophilia" are the root passwords to the Constitution
    4. Re:Slowing adoption by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      If you gave IBM a blank check, they would sell you a Linux Mainframe -- even if your needs would be better served by Windows PCs.

      And if you gave Microsoft a blank check they'd sell you a million Windows licenses, even if your needs would be better served by a slide rule.

    5. Re:Slowing adoption by FireFury03 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Of course, admins love Windows. They hate Linux and Macs, because companies running these systems don't need as many admins.

      I was installing some (Linux based) networking kit at a reasonably big customer a few weeks ago.

      Now, from my perspective, if someone told me that one of my Linux systems had been compromised I'd say "oh shit" and be dropping everything to take it offline and reinstall, or at least clean it ASAP. (Yep, compromises _do_ happen on Linux kit but are reasonably infrequent if you keep stuff up to date, and 9 times out of 10 are caused my human error such as forgetting to turn on scheduled yum updates or leaving a weak password on a server).

      While I was doing this install, I had to inform the customer that it looked like one of his (many) windows servers had been hit by some worm (lots of network traffic hitting random addresses on the internet on obviously microsofty ports). The reaction kind of shocked me - it was pretty much "oh well, happens all the time, I'll fix it later".

      I think this says a lot about Windows admins - they have so many security problems that a random exploit (which, for all they know, could be posting confidential data all over the place) is considered pretty much the norm and unimportant.

      --
      http://blog.nexusuk.org
    6. Re:Slowing adoption by NutscrapeSucks · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I don't see Google switching to mainframes. But if it makes sense for you, buy one, I don't really care. Just don't get angry when competitors point out the huge costs in doing so. (MS is just saying the same thing that Sun and HP have for years.)

      --
      Whenever I hear the word 'Innovation', I reach for my pistol.
    7. Re:Slowing adoption by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
      his virtual PC image had gotten infected with malware (I told him not to surf from within VPC!)

      I'd suggest disabling network access from within Virtual PC. (If this app needs network access, you can probably find a way to do it granularly. Does VPC use a different IP? Add firewall rules.) This will prevent most vectors for malware, and it will encourage your dad to do more with the native OS X applications, which was the whole point of switching.

    8. Re:Slowing adoption by Daimaou · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I wouldn't be so sure. The last two places I worked were both Microsoft shops. One had an MSDN subscription for every developer and programmed exclusively in Microsoft technologies.

      Then I get hired at the first company and I write an application, using Linux and other open source technologies, that saves them about half a million dollars in the first year. Guess what, that company is now using Linux and has hired a small team of Linux developers.

      The second company is now using Linux on many of its desktops for the same reason.

      The funny thing is that the CIO/CTO of both companies had nothing to do with the decision. It was driven by an engineer who knew what he was doing (in this case me) and an application or service that the company came to rely upon.

      If your company hired someone like me, you would be running Linux within six months without so much as a meeting to discuss the matter.

  2. So let me get this straight by lowe0 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Given a survey that says people aren't interested in your product, the first thing you do is to blame it on the opposition's marketing. Not to point out your product's advantages, not to listen to what it is the customer actually wants, but just to whine about how the other guy isn't letting you compete.

    And you wonder why they have so much marketshare.

  3. One single positive thing.. by Chicane-UK · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Microsoft seems to be continuing its efforts to rubbish Linux and the Open Source movement, but i've noticed one positive thing to come out of this.

    It seems the IT journalists are no longer taking what Microsoft says as gospel.. you read any Microsoft vs Linux type article or report and you'll see that the press regularly question Microsofts reasonings behind its attacks on Linux. In fact, apart from the handful of sites that seem to be permanently pro Microsoft, the majority seem sceptical about Microsoft! The BBC especially does a superb job on giving fair balance in its reports.

    Clearly Linux is beginning to get a major foothold, and I still genuinely feel Microsoft is worried and getting more so every day.

    --
    "Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
    1. Re:One single positive thing.. by basil+montreal · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I sell servers to the SMB space and I have always mentioned Linux as an option, but I have less than 2% of my server sales being bundled with Linux. I always get the same answer: people in the SMB space think of Linux as more of a enterprise tool. It is complicated to learn, and windows comes in a nice shiny box that they've been buying for years. It's a hard paradigm to break as a vendor... especially when MS products generate so much revenue.

  4. Doubtful Data by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I seriously doubt those data and the credibility of the whole "study". This strikes me as another Microsoft-sponsored fabrication. My company is doing market research on about anything, including the use of operating systems, with sample pools that are more than a magnitude largers and we came to very different results that also indicate that Linux is on the rise in every segment, even on the corporate desktop market. Shame on Microsoft for spreading lies again!

  5. Reminds me of the war on marijuana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    You can tell me all kinds of stuff and back it up with expert opinions and statistics. The trouble is that when your 'facts' disagree with my own observations, you lose all credibility with me.

    If you tell me that if I smoke pot I am destined to use heroin and I look around and see lots of potheads who have never used heroin then I won't believe anything else you tell me.

    When I look around me at the open source uptake around here, I have to think that way more than half the CIOs are at least thinking about linux. Therefore, I simply don't believe what these guys are saying. Either that or lots of CIOs have no clue what's going on in their own shops.

    Bill Gates can no more stamp out Linux than Nancy Regan could stamp out marijuana.

  6. FUD is not the real problem here by alienw · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wouldn't worry about lack of Linux adoption due to FUD. Linux will win solely by virtue of its price if it actually becomes a good replacement for Windows. Think about it: if your business spends millions of dollars a year on Windows, a competitor who uses Linux will have a big advantage. It doesn't matter how much propaganda MS puts out, the issue will work itself out.

    Right now, Linux offers some advantages and has big disadvantages -- such as the lack of Windows compatibility. It would simply be impossible to replace it at my job, for instance, because many corporate applications that I use are only available for Windows (one is an ActiveX application, by the way). Obviously, Linux is not an option here.

    The real danger from Microsoft is software, file format, protocol and especially hardware lock-in. Microsoft has enough power to make that happen. Of course, all of this borders on unfair competition, so they will have some legal obstacles in that arena.

  7. Re:OR, "CREATE" the facts? by qwertyatwork · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Rebooting your system should be a part of maintenance. After 550 days, Im surprised it just came back up. What about start up scripts that fail? Corrupted files? I had 4 months uptime on my firewall, dsl went down for a few hours, came back up and it wouldnt connect. Couldnt figure out why. During the uptime I had recompiled my modules, and for whatever reason the module for dsl side nic wasnt compiled in. DSL went down, kernel unloaded it, and when it tried again, the module wasnt available. I was on dialup for 4 days because of that. Had I done a scheduled reboot, I would have caught that a lot sooner. Long uptimes are cool and all, but reboots need to be done for system stability.

  8. GNU/Linux get the facts by btk667 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When will we have a linux version of get the facts?
    We should compile a list of reason why GNU/linux is better or why it's TCO is lower.

    There are reasons why UNIX/Linux is better and there are also some arguments why "Windows" or closed source are good in some case.

    I haven't seen a objective debate about this.

    1. Re:GNU/Linux get the facts by mini+me · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I always figured the Linux TCO is lower because it's easy to move away from Linux. Want to switch to Windows in the future? No problem, 90%+ of your applications also run on Windows.

      The same can't be said for moving from Windows to something else.

  9. Infighting and superiority complex the real enemy by a_greer2005 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    From my prospective, as a college student studying I.T., the problems with linux seems to be infighting within the community and an utter rejection of anything non-oss and a reluctance to help newcomers to the linux community.

    For a great example of infighting, read the latest colomn on pcmag.com by John C. Dvorak. but it doesnt dtop there, ask any linux geek what distro they like and then mention that you like a differant one, that is the quickest way to start a petty-ass flamewar that I have ever seen.

    Second: tell an OSS evangalist that you like GIMP, but preder photoshop, stand back on this one, lest rabid drool fall on your shoe as their eyes get bloodshot with anger and they shout "THE GIMP CAN DO ANYTHING PS CAN!" the same can be said for any number of titles. Untill the greater linux community stops acting like all closed source software is rooted in pure evil, this will be a barrier to entry as well.

    And lastly, enough with the f***ing superiority complex towards n00bs, at one time or anotherr everyone was a "n00b". There is nothing more irretating to a newcommer to a computer platform to get the same answer to every question, "RTFM N00B" that pisses people off and could drive them back into the windows world where there is at least somewhat professional tech support. The preceding was Just my observations, nothing more or less.

  10. Re:No discrepency by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    This of course ignores the fact that every installation of windows 2000 and xp pro is basically an installation of IIS. All it takes is someone who doesn't know what they're doing (IE, the majority of home users) checking off everything during the install ("gee, this must be important").

  11. Re:Infighting and superiority complex the real ene by bsquizzato · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If you ask me, back when I was new to Debian the #debian on the OpenProjects IRC network was great. I guess that's all changed names/moved to the freenode IRC network now but I'm sure that the support is still the same.

    Not to mention, all the people in that channel were volunteers, as far as I know.

  12. CIO... Not the best reference... by RedVortex · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The fact that a CIO probably doesn't know anything about Linux and thinks that his servers are running Windows (because it's the only thing he understands) but his system administrator has already been running most of the servers under some flavor of Linux for years is something that happens very often...

    Most of them know about the end-result but the ways to provide this end-result are simply not valuable information for them. I think this "survey" only proves this point. They only know about buzzwords like "Windows" "Linux" "Apache" "IIS" but have them explain the difference to you, it's like watching Dilbert's boss on TV...

    RedVortex

  13. Why Microsoft should buy RedHat by Simonetta · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is another good reason why Microsoft should buy Red Hat. Then Red Hat could focus on making some high-quality commercial tiny component of the 'computer solution to management issues'.
    Clueless management Barbies and Kens could claim their total allegiance to dominant monopoly capitalism (every met one that wouldn't?) while the real corporate computer system network could be running with Linux under the control of the technocracy (which is you if you're reading this).
    Microsoft Red Hat would provide the means for the Linux community to integrate competence and consistency into corporate computing while still testifying to senior management that they are still using the 'secure, stable, safe, and acceptable' Microsoft solution.
    For all their talk, deep down senior management only cares that that their computers work. Fear of Linux is simply the general corporate fear of anything unknown.

  14. May I still use Linux? by gosand · · Score: 3, Interesting
    May I still use Linux in spite of this story? Yes? Well then, who really cares?

    Does anyone really care about this "war"?

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  15. Where are you getting your numbers? by khasim · · Score: 3, Interesting
    It shouldn't come as a shock that IT managers aren't evaluating Linux for servers as much anymore when you look at what's available in Windows Server 2003 and *BSD.
    The article only accounts for 63%. That leaves 37% as either testing Linux or deploying it. And the annual figures for server sales seem to show increasing Linux sales.

    So where do you see the decline in interest?
    I'm not as big a user of Linux as I used to be, so stop me if I'm talking out my ass here, but stripping Linux down to operate strictly as a server simply isn't what it used to be (in terms of effort required if nothing else) due to kernel bloat and dependency hell.
    Okay. Stop. You're talking out of your ass.

    I use Debian on servers. It is ultra-simple to install a bare system and then add on only what I specifically want.

    And that isn't even counting recompiling the kernel or recompiling any packages. I'm sure you could get an extra 5-10% performance, but my systems are already on idle most of the time.
    Why would you use it when there are other OSes that provide everything else a server needs with less kruft?
    What "kruft"? Which OS's have less? Certainly not in Win2003, as you mentioned. You cannot remove services in that, just disable them.
  16. Well, I got some facts by argoff · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First fact, I make heavy use of Linux and open source and my skills are way way more in demand than my MS counterparts. And that reflects in my pay, and the fact that people are always coming to me for solutions.

    Second Fact, I can often provide all the IT infrastructure my company needs without even requesting a PO. In fact, while ohter people get haggled every time they make a purchase, I rarely even get questioned - which I think is because I do way more with way less then my counterparts do.

    Third fact, I really have few worries about an unwelcome visit from the BSA, and I don't mean boy scounts of america.

    Frouth fact, I rarely need to deal with all the license headaches, and the annual renew crap and forced upgrades that my counterparts do. In fact, upgrades and improvements are not a chore, and I am not terrorized that every upgrade will break everything.

    Fith fact, I get the pleasure of doing more RnD, because I don't need financial approval from a bean counter everytime I do something.

    Sixth fact, I rarely pay extra for things like compilers, office productivity stuff, graphics programs, and visus scanning is't even a worry accept for scanning linux SMB servers for others.

    Seventh fact, things like paravirtualisation, parallel clusters, email, databases, dns, web servers, and remore access to programs come standard in Linux.

    Eight fact, I can literally rip a Linux box out of one x86 box and place it in another and run kudzu and it recovers ausomely. Have you ever tried this with Microsoft?

    Ninth fact, those are all red herrings. What makes Linux vavuable is that it's not about technology, but freedom. People who talk about business and not freedom are cowards and ingrates to the culture and attitudes that made them successfull to begin with and over the long term they will certainly get what they deserve.

    1. Re:Well, I got some facts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      We *seriously* need a "Me too" mod!
      I'm 22 years old and an IT manager. That would not happen if I did not have Linux to back me up.

      Got my first job 6 months ago. My title was 'technitian' and I was allowed to use work time to experiment with Linux based solutions. After some work I had replaced most of our core infrastructure with Linux-based solutions. Upper management got impressed, slashed the IT budget by 60% and then promoted me to IT manager.

      Even with a 60% smaller budget I still have room ro do what I want. Of course it would be cool to run Linux on some shiny new enterprise class hardware, but refurbished workstations do it just as well.

      Using Linux and old hardware I have been able to bring back inhouse services we once outsourced (with added bonuses like single sign-on, IMAP instead of POP and dunamic PHP-based websites instead of static ones), introduced new services (VPN, various productivity tools) aswell as increased security (several layers of firewalls, faster patching cycle (Hey Microsoft: vulnerabilities doesn't idle until you release a patch!)).

      I find Linux more fun to work with simply because it is flexible. If stuff doesn't work it's usually because I screwed up, and not some silly bug. And if it a buf I can usually find a way around it with some custom script. With Windows I feel like we get forced to do things the way Redmond or a third party developer wants us to.

      I know I come off as a zealot here, but I'm not. I use the best tool for the job, and always consider other alternatives. But when you add up flexibility and cost there is rarely any competition.

  17. Re:No discrepency by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    We live today with the MS generation at the head of the IT departments all around the world. On the other hand we have all the pregraduates and recent graduates who share a resentment towards Microsoft and see linux as an oportunity to behead that monopoly. Be aware Microsoft, these people will lead the IT/IS departments in the future, and they will surely not treat you with kindness!!!

  18. Linux documentation defeats Linux, not Microsoft by Che+Guevarra · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Despite real strategic efforts by Microsoft to slow the adoption of Linux, the real culprit is the lack of coherent documentation for users during the adoption stage. I know this article is about businesses using Linux, but I have something to add to the tale. I graduated from college with an MIS degree (don't laugh). I have 2 Linux Distros running on my Mac at home and yet I haven't installed Linux on my Dell laptop where I really want it (microsoft hate) because the wireless card isn't supported by any Linux distro straight from install. Instead I've spent the last few days trying to decifer the forum posts and web pages of Linux experts to determine how to make an unsupported wireless card work and they use phrases and terminology that make perfect sense until I get to line X of the instructions that says something like "then recompile and make a sldfjksdf-sdf in the sldfjs" and suddenly I realize I'm not anywhere near the solution because I have yet another day's worth of homework to do. I can only imagine what it must be like when considering Linux for use in an enterprise environment. I hate to say it, but I'd rather have my documentation from a single source that has given an ounce of consideration to communication techniques and the end user's experience.

  19. today's status by speedbump · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This kind of article always brings out the same argument, which we've beaten to death in this forum.

    The question seems to be, is Microsoft winning 'the war'?

    Oh, come now. All they are doing is fighting a rear-guard action. How could they possibly win in the long-term? The only way would be if we collectively stopped developing Linux and the applications which run on it, and go back to always buying Windows products. Does anyone really think that's going to happen?

    I am currently consulting for a company which has a variety of systems and applications going. About half of their software development effort goes to in-house, never-to-be-published applications. The other half is specifically for the purpose of public consumption. You know what? The public consumption side is all running or being converted to Linux/Apache/Tomcat. The internal stuff is still up for grabs, but this is a cultural issue, not a question of the technical merits of MS vs the world.

    I had a short timeframe to develop my current project, and I ended up going C# and .NET, because the other developer was a VB guy, and the learning curve for him would have made it impossible to meet our deadline. I am comfortable with the Linux/Apache world, and generally prefer it, but I must admit that we whipped out a smokin' application, thanks to the data support from Visual Studio. (Interesting side note: this app has VB for the data layer, but C# for the business logic and the presentation layer. We had absolutely no trouble integrating the two languages.)

    The Linux/Apache/Java side of the house is also grudgingly admitting we did a great job getting a fully-functional app out the door in a short timeframe. But they are also doing interesting things with Lucene and some other child projects of Apache.

    The state of things now at the comapny are that getting the job done is Job #1, and the folks who write the checks don't care whether MS is in the loop or not. But, as more of our IT staff begin using open source tools, the more our tech staff will start saying to the bean counters, 'hey, we don't need to buy a Microsoft license for this or that project.' And the beanies are going to be happy to go along with that!

    What's interesting to me, as a long-time Linux and FreeBSD guy, is that the quality of development tools that MS has had to create is a direct result of having to compete with the open source alternatives. And the quality and utility of those tools is accelerating.

    The real story is that WE win.

    1. Re:today's status by RhettLivingston · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Excuse me, but do not confuse the open source movement with Linux. There is a very simple way for Microsoft to win this supposed war. All they have to do is provide more direct support for running GNU apps on the windows kernel in the Longhorn release. There have definitely been discussions of exactly that. Even without that, GNU/Windows already has a huge following via Cygwin, MingW and various other mechanisms. It would not surprise me in the least to find out that there are many GNU applications with a larger base of Windows users than Linux users. I personally have comfortably used GNU and other unix derived software on my Windows machine very heavily since the 80s. Its nothing new.

  20. What about a Sesame St "Day in the Life" by sidewayzen · · Score: 2, Interesting

    At work another IT Project Manager was just saying he didn't understand how Open Source software worked if nobody "owned" it. They just aren't able to visualize what's already there. So he was vulnerable to FUD. When I was a kid Sesame Street had a small bit that took you to a dairy and showed how milk got to your house. It'd be fun to see a documentary about how Apache server is currently run and maintained. How does a bug get handled? How is the Apache Foundation organized?

  21. Re:OR, "CREATE" the facts? by macjohn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Boy that brings back some memories. There was a time when the legal dept at Motorola was a profit center. They were supposed to go out and earn an annual revenue target collecting royalties and threatening patent suits. Along about September, they had usually made their quota for the year, so 4th quarter was a good time to negotiate a patent deal because they didn't care so much any more.

    --
    --Hi. I'm in Portland and it's raining. This appears to be a permanent condition.
  22. Re:Getthefacts site down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    On the other hand, one might run this:

    for i in $(seq 32); do
    (checkbot --cookies --verbose --url 'http://www.microsoft.com/getthefacts' \
    --match '^(http\:\/\/www\.microsoft\.com\/(getthefacts|win dowsserversystem)|http\:\/\/go\.microsoft\.com\/fw link)' \
    &);
    done;

    ...provided, that he installs checkbot

  23. As long as we're talking about businesses by GMFTatsujin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let the businesses run their IT the way they want. That includes letting them run Windows.

    Then, be their competitor with an OSS solution. If it really makes a difference, you'll have the edge and it'll be that much easier to plow the other guy into the ground. Or they'll swicth over in order to survive.

    Honestly, why does anybody care what OS businesses are running? A bank or something with my money in it, yeah, but really, what difference does it make for Generic Company X, Y, or Z?

  24. how about this instead? by cwg_at_opc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    instead of talking about their reports,
    how about the ugly reality of using Windows instead?

    Aggressive, Mass-Mailed Sober.p Worm Poised To Smack Users


    By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb News

    Monday may be a very bad day, a security researcher said Friday as he warned that the aggressive Sober worm of early May is timed to download new code the first day of next workweek.

    Sober.p, the mass-mailed worm that spread voraciously by virtue of its offer of free World Cup tickets, is poised to launch another attack Monday, said Dmitri Alperovitch, a research engineer with an Alpharetta, Ga.-based security firm CipherTrust"

    whenever someone gets the urge to post another stupid article about how MS is winning the FUD war, they should just post another REAL worm/virus/update/phish article complete with catchy tagline, links to other important security sites, etc.

    chris

    --
    "...that's as white as it gets; all the bits are on..."
  25. Re:OR, "CREATE" the facts? by JWhitlock · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Microsoft is one of the best at PR, and their "Get the Facts" campaign may be one of their most impressive successes (oh that Microsoft would be so successful developing and creating safe and secure software)

    As any hacker knows, social engineering is an order of magnitude easier and more effective than any technical effort.