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Microsoft Launches Linux Labs Website
mjdroner writes "ZDNet is reporting that Microsoft is launching a website to 'share the activities of its internal Linux laboratories.' Microsoft says its goal is to foster communication with those who use open-source. The article also mentions that Microsoft runs a 300-server Linux installation to test open-source products." From the article: "Customers will be able to submit requests to Microsoft employees. For example, a person could ask how to best test the use of Linux desktops working with Microsoft's directory software.
In addition, Port 25 will do video interviews with Microsoft employees with experience in the open-source or Unix world, Hilf said."
My biggest question to MS regarding their interaction with Linux/*NIX would be why the hell windows XP SP1 broke my Samba PDC!! Before SP1 I was able to load roaming profiles without any problems, I applied SP1 and it all fell apart.
Microsoft seems willing to help you get your Linux workstation running against their PDC but are unwilling to reverse and allow their desktops to run against a Unix PDC.
MS has always seemed to break interaction with samba at every opportunity, I suspect this is completely intentional, especially considering their server products (that include the PDC functionality) is their flagship productline.
GeekServ Unix Consulting Services (http://www.geekserv.com)
I'm serious.
liqbase
in other news: hell just froze over.
We all know what this is. They've more or less claimed it as a prime mantra behind their business logic. Embrace and "Extend". The Embracing has started, but that Extension is going to be considerably less fun.
Do not confuse "Freedom of Choice" with "Free Will".
The U.S. Airforce once had some of their practice squadrons use Russian tactics and made 'em speak Russian and had 'em briefed with a Soviet flag in the background. This helped the regular pilots practice "against the enemy".
I wonder if this is sort of the same concept going on here.
For all of these years M$ has tried to Buy, steal or distroy anything to do with Linux, Then why do they want to be so nice to anyone dealing with Linux, Be afraid.
Answer: Thank you for choosing Microsoft(TM) Software. We have studied this problem and have determined to best use Linux desktops with Microsoft's Active Directory(SM) first format the machines and install Windows(TM) XP Professional(SM)...
Well, to me it was pretty obvious that Microsoft runs Linux machines. How can they test their competition if they don't? I expect that they also have HP machines with HP-UX, Sun, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Apple machines. It's just good business sense to know what the competition is doing. I'd be disappointed if they didn't.
Oh, OpenBSD also forms the base of Services for UNIX, so that'd be a shock if they didn't have at least some OpenBSD servers.
Now, Microsoft writing about it, that's kinda neat.
God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
Since the summary did not provideth, here's a link to the actual site: http://port25.technet.com/
Hello dear friend,
While this message my come as a surprise to you, I have spent extensive time trying to port MS Windows applications to Linux. After my company (Loki Software) went bankrupt, the CEO mistakingly transferred $100m (One Hundred Million US Dollars) to my Nigerian bank account and I am looking for a partner in transferring this money back to the United States. In exchange for this service....Here's to losing my Karma Bonus again....
Is it possible that MS could document the protocol, then we wouldn't have this problem?
I dunno. Isn't this kind of like Stalin asking for input on the democratic process:
Stalin: Hey guys... I know I've been kind of totalitarian in the past, but... Um... Let's foster some thoughts about that democracy thing we keep hearing about over in the States.
KGB Adivsor: I hear they don't have secret arrests over there...
Stalin: Ok. Thats a start... Anything else?
Army Commisar: They don't have secret laws or show trials.
Stalin: I seeee....
Politburo Advisor: Oh... And they watch funny shows on TV and actually own their own homes and cars and mow their lawns and have these things called elections so that everyone can have their input into the process... Oh and almost forgot there is the...
Stalin: *cuts advisor off* Ok. I think that is enough fostering for a very long time. Lets get back on the subject of 'summary executions'. You know guys, I was thinking maybe we could double our efficiency if we outsource to the Chinese.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
First Apple lets people install Windows then Microsoft lets its own people install Linux.
Whats next ?
Balmer takes an anger management course and Steve Jobs changes his appearence ?
Not anymore - you will have to config Linux to use all the MSN clones on port 25 now (stops the spam too)- innovation!
Microsoft Linux Virus Labs
MS admits that staff inspect and use open source.
How do they ensure that none of that source doesn't leak into MS products?
It would be interesting to discover the facts, we've shown you ours, how about you show us yours?
Have my last five days been spent in a time warp?
It's called an elephant's trunk whereas it is in fact, an elephant's nose, a nose by any other name would smell as sweet
{anti-microsoft rhetoric ON}
What's to stop Microsoft from receiving a request then patenting it and stiffling all future OSS development for your submission?
On the covers, it sounds like Microsoft is opening their arms to open-source development - which is what the OSS community has been wanting for years - but, under the covers, what's to prevent Microsoft from garnering too much control of any given project?
This move isn't to gain the respect of the IT community, it's a ploy aimed directly at removing the ever-increasing market share that GNU/Linux has been gaining. Every Linux installation removes the Microsoft Tax Revenue Stream from Microsoft's coffers and that is a threat to them.
Until you see a Microsoft release of a GNU/Linux distro, don't expect Microsoft to support Linux too earnestly. This is just another move by Microsoft geared to directly affect GNU/Linux installations by those installations being replaced with Microsoft server OSs.
{anti-microsoft rhetoric OFF}
The Prince of Darkness (TM) as set up a new site called "Port 666" where residents of Hel will discuss their experiences with that Other guy. As a quote from the PoD himself, "We'd really just like to help the community out there understand the implications of the decesions they make." More on this later...
"The Lion and the Lamb shall lie down together, but the lamb won't get much sleep."
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
Hmmm :) Isn't this how revolutionaries bring down governments - from the inside?
Get your own free personal location tracker
...Microsoft urges UK PC vendors to not sell PC's without an OS, since this is a missed opportunity to market their software and services. They also claim that so called naked PCs are often used to install pirated copies of Microsoft software.
Note that they do not specifically mention that this OS is Windows, but I think it is implied between the lines. It is also common knowledge that BSA counts systems sold without a commercial OS as using a pirated OS, which means that computers running Linux or other F/OSS OS'es are included in their piracy statistics.
As long as they follow the GPL rules (which they legaly must) I dont see the problem.
200GB/2TB $7.95 Coupon: SAVE90DOLLAR
As large as Microsoft is, they can't totally control the computing choices of all of the businesses and governments in the world.
As much as marketing is importing in the consumer field, I think aggressive advertising is not taken as favorably in the business world. Many large businesses and organizations have chosen to use Linux on various servers, and Microsoft has to acknowledge this, especially if they want to keep their core desktop business.
For example, say you are a large university and you keep thousands of students and staff members' e-Mail on a Linux computer (or computers), and you have labs full of desktops that students use to access it. Say the IT department at this university calls Microsoft up with a question about some minor problem this is causing. Microsoft tech support can't really say "oh, just format that closet full of mail servers and put Windows on them!" They might be able to suggest such a thing in advertising, but they know that if they try it with corporate professionals, they are just going to be laughed at.
Microsoft needs to adjust itself to the decisions corporations, governments, universities and the like are making. It is as simple as that.
Hopefully I didn't put any [] around my words.
That's called a coup.
Hmmm. An open source coup at MicroSoft.
I like it.
Let's get working on this kids.
A blog about stuff.
...and your enemies even closer!
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
Yoga Tutor: OK, now put your arms in front of you. Now slowly join your hands making a circle, and breathe out.
Breathe out....
Now extend your arms and breathe in.
Breathe out...
Breathe in...
Join your arms again. Embrace...
Now extend your arms and breathe in. "Extend".
Keep doing it guys...
Embrace...
Extend...
Embrace...
Extend...
Well done! See you next week!
Why is the first thing that went through my mind "Ok, how're they going to use it against Linux?"? Maybe because it's always been like this so far?
.net. Yes, there's Mono, but MS has the advantage of setting the standard. If they provide a Linux version of the next .net version, Mono will have a rather hard time holding a foot in that market. The framework is free anyway (has to be, who'd buy it?), so MS isn't even losing anything.
I pondered, and so far the only explanation is their usual "embrace and extend" practice. Take a standard, implement it, then extend with some "extra features" nobody else supports, hope that devs jump the wagon and make use of those "features" until customers have to use their flavor or else something doesn't work.
It worked before in the Browser War, I'd guess it's a tactic that could work again.
Now, how?
My guess goes towards
After a few years, Mono will vanish. And then MS can start pulling resources from the Linux version, making it less stable, making it slower (unless it's neither stable nor fast from the beginning). Yes, that takes time. But MS is in no hurry.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I'm guessing this is mostly a "know thy enemy" kind of thing; the more they learn and explore about Linux, they more they can try to poke holes in it or create F.U.D.. I'm guessing the rewards would be great for someone within MS who can come up with fundamental low-level areas where they can say Linux falls down as compared to XP (whether they are actual, or not).
Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
At least, this makes it seem like they do: "The lab's software is even more diverse, with some 15 versions of UNIX and 50 distributions of Linux--including many lesser-known ones like Asianux, CentOS and NetBSD." http://port25.technet.com/archive/2006/03/31/14.as px
Looks like there are already a few comments there about it though.
Which does not really explain why it should be port 25. Other ports are "listened to" just as well (80, 110, 22, you name it). Maybe they thought it sounded the most sexy since 25 is one of the better known port numbers.
Sig (appended to the end of comments I post, 120 chars)
Let's just hope that Microsoft's port25 website remains Open so EVERYONE can see what they're up to.
OK, I will repeat this once again...
I have said this a lot on Slashdot, and usually it gets dismissed, but I will restate it.
Know your competition and DO NOT under estimate Microsoft.
This just shows that at least they 'get' this concept of knowing their competition. This also would demonstrate that Redmond is not blind to the advances in the Open Source world.
Not only are the using and learning from it, but all it would take is a bit of popularity to see a Linux subsystem for NT, like the already MS *nix subsystem shipping free for NT.
Where to go when you want to learn more about Linux - http://www.microsoft.com/linux.asp
Prove it.
Ah but everyone... here's the catch...
OPEN SOURCE CANNOT BE EXTENDED. At least not the way Microsoft wants it to be.
Why? Because it's based on open collaboration and open standards. It's a collective which cannot be controlled. What happens if Microsoft tries to control OSS? Simple. You fork it. What happens when Microsoft tries to find a way to exclusivly make money off of OSS? Simple. You make a free (beer, speech) alternative and put all the documentation on-line. All of it.
You see, Open Source cannot be killed. That's the beauty of the whole concept. Cut off one head and another grows... and I mean it in a good sense.
HONEYPOT
--
make install -not war
And yet nobody has yet said:
"Finally! The ease of linux combined with the security of Windows!"
Really guys we're slipping here.
The U.S. really needs an English to Wisdom dictionary.
Later, it'll FIZZ over...
Maybe ms is opening this stuff up more because many companies and even governments (foreign and domestic rightfully) are giving them the middle finger or outright telling microsoft (lower-casing/deprecation of ms' name iintentional/perpetual with me):
"*UCK you ms and the lame-assed horse you rode in on!"
Hmmm... image word: "infamous"
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Yeah, I think so... but the other way round.
My 0.02 cents
Seriously, i had to check my calendar on this one :\
Ugh! make it stop!
It's just Crap.
apt-get assimilate
(resistance is futile)
Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
Cute, huh?
...kill me now...
AC says, as Ballmer gently penetrates his (unmentionableorifice). "Thanks Steve, the lube was a nice gesture," he said.
Uh, You were saying?
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Like in that movie, I can visualize badly cloned, mutant penguins in that lab, suffering and asking for death. Someone must stop Microsoft to do those evil experiments.
Embrace...
Extend...
SteveB shouts: Stop it! I can't stand this any longer! I have to fucking kill somebody! Why don't they have any chairs in here?
thegodmovie.com - watch it
Probably they get looked at funny. This has been mentioned long ago, only about Mac people at MS.
Dear AC, all you need is computer, electricity, and a brain.
MS Linux support Operator: Thanks for calling Microsoft linux support, how can I help you? .. why? Do I need one?
Poor Newbie Linux user: I'm having trouble connecting Evolution to our Exchange server.
MSLSO: Ah, that's a documented issue . . . see our linux version of the KB, KL-LNX666 . . . I'll run through the fix with you . . . first do you have a sledge hammer?
PNLU: Uh, no .
MSLSO: Yes, you will, we'll ship one out to you free of charge!
PNLU: Wow thanks! I can't bel . . . hold on, someones at the door, I'll be right back . . . . . . ZOMG, that was a courier with my sledge hammer! That was fast!
MSLSO: We're dedicated to "fixing" all Linux compatability issues!
PNLU: How did you know my address?
MSLSO: We'll you're running dual boot with XP, and it forwarded all your details to us to help server you better!
PNLU: OK . . . so what do I do?
MSLSO: Well, take the sledge hammer, hold it up high in the air, and smash it down on your Linux box.
PNLU: OK, how will I know if I've done it right?
MSLSO: Keep doing it untill all the sparcs and sound stop coming out of the box, it you hear a sound like breaking glass thats a good sign, that's your hard disk.
PNLU: Ok, hold on . . .
SMASH!
BANG!
KZZZZZZ!
SMASH!
FSHZZzzzzzz.z.z.z.z......
PNLU: OK, I've done what you instructred me, now my machine won't boot at all!
MSLSO: Ah, well you know, this wouldn't have happened if you used Windows! That's Geniune Microsoft advantage!
In Soviet Russia, Air Force acts like YOU!
Well, I listen to 666 just for the hell of it...
Click here or here.
Know your enemy before you fight them.....
This is a classic marketing ploy. Pretend to be "concerned" about the needs of a competing product. In actuality, they are attempting to "re-educate" you. Oh, you have a question about why something doesn't work with Windows? "Well such and such won't work with us. It is best to just use Windows."
True, they aren't going to be that obvious. But the attempt here is to see the concerns of users of a competitors product and best understand how to meet those needs through their own product. Don't think for one second that MS is actually looking for ways to make their products work better with Linux. They are looking for what doesn't work and see if they can turn that into a compelling reason to stay with MS based products.
Since I manage an ISP among other duties, it would be like me offering advice to AOL users, with that advice always boiling down to AOL sucks, use my product which is better. Sure, I can throw in some technical jargon to make it sound legitimate, but it is still just a sales pitch.
Don't be fooled.
So what host name will we be telnetting to to receive the animated ansi text video?
First they launched their crap 'virtual server 2005v2' for free and and now they seem to have brainwashed some communists... big deal
no not scared at all, they're losing it.
[ No prescription needed ]
Their "Port 25" website is in fact not accessable via port 25 at all. On a hunch I tried port 80 and some kind of web site about port 25 came up. This is apparently another embrace and extend type of thing, where port 25 is now accessable only via port 80 and god knows where they've extended port 80 to or what's actually running on port 25.
-Lod
"... Microsoft competes against open-source products ..."
Implied, of course, by this statement is
An alternative wording could have been Open-source products compete against Microsoft in many areas ..., but this would have conveyed the opposite meaning.
If this reflects anything at all, it's just the impression of the author of that article... or just my impression of the article.
I am a Web developer and programmer who abandoned Microsoft products years ago in favor of open-source alternatives. I have purposefully allowed my MS-related skills and knowledge to weaken.
This little thing puts a smile on my face. -- Ghodmode
I tagged this story
embraceextendextinguish eee
If you find them meaningful use them too
but remember, you must think in Russian.
I remember back about 5 years or so ago when Microsoft pulled all Samba tech support documents from their Support knowledgebase... luckily, I had printouts already. We all assumed the removal was due to increasing utilization of Samba, to the detriment of MS's PDCs, etc.
www.TakeArms.com
I just find it funnny someone tagged this post "unholy". Congradulations to you!
It's funny because the world has now gone officially mad.
:)
Nice 'unholy' tag, it's the only thing that makes sense today.
I like how slashdot zealots like yourself on the one hand proclaim how great "competition" is but on the other hand demand that everyone adopt their pet software. Do you really want *every* browser to be Gecko based, so there's no competition in that area? Just like your wet dream is to have *every* OS unix-derived, as if unix is the be-all and end-all. You guys are too much.
Let FF and IE and other browsers compete to make each other better. If not for IE, we'd be stuck with the mess that was Netscape. If not for FF, IE would be stuck in it's current outdated state with no improved version on the horizon.
Having multiple browsers (not all Gecko based) allows competition to make all browsers better. If Microsoft dumped IE, FF would likely languish, or at least slowdown in its development. More importantly, hackers would target FF (they'd have no choice) and we all know FF has holes to be exploited.
-- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000
After visiting the Port 25 web site, I stepped outside. There are geese flying backwards, pigs roosting in the trees, the sun did indeed rise in the west, and the sky is really green. I think I'll go home and fix a stiff drink .....
Only old people go to the Linux Labs website. And only after lunch on Sundays (before their nap).
How many beans make five, anyhow ?
I'd just like to thank my brother for being such a nice guy.
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