Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Segments Linux "Personas"
RJ2770 writes "Microsoft has started a project for their partners to help identify the personas of different Linux users in an attempt to sway them toward Microsoft products. In addition to the web site there is a podcast on the market research behind the project, again directed at Microsoft's selling partners."
I guess MS can control /. and already knows that I won't be swayed, since I got a "nothing to see here message"
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
I bet that the "Selling Partners" just happens to be a company named Dell.
Seriously, is this actually put out by Microsoft... or is it a hoax that's just parodying MSFT?
...and can sit and add patches from jail all day. Check.
Then, there's Uwe Dippel!
I want to vote on which one I am!
different types or linux users? Like star-wars vs star trek geeks? Arnt we all just nerds?
I have to return some videotapes...
Under the "Application Driven" Persona Profile:
- place application needs ahead of platform decisions
- will support whatever platform best fits the application
- application needs driven by business needs
- very satisfied with current Linux installations
So, remind me again how these bullet points help win AGAINST Linux?
-theGreater.
Microsoft is taking you seriously now - you better start doing the same thing.
Maybe it's simpler than they're getting at. Maybe we believe in open source and don't like/approve of Microsoft software?
It showed a picture of RMS and said "Give up".
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Like M$ has 90% of the desktop I would think 90% of linux users are "advanced" computer users.
Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
Damn, this entire campaign sounds like one fucking sad attempt at trolling.
perpetually dwelling in the -1 pits
Can Microsoft really have Linux in the domain name?
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
I work at a university using Linux for a distibuted telescope control system. There was nothing in the persona list about either universities or machine control. I guess we're safe from the Microsoft marketing megamachine for now.
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
Probably most of those don't even know that Linix is involved.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
#6: People who hate Microsoft, and would prefer to use an abacus to MS software (37% of slashdot users)
I see that Microsoft is taking good, strong steps to prevent those evil Linux users from viewing this secret data!
☠
...I find http://www.stacymunn.com/resume/index.htm.
Either she made this for Microsoft, or there are more Stacy Munns at that company than I would usually expect.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Do a WHOIS on the domain... not sure how comfortable I am pasting it here.
Let's just say... it just oozes professionalism. And seems to have nothing to do with Microsoft
Linux users are, among other things:
* People who like knowing what their computer is up to (kind of like motorheads for the information age);
* People who don't like M$ deciding how their computers will work;
* People who don't want to spend money when a more reliable solution exists for Free;
* People who believe that competition is a Good Thing (tm);
* People who resent being called pirates (at least without being able to make others walk the plank!)
Paleotechnologist and connoisseur of pretty shiny things.
The word 'Microsoft' has the ® symbol following it while 'Linux' does not. Isn't the word 'Linux' copyrighted too?
What is a Microsoft sales troll supposed to do about the missing entries:
:) Come on, come try and sell me some Windows Server 2003 licenses.
FSF True believer: If it ain't Free it isn't an option.
Disgusted Ex Microsoft customer: Experienced Microsoft products since they were in ROM chips and hasn't found one yet that wasn't a roach motel. Doesn't plan on wasting money on more of the crap until they manage to get several in a row right... i.e. never.
Political MS hater: Hates evil corporations in general, believes Microsoft more evil than Exxon-Mobil, AT&T, IBM or the MPAA. Believes Microsoft is an unrepentant monopolist hellbent on enslaving the world.
Then there is me, a little bit of all three.
Democrat delenda est
Here's my demographic.
I'm a computer user who likes my machines to be as crash-free as possible. Failing that, I'd like access to the source code so I can fix whatever problems I perceive, rather than waiting for someone else to do it.
Ok - that's my "Linux Persona". Now let's see you cater to me.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
LaCie (www.lacie.com) by selling it's "LaCie Ethernet Disk RAID" is
1 0876
m ?id=10101
violating copyrights of hundreds of software developers by distributing Linux,
Busybox, Samba, etc... Without a copy of the GPL (or even a notice of the gpl.)
I also called their tech support line (503-844-4503) and they have told me the
source code was not available and that the OS is proprietary. They said someone
would get back to me about it 2 weeks ago. When I called back, they told me the
source code is not available.
See product at:
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=
They claim in the product spec sheet that the OS it is running is "Linux
2.6." So there is no question to if they are violating the GPL or not.
You can see they are using busybox by downloading the latest firmware for the
product at:
ftp://207.189.107.141/BCFv13b524-external.zip
link from the page:
http://www.lacie.com/us/support/drivers/driver.ht
(the pkg file is just a tarball with some extra info at the start of the file.)
LaCie's contact info can be found at
http://www.lacie.com/us/contact/index.htm
LaCie apparently believes it is above the GPL.
Maybe they should be using Microsoft if they don't want to honor the GPL
It seems to be aiming at enterprise. They focus more on business executives and application developers, except for the "Linux Aficionado", whom most Slashdot Linux users would fit in.
The problem for Microsoft is that many Microsoft users loath it's software, Linux users also loath Microsoft software, so it'll be hard for Microsoft partners to try and "convince" them to switch. I think Microsoft's greatest fear is that businesses which have traditionally went with them will try Linux for their servers because of all the security bugs and malware. Linux is too complex for the "average luser", so Microsoft isn't as worried about them, but business and server users are more knowledgeable about computers and would switch easier, so this is their new strategy to keep them with MS.
Hydraulic pizza oven!! Guided missile! Herring sandwich! Styrofoam! Jayne Mansfield! Aluminum siding! Borax!
For a start, it would be nice if their presentation ran on Firefox. I just tried to view it (on Win2K) using Firefox, and it froze up. How do they think they can change anyone's mind if they can't figure out how to make their stuff run outside of IE? What a bunch of wankers.
Seriously, when was the last time MS came out with something that really got you excited, something elegant and useful?
First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.
I'm a "Linux Aficionado". Why? Because I've spent the last two decades writing software for Microsoft platforms. (With a few years off in OS/2 land.) I still use Visual Studio daily.
Which is, of course, why I'm a "Linux Aficionado". Hell, I'm still holding a grudge for the way they yanked OS/2 support from their compiler after telling the entire industry that the future was OS/2. Fuckers.
Let's just say they've got a "hard sell" in front of them.
The cake is a pie
Is this a joke or is microsoft really that desperate???
Thoroughly disgusted with Micro$oft
I for one welcome our anti-competitive monopoly over... Wait a minute, I guess I don't!... Never-mind.
"attempt to sway them toward Microsoft products" ? :P
I can break it down for you right now.
type A who above all wants his operating system free (as in cash money).
type B who above all wants his operating system free (as in free to do with it whatever the heck he wants)
then you have type AB which at this point should be fairly obvious
and there is type O which of course none of us would know anything about
All i am suggestiong is, relate this personas list to blood, something M$ can understand.
FooBar
Why wouldnt you post it? Its in the whois DB...its not like its privet info... (I just blanked out the email to stop the spambots from picking it up..if you want it go whois it. )
Whois Output for: linuxpersonas.com
Domain Name Owner:
munnmultimedia
318 First Ave S
Apt 501
Seattle, WA 98104
US
Administrative Contact:
Munn, Stacy
munnmultimedia
318 First Ave S
Apt 501
Seattle, WA 98104, US
Phone: 2063555916
Email: _____@gmail.com
Technical Contact:
Munn, Stacy
munnmultimedia
318 First Ave S
Apt 501
Seattle, WA 98104, US
Phone: 2063555916
Email: ___@gmail.com
Billing Contact:
Munn, Stacy
munnmultimedia
318 First Ave S
Apt 501
Seattle, WA 98104, US
Phone: 2063555916
Email: _____@gmail.com
Record Information:
Domain Record Created: May 16, 2006
Domain Record Updated: September 14, 2006
Domain Record Expires: May 16, 2007
DNS Information:
Name Server: dom1.omnis.com
Name Server: dom2.omnis.com
I have to return some videotapes...
They forgot to list the segment of the population who hate Microsoft passionately - due to their business practices, their monopoly, their DRM, their lack of ethics, their EULA which forces you to give up your freedom of speech, their proprietary file formats, their Microsoft Word specifically, and perhaps more reasons.
And then there are the people who believe that Linux has superior design, that the user is more in control of what the computer does, that linux is more virus-resistant, easier to work with and so on.
I think Microsoft should divide all the "win over" percentages on their website by 10.
I now want an RFC discussing /. over abacus!
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
What sort of half-assed marketing is this?
To whome it may concern: Thank you for your presentation and dedication to helping me 'fight' Linux! I can honestly say that you have convinced me, now more than ever, to continue to push Linux whenever and wherever available, both in my personal and professional life. Any company I work for, any organization I am involved with, and anyone I assist with computers. I will tell them of my experiences with Windows, the many problems it's had as well as my experience with Linux and its ability to out perform Windows with ease. I am not sure what else to say other than to tell you that I find this dedication to 'fighting' Linux to be simply horrific. It's downright insane to continue to try and smear Linux like you do. The sad thing is, I'd probably be much more of a Windows fan and supporter if only you worked with everyone else rather than try to get rid of them in any way possible to the point that it becomes your obsession. Again, thank you for your help to convince me to KEEP USING LINUX!
This is so obviously bad I'd declare shenanigans, but a whois reveals that the technical contact is:
Technical Contact: Munn, Stacy munnmultimedia 318 First Ave S Apt 501 Seattle, WA 98104, US Phone: 2063555916 Email: stacymunn@gmail.com
Who has the following listed on her resume...
Employment Learning and Media Specialist March 2005 - current Contractor at Microsoft, Redmond, WA Design and produce user interfaces for multimedia training materials. Design and develop interactive assessments with scoring and tracking capabilities. Use ADDIE methodology to create learning content. Publish courses and assessments to Voyager LMS. Design PowerPoint templates for use in presentations and training deliveries. Create and maintain Share Point site that serves as a portal for internal marketing training. Record, optimize and integrate voice-over for rich media presentations.
Sigh. This is tacky, at best.
5. I ride a bicycle 23 miles each way to and from work. That includes a 900 foot hill. That's a total of 46 miles and 1800 feet total hill climb for the day.
Up hill both ways, eh?
16. I still maintain good rapport with my childhood psychiatrist,
Must...resist...straight...line....
-- Alastair
To paraphrase a common saying: "you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time". So as long as MS continues to try to fool people with pop psychology rather than actually listen to complaints and address them (as Open Source generally does) it will only benefit Linux.
Of course this assumes that the site is genuine which I must admit I'm not really convinced of.
Not "Steve Ballmer is a Tool" but "Which tool did they use to make the presentation"? It appears to be a happy halfway house between custom built flash and the horror that is PPT on the web.
... not just in this specific case.
:)
In fact if anyone can think of such things I'd be keen to know in general
With that in mind I'll actually go watch it now
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
Number 4 is redundant.
What about the users on the other side of the burning bridges that Microsoft has left in its wake
So where do I sign up? DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for spelling errors in this psot.
This is the page I get when I click their shiny "Lunch" button:
Linux is no entity, sir. It is one of the projects worked on by the Free Software community.
☠
"Linux Experimenter" = Bi-curious. A bit dangerous, but let's not worry too much and just scare them straight.
"Market Follower" = MS bitches. We own these fuckers!
"Application Driven" = Dangerously misguided. Brainwashing might be needed, just to set them in order.
"Linux Aficionado" = Stupid, hopeless nerds. Recommended solution: hire hitman.
"Unix transitioner" = Head case. Keep distance.
It doesn't matter who is doing it.
Also this web page is a pretty much useless. The persona of the person who uses this web page:
1) Sells Microsoft for Microsoft's sake apparently without any added value.
2) Has a broad customer base.
3) Didn't already know his customers are migrating from Unix.
4) Didn't already know how much his customers spend on IT and how often they make purchases.
Oooo... Linux is going down! I think Linus Torvalds just peed his pants from fright.
For portable use, anyway, I switched from Linux to OSX. Not because of relative merits of the OS so much as the irresistable Macbook Pro, which as a gestalt of hardware and software, is a very good choice for a laptop, particularly for someone with unix experience.
I have found there are quite a few linux users who have bought mac portables, for the same reasons I did. Now, I still run linux (a mildly customized ubuntu-ish flavor) at home and at work, but I am using the Mac more and more, verging on exclusive use for everything except server tasks.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
No one cares.
Seriously, What do you think you are to these businesses, and the majority of people around you? You are an anomaly. Nothing to be concerned about.
I read that wiki entry. It's sad, but don't worry, progress will move around people like you, just like it moves around other obstacles.
Wouldn't the FSF or BSA be a better partner for your complaint than posting as an AC on slashdot?
The MAJOR REASON why people experiment, adopt, adapt to, learn, or operate with Linux-based systems (not simply Linux, as the presentation simplifies it) is because of a lack of TRUSTWORTHINESS in Microsoft. And that lack of trust has come about because of Microsoft's duplicitous, confusing and often deliberately misguided marketing.
Lack of trust cannot be addressed by a few catchy, showy Powerpoint presentations or webcasts with some dulcet voices... and trying to 'classify' prospects into stupid 'categories'. How about this for a category? More than 90% of all 'Linux' users all share one common trait - they simply do not trust Microsoft anymore - how can the marketing machine address this issue?
Secondly, there are many 'efficiency and sufficiency' reasons for choosing Linux-based systems over Microsoft-based. In the MS world, the OS is linked with the browser is linked with the Office suite is linked with the CRM application is NOT LINKED with the telephony system - because MS probably hasn't seen a business case for telephony yet. Now, a company that wishes to implement CRM would choose to build it's own or outsource the development to knowing folks, based on the 'open platform' where the philosophy is to make things so they connect to other things without obfuscation.
That, I believe is a HUGE segment, and one in which MS has no convincing long-term answer. Will your Exchange Server that you sold me 3 years ago work with the Dynamics CRM system you're selling me now? And will BOTH work with the new Server version you're forcing on me this year, or should I upgrade all these apps and pray nothing breaks? What about the BI system I'm looking at - 3 years from now? Will I be forced to adopt the MS format - OOXML and get further locked onto your other offerings, and lack thereof?
People do not use just 'Linux' like MS is characterising and classifying them - it's not the Desktop where the Big Fight is taking place - it's in the server space. Replacing Active Directory with Enterprise Directory Services from RedHat is the only step many companies have to take... in order to migrate the entire infrastructure to the Open 'Linux' way.
And marketing cannot solve the technical deficiencies.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
He didn't mention that he gets to coast *down* the 900 foot hill each way also. Slacker!
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
If this the info that they are dishing out; they are going to crash and burn.
Linux is for those who hate Microsoft Windows.
BSD is for those who love UNIX.
It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
I like penguins, how can they cater to me?
Care to have a guess at five Windows user personas?
Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
If MS made an OS that was fast, efficient, stable, and supported the hardware most folks desired, there would be no reason for customers to buy the next OS when it came out. So, to support their business model, each OS has to be slightly behind for its time, either by speed, stability, or hardware support, so consumers have a reason to buy the next OS (or PC with the new OS) when it comes out.
Or I could have this all wrong, and be corrected below.
Jesus, get over yourself. On the internet nobody gives a shit if you are a gay creep.
I wonder how they're going to "win back" my user type: Upgraded my hard drive and then found out that the verison of their OS that I bought wouldn't work any more, so my choices were to buy a "new" copy for $100 or install something free.
Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Ghandi Take a guess what stage we're at...
If I mod you up, it doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what you've said, sorry.
As soon as the domain propagates, come to http://windowspersonas.com/ wiki to help compose a worthy response! :)
The site makes my eyes fall out of their sockets and I lack flash here... thanks.
Let's start with "Administrators who are afraid of the command line", "Those who hold strong opinions about technology they don't understand", "People who think FOSS is for commies", "Admins who will only discuss high-level stuff for fear that their lack of knowledge will shine through"
Anyone else got Windows personas? I think we should put up a site...
If I mod you up, it doesn't necessarily mean I agree with what you've said, sorry.
This link was submitted on Digg almost a year ago! That's a new definition of "oldnews", I guess.
Seriously, if this is the training that they give the salespeople then Microsoft is seriously doomed. Real sales people know thier product damn well and can talk tech talk about it as well as convince damn near any customer to buy it. This is so general in its use as a salesperson I think I'd just work there for a while till I got a new job elsewhere in the company or otherwise. Because this is the worst crap I've ever seen. Its only bulletpoints of a complicated strategy. Who do you think is the one making the decisions to switch to linux within a shop or otherwise? I'll bet you 2 to 1 odds that its someone with a lot of technical knowledge thats the primary key decision maker in this. If I were to give this as a brochure to an IT guy. I'd get one of two responses. Laughter, or sympathy and a long detailed explaination of all the little real reasons that he's choosing linux over Microsoft and hopefully a job offer as I'd be out of a job real quick with resources like this crap. Seriously, if Microsoft wants to write a training brochure of fighting against the linux takeover. They need to find someone who has very detailed experiences with both platforms and thier vulnerabilities and who can explain the differences siding with windows on paper in a detail thats easily understandable by IT guys. Not, Ma and pop shops. Its actually very sad how little Microsoft people know the products thier company sells nowdays. I'll bet 5 10 of them can't do a pivot table in excel. I'll bet it's even worse among the Mosaic Microsoft field representative idiots they hire nowdays. I remember when those guys were damn good and could easily sell me a product that fit my needs exactly and tell me how to use a new feature that wasn't in the previous version. I only kind of get that from the people who actually work on or with the product nowdays.
No this isn't a Soviet Russia joke ... reversing the stats they use is interesting.
... [favour MS for the server]" ..."
--- MS: "30% of application driven firms prefer windows for upcoming server purchases"
So, 70% of firms that just want application X to work, either don't express a preference or prefer a non-windows server! That doesn't sound like a great boast from a Worldwide monopolist to me.
--- MS: "... 46% of Linux experimenters
--- MS: "... Linux experimenters are dissatisfied with their current Linux deployments
That last one doesn't have a percentage with it, I'm assuming they mean most "Linux experimenters". That means that more than half the people dabbling with Linux are moving away from MS (most presumably to Linux), despite being dissatisfied with Linux - they must think MS servers are teh suxor!
She'd look a lot worse with a beard.
Here are my stats:
* I am a former Microserf (I was a fool to leave thinking dot bombs would pay off bigger but that is water under the bridge)
* I've played with Linux since it was first posted to Usenet, before I worked for M$. I loved having a Unix on my home PC but for day to day stuff preferred Windows
* When I worked at M$ Linux was my primary OS at home. Even so I was a Microsoft fan, because even with BSOD issues, Windows worked out of the box
* Part of the attraction to Microsoft was their viral marketing. They intentionally made earlier versions of Windows easy to copy and share to increase popularity. This was intentional.
* I began to hate Microsoft when they turned on average customers and took away ownership rights. Right of first sale DOES apply to over-the-shelf software but they have successfully rewritten the rules, for all intents and purposes
* I hate how restricted Windows has become. It used to be trivial to run an alternative desktop, all the way through WinMe it was a System.ini setting, and in NT4 and Win2K it was a registry entry. Now, to do something as trivial as change the theme, one must buy a Microsoft-approved "signed" theme, or must violate the EULA (and break the DMCA in M$'s eyes, although interoperability clause allows for it) by reverse engineering or patching the theme loader to allow unsigned themes.
My dream OS would be the Windows kernel to allow for 100% hardware support, but BSD userland tools and the KDE desktop, enhanced by Beryl.
So pray tell, Microsoft, how do you win users like me back as customers? Are you going to open up your OS, drop the DRM and actually make it as usable and extensible as Linux? Or, are you going to continue to tighten your fist, losing more and more previously-loyal customers in the process?
In summary: Fuck you Microsoft.
Or... What was your name again, Oh Yeah, Dear Bill, I'm so sorry to let you know this way that I just can't, can't... can't keep from laughing at the way you come crawling in this demeaning way.
OK, here's what you do. Declare linux users a charitable cause, pay them to use windoz and write it off your taxes.
Come on John, I mean Bill, you know that's the next step after free and only you could pull it off.
For those who don't want to read all the comments, here's the summary:
sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
Dear Microsoft, Can we take this statement "winning against linux the smart way" as an acknowledgement that fighting Linux with SCO-like cases and threatening its community with patents and intellectual property infridgements is 'not so smart way' afterall? Curious Linux community...
17. I am massively extroverted and need to tell everyone about myself
hehe, keep on trucking mr illuminated suit-thing picture on wikipedia
That's standard sales training. That's what everybody learns in basic marketing management.
A big problem with the open-source world is that it doesn't develop marketing use cases. How little need a user know to successfully run Linux on the desktop? That's not something one hears in KDE vs. Gnome discussions. Yet it's the question that matters.
a slide rule
look! it's a bird, it's a plane, it's....a girl? yes, a girl browsing Slashdot on Linux
For those too lazy to watch the presentation, here are the personas:
Linux Experimenter Characteristics: "Tester" of Linux, willing to try Microsoft, Windows is the default choice for servers.Sales pitch: don't experiment, use Windows, it's tried and true. Market Follower Characteristics: Prefer Microsoft, risk-averse, don't really like Linux.
Sales pitch: Windows is the best in the enterprise. Look beyond initial cost to maintenance and reliability. Application Driven Characteristics: Like Linux because it works and it's reliable.
Sales pitch: more productivity and lower TCO with Windows. Linux Aficionado Characteristics: Believe Linux is just better.
Sales pitch: lower TCO, more reliable, remember to avoid Microsoft vs Open Source. UNIX Transitioner Characteristics: Wants to take UNIX apps to Linux, not familiar with Windows.
Sales pitch: IIS is more secure, better TCO.
I know a few entrepreneurial internet startup types. These are the guys who are creating the new economy, right now. Building innovative new services, mostly using the web. This area is the future, everyone knows it, and I fully expect some of my friends to be multi-multi-millionaires in the years to come.
.. and that's why I don't worry about Microsoft anymore.
Now if I were to suggest to these people - any of them, in fact - that they deploy on Windows, they would roll around on the floor laughing for a few minutes, before permanently writing me off as a complete idiot.
This is Microsoft's problem. They can fool the old guard for a while longer perhaps; no-one wants to do any large scale Exchange migrations anytime soon - not anyone who's ever tried before, anyway. But the new guard, all the innovation online, doesn't belong to them and moves further away every day. All the exciting new developments on the web are OSS and without even a single exception no-one I know would consider using anything else. Even those who still program on Windows wouldn't use it server-side.
So this marketing effort might pay off a few percentage points here and there as MS squeezes Joe Company's backroom for a few more Server 2003 licenses but the really big ship has already sailed, a long time ago. Can you name even a single new online service you're excited about that uses Windows? Even one? Thought not.
So hell, let them squeeze the old guard for all they're worth. The new platform, the web and the internet itself, has slipped through MS's fingers
Let my new 7-digit UID be a lesson to all - write down your passwords.
Great opportunity for a tongue in cheek response...
... anyone in a communications class with a project assignment coming up?
I would think most of the Microsoft Personas would be in shackles of one type or another. Maybe one in a hamster wheel, pirate hat
Linux users have been profiled by market research firms for a long time now. If you want proof, check out this transcript from Frontline's "The Persuaders":
s uaders/etc/script.html/
:-)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/per
Do a text search for "linux" on that page, then back up a bit and read it in context. If you watch the show online, it's even better - and more creepy. They don't call 'em "persuaders" for nothing.
;-)
w se_thread/thread/bec275e6460080f8/ffccd9666ac67f5d ?q=kenny+linux+&lnk=ol&
:)
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/bro
Me? Proud user of Linux as my primary desktop since kernel version ~0.91 and big fan of lisp since even before then, but do not assume that seeing a picture of a boot-up sequence, even from the first-class seat is necessarily a good thing!
I started using linux to help Gates prove that Microsoft is not a monopoly.
I thought MS already knew the personas of Linux users:
1. Communists
2. People who want high TCO
3. People who are jealous of St Bill of Redmond's goodness
4. Unwashed hippies
5. IBM (see 4)
6. Un-American people.
7. Foreigners (see 6)
8. Terrorists (see 7)
9. Cancers
10. People who think they own "their" computers and other anti-capitalists
It's not so much the cost of the licenses, but the amount of time required to keep license for all the MS products up to date is just not something workable. On top of that, windows servers are pretty complicated and time consuming to administer (reboots/downtime off hours at least once a month due to lack of shared library versioning and inode support, editing registry entries, etc), so it's not like you're saving money in the long run.
Flash isn't actually supported on 64 bit Linux and is too bloated and slow too run smoothly on my laptop. (Reminds me of some other products from Microsoft.) And anyways only 1 of the profiles seem to actually be targeted towards a Linux user? Anyways as usual this is the same quality I've come to expect from Microsoft.
Heh... This doesn't surprise me. They're big on protecting their own IP and pilfering from other people's...
Where a lot of this falls down is the reliance of already-proven sketchy evidence (Get The Facts, TCO studies, etc...), and some overly simplistic anecdotal evidence ("Customers are already switching from Apache/Linux to IIS6/Windows" ; "Customers are finding that development with ASP.NET is quicker and easier" ; ...).
I looked at all the personas and found every one of them fell in the range of 25-28 servers with the exception of the Unix one at 31 servers. Looks like a limited market segment survey to me. The segmemt missing is the SOHO or Home Office where computing is dependant on applications such as Quicken and an Office product and web browser. TCO is a big deciding factor. Instead of upgrading from MS office 97 and such, we built a white box computer and put Ubuntu on it. As a bonus, for our graphics arts we use the Gimp instead of Photoshop. We don't need another copy of AV software. The software savings has paid for the hardware. To share files, we picked up a NAS using Linux. It uses an encrypted Reiser filesystem and we have put all our printers on stand alone prinservers. The NAS and Printservers are all Linux. Other than some drastic price changes, there is little MS can do to get us to be an all MS office. We can't justify the cost. One copy of MS office is expensive. 4 copies (main office, kids PC, & 2 laptops is a show stopper. Linux does the job with either ABI Word or Open Office and doesn't break the budget. It also works with newer MS office files sent to us. Office 97 doesn't display them properly if at all.
When the adoption rate reaches critical mass where I can pick up a copy of Turbo Tax for Linux and Quicken will be the day MS stock has a bad day. There isn't many markets with more price concious buyers than the SOHO market.
The truth shall set you free!
Did you see the "budget" section? I wish I fit that, but the truth is ... not so much.
OK, this is ridiculous, "Try to avoid the [M$] versus Open Source software conversation..."
Hmmm. Perhaps because they know that is b$? How do you defend proprietary software to people who probably contribute to, and most likely support Open Source and the GPL in particular? If I cared about money, I'd have a degree in Information Technology and work as a drone for some faceless corporation. No way. I'm a professional chef, with only a set of books and some support forums to help me contribute to what I believe is so far the most important evolutionary step in software development: sharing knowledge freely.
I've never charged anyone for a recipe, or forced them to pay me hourly for consultations or some useless crap like that. I get paid for actually creating something someone can use (or in this case digest), not just the idea. If someone can put a subtle twist on my idea, or even rewrite a majority of it while keeping a key element, and it becomes even better; good for them. I'm not going to demand compensation, and the only reason I can think of to do so is jealousy. Big f$%@ing deal; you're not the most intelligent creature on the planet. Deal with it, and learn from it.
M$'s only argument on industry support is to refer directly back to the page I was already on. I clicked "Meeting the Linux Challenge" on their Partner Tools for the "persona" that believes that Linux has enough support for their software, and nothing happened except apparently a bunch of advertising pop-ups blocked by Firefox. How impressive.
I'm sorry, but you're going to have to do a lot better than that to fool the more rational minority of the population.
This is hysterical. Not because it's stupid (it's not), but because of the sheer futility in trying to win over the "Linux Afcionado".
Question: "Are you aware of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing --"
Answer: "You mean Treacherous Computing, don't you? I spit on your pathetic proprietary software!"
And "Try to avoid the Microsoft versus Open Source software conversation and focus on specific workloads and IT pain points instead," by which of course they mean "give it up, you'll never convince these people; just beg to have them buy 'just one little server.' Make a frowny face when you ask."
"Rely on Get the Facts evidence --"
"Oh man, I read that bullshit on Slashdot. That TCO metric is a pile of crap --"
(salesman turns and runs out the door)
Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
ericlo@microsoft.com
Your Fortune:
The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get
much sleep.
-- Woody Allen
Generally, those who are heavy Linux users like it because the interface is fundamentally different. To cater to these people, you need something that acts like what they are comfortable with. And as the saying goes: "Those who do not understand UNIX are doomed to reinvent it. Poorly."
Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
http://www.linuxpersonas.com/uscsi_detect.html gives me ...
The page cannot be found
HTTP Error 404 - File or directory not found.
Internet Information Services (IIS)
I didn't know they already have ESP is IIS. I was trying to find out what they have to offer for people who like to compile their own kernel. Guess I got my answer without even trying.
thegodmovie.com - watch it
... they used Flash instead of ActiveX :P
I've come up with a few: the middle aged suburban women addicted to simplistic online gaming, the WoW crowd, the so-called Windows "gurus" that get jobs at the Geek Squad, and the several IT students I've met who only seem involved in the industry for cash and what I guess they perceive as intellectual prestige.
Hang in there, everyone. We'll get through to them somehow...or we'll crush them!
First incursion using Linux-Firefox results in SWF-plugin required.
Second incursion with Window-Firefox resulted in SWF-plugin required. (So? Shoot me! What good is Shockwave to ya?)
Third incursion by IE-6 (enterprise-edition) resulted in popup blocks.
Went home and tried it from my VMWare-insulated Windows XP/IE-6, viola!
After a few human-spidering, about 5 broken or missing URLs (try SharePoint Server), a couple of goodie-but-oldies (2001-2004 trade studies), bragging rights on Level-C or Class 3 OS security integrity rating, PDF files that won't open directly into Acrobat 7.0 (save then open)...
Fifteen minutes reading the droneful double-speak marketing chime-in is enough to put the browser (not to meantion, your eyelids) into ALT-F4 mode.
I've resigned to the fact that this website is not current, has excessive marketspeaks and definitely retreading old FUD.
How about getting the "new" facts (for a change?)
I do not quite understand Microsoft's strategy here, for many reasons, which I'll try to enumerate logically. I am not trying to troll. I am trying to be objective, and when I do criticize Microsoft I do so purely academically, so please do not turn this into a flame war.
Further, the main buyers and users in this segment are not average users who need to use computers for nothing more than word processing, email, and web. They are power users who are well aware of the strengths and limitations provided by the different systems. They know first hand the problems of using Microsoft server solutions.
If they really want to capture this smaller market (again, I am not sure why they would except for the pursuit of total monopoly), it seems that they need more than a new sell technique. Instead, they should develop their new programs and services to inter-operate with existing standards and systems. As they develop server solutions for power users, they'll win over the server crowd with their commitment to excellent products, not some new half-hearted add campaign, which many (such as the
I know I do not have all the answers, but I think that Microsoft is getting everything wrong here. It seems that capturing the server market has a very small return when compared to the desktop market. Additionally, the cost of "doing it right" with inter-operability-centered design of new products while maintaining backwards compatibility would greatly reduce margin (e.g. look what happened with all the grand ideas of Vista). Nevertheless, if Microsoft is determined to win this market, they need to do so with more steps of good faith and less aggressive talk about intellectual property (happy, willing customers are
Hans has not yet been convicted.
Sure, his wife is missing, but if there is no body then it's not clear that there has been a murder and even if there has been, there's no evidence to connect him to the deed.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
Ya I do appreciate all the effort put into the open sources apps I use. I even send the authors $$ when I can. So MS if you want to know why I use Linux its because its a FANTASTIC OS and its FREE!
Si vis pacem, para bellum! For evil to succeed good men need only do nothing!
The presentation is not about the users of Linux but about businesses and servers who use Linux.
And I noticed there is few bald faced lies in the presentations too. It is expected that Microsoft would mislead and lie to people.
But the point is clear. Microsoft considers Linux a threat and are actively trying to fight us.
We need a an equivalent to Mozilla's Firefox Flicks program for Linux.
\
Websters defines capitalism as
I damn well paid for my computer so I damn well own MY computer.
Capitalism is about buying things that you then OWN.
Apparently the correct term for this (according to University Challenge, broadcast 19th March BBC2) is: Rainbow Coalition.
Posts, MyBio or Sig, may contain satire, sarcasm, bolded nouns be sardonic or even witty & be Church of SD
If their idea of taking us seriously is making a Flash webpage where the "linux aficionado" is balding and wearing thick glasses, and the reasonable-looking women are labeled "open minded" and "pragmatic", no, they're not taking us seriously. (And those Bill Gates / borg images are us taking them seriously!)
Put another way: Vista is getting lousy reviews, and generally sucking. If their solution is hiring a flash developer to try to make Linux users look lame, that's thousands (millions?) of dollars they're not spending on making Windows suck less.
I invite our friends in Redmond to spend all the money they want on cheesy flash animations. In the end, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and no amount of advertising is going to change that. (I work at a BigCo which is *very* Windows-friendly, but for lots of things, Windows doesn't cut it. We've got Solaris and Linux boxes, too -- not because of politics, but because they get the job done.)
Does anybody really think this is new for Microsoft? It used to be name-calling; now it's showing unflattering stock photographs.
This is the last stage: desperation. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Modded funny? I don't get it. Perhaps it's part of the new US culture, you know, assumption of guilt until proven innocence...
Or did I miss something else?
Many, if not most, Linux systems are embedded
And what of those who use Linux, daily, in the form of Google, Amazon, et al? How does one (MS in this case) sway users away from these?
Sounds like a big job.
In other news, cigarette companies are profiling non-smokers to look for areas to expand their market share. They defined 5 distinctly different profiles of non-smokers who are targets for conversion. These coorespond exactly to the Microsoft categories.
... if he doesnt start smoking. Remember - being Gay is trendy too !!
.. and something to fidget with during the day too.
... they are incapable of rational debate .. just 'Being healthy is better, so there!!' is the best they can come up with.
1) The Naughty Child (aka. Linux Experimenter)
This prospect comes from a good god-fearing household where Mum, Dad, and his brothers and sisters all smoke regularly. As does uncle Jed who lives in the spare room. The naughty child would like to be more like some of the cool jock types at school, instead of the fat wheezing slob that he is, and has dared to do sports and things when mum isnt looking. He has futile dreams of owning (and riding) a bike for his birthday.
Sales Pitch: Fat Chance kiddo ! Know thy place and respect thy parents !! Stop thinking and do as thou art told !! Inform the parents and resort to corporal punishment if required.
---oOo---
2) The Lemming (aka. Market Follower)
This prospect is always scared of offending people. Incapable of thinking for himself, the only reason he doesnt smoke at the moment is because its become trendy to be a non-smoker, and he wants to blend in with the crowd. Well hey buddy - its trendy to be gay as well !
Sales Pitch: Blackmail works best on this one. These weirdos always have some skeletons in the closet, so dig around and find some dirt (or make some up), and threaten to expose him for the paedofile that he surely is
---oOo---
3) Addictive Personality (aka. Application Driven)
This person doesnt smoke, eats a whole lettuce every day for lunch, and goes to gym 3 times a week. What a wanker !! What this person doesnt realise is that its not the fitness thing that they are really into - its just a displacement activity to fill in their day, give them some sort of meaning to their life, and stop them from going nuts. Smoking offers a better and cheaper way out of this rut
Sales Pitch: Point out the psychology of their 'health regime', and show them how cigarettes can fill the gap in the life just as well as a gym membership - only cheaper !! Deflect and embrace.
---oOo---
4) The Know it all (aka. Linux Aficionado)
This one is a pain in the butt. They are fit and healthy, and love to show off about it in front of other people. A lot of them are ex-smokers who have totally embraced this whole healthy-living crud as some sort of revenge trip against fast food and cigarettes that may have dominated their previous life. Pointless getting into an argument with this type
Sales Pitch: Avoid direct comparisons between cigarettes and other methods of lifestyle enhancement - just stick with facts, eg FACT: Cigarettes calm you down, which is good for your stress levels FACT: Smoking kills your appetite, so you eat less, loose weight, look healthier FACT: Smoking gives you bad breath and impotence, so your chances of contracting an STD are much less, etc.
---oOo---
5) On the way to crack addiction. (aka. UNIX Transitioner)
This prospect is already a regular user of speed and party pills, and is rapidly on their way to becoming a full time crack addict. Perception that plain old cigarettes just arent wicked enough for them, so they dont even give smoking a second thought.
Sales Pitch: Restate the benefits - legal, easily available, and quite affordable in comparison. Sure, moving to crack would be a whole new lifestyle enhancement, but consider cigarettes as an excellent way to re-invent yourself as well. Point out movies where cool characters can be seen smoking. Offer them a free packet of smokes (secretly laced with cocaine and ground neurofen), and you just might have yourself a new friend !!
segment this - it isnt built by Microsoft
People who work at M$ are not inherently evil, but the management is. Dirty tricks, destroying and sewing salt in the fields of any competition real or perceived, no matter how small is what brought the Justice Department to seek and convict M$ of being an illegal monopoly in the first place.
I think it is sad, how frustrated business underlings look up to these practices with gloat and envy.
In reality the business practices of M$ hurts innovation, and has slowed or stalled the entire computer industry. History will look back on this as an anomaly.
Those that look up to the practices of M$ do so out of inner frustration of life and think that allying themselves with M$ will somehow fill some sick missing part of their lives and empower them.
Without Godwinizing this post, this tactic has been used before many times by the powerfull to control the weak, weather in business or goverment.
It is a sad thing, that our government did not break up M$ under anti trust laws and I believe it will in the long run hurt our economy.
The perverted greed of Gates and Ballmer is nothing to look up to.
Cheers
* Carthago Delenda Est *
I prefer "personae" as the plural of "persona".
I read a significant portion of those persona's, and one thing caught my attention; they don't pay any attention to the future, just the present.
They talk of faster development, application support, TCO; short-term benefits.
Faster development means nothing if you consider 80% of cost is maintenance, not development.
Application support is only a matter of retraining employees once to use the new application.
TCO is typically only the total cost while operating a system.
But they say nothing about what will happen when (not if; when) MicroSoft will abandon a product.
Those are risks; big risks with high stakes. One of the (if not "The") prime motivations behind Open Source is the simple fact that you can always fix problems yourself and will never be locked into a vendor.
I have been part of a project to convert a proprietary database full of mission-critical information from a vendor's abandoned closed-source product, I can assure you that such a scenario impact TCO a lot.
People always seem to forget what happens when things end.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
The reason I use Linux (Debian) is because once I installed it and configured it, it just gets better and better.
Updates to the software components get bugs fixed and features added as time goes on. If I uninstall a package, IT UNINSTALLS!
With my Windows PC at work, I install it easily enough but then it gets worse and worse, more ridden with bloat until I need to reinstall the entire OS and all the software I need to use. That is if I don't need to upgrade to the next version of Windows just to run some software.
That's why I choose Linux
It crashed on that flash monstrosity that showsup in a POPUP.
I can only guess this site was never meant to be read by actuall linux users but rather by just by windows sellers who offcourse run windows and LOVE flash and popups.
Anyway it crashed opera wich is something that hasn't happened in a LONG time. Good job MS. Even on Linux/Opera you can still give me a IE experience.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
o The tree-hugger : Loves Linux because it's open source. Like to have freedom to access everything he paid for. He finds the concept of "you don't own the software, you own a license that enables you to use it" ackward. ...but I think it'll be just as effective as the TCO / Get the facts
:
- MS may mention the Microsoft Shared source project, and the pacts with some government and military to share the source of select OS parts.
o University shops : Ok, the campus discount prices are a good thing, but some work need highly customisable code to hack until it fits the solution. Also, lot of clusters running in the physics, biomed and math department. Plus, CompSci needs a OS freely hackable to teach OS programming.
- MS may mention the MS-Shared source project (not interesting for CompSci they need OS source)
or Pact with governments (out of University budget) or Windows CE custom kits (out of University budget due to number of seats) or MS Windows Cluster edition (not hackable).
o The I WANT TO BE IN CHARGE Linux user : he bought, he wants to be in charge. He hates DRM and his worst dream is TCP.
- MS May mention that DRM is needed for the market place, or go for the Jobs defense (I isn't my fault, the MAFIAA made me do it). They may try to show that MS can lead a game of cat and mouse chase in terms of format compatibility.
o The "I want a standart format" OOo user : he want a well documented format, that he'll be able to open on other OpenDoc compliant softs and could store for long term without being affraid of un-supported / out dated / license-expired software.
- MS should mention that their OOXML format is soon ISO standart too and has many features that lacks in... (Shut up ! 6000 pages is a joke)
o The complete free ride : he wants to pay absolute 0$ for things that can be downloaded free. Preferably in a legal manner.
- MS should mention that the beige box hardware came at a price.
- MS should mention the cheap Starter Edition... ok we all know this one is a joke. Then MS should secretly point out that pirate edition of its software is widely available, and Genuine Advantage can be circumvented.
o Google : They mostly use Linux to avoid astronomical license cost and to have customizeability.
- MS should send Balmer to fucking kill them throwing chairs
o The I don't play games guy : The single actual good argument for Windows is gone.
- MS... is doomed.
Seriously, to respond to this Linux community should focus on the main points Microsoft will never be able to compete with
- Free/Libre Opensource software : No matter what, what you got is yours and you're free to do whatever pleases you with it. You can even share those results as long as you comply with the license. With microsoft, unless you're a government or military, or if you buy (wads of cash) $ for a customisable kit (WinCE or Win XPe) you'll never be able to hack legally the OS nor distribute the modifications.
- Every improvement of the OS technology done as a Master Thesis can be implemented for Linux (instead for some toy proof-of-concept OS) and if it proves useful, pass tests and is accepted by A. M., it can immediately be made available for all users around the world. You can't do the same stuff for microsoft products, or then you must work in the MS campus and your improvement will be sold as the next pay-for version of Windows (if it has the chance not to be scraped together with WinFS and all those cool features that were always promised and always postponed to the next version).
- No DRM : You are the one in charge of you computer.
- No per-seat price : You have on copy of Linux, you can install it on every one of the thousand computer in your shop, and let your users install it at their home, on their laptop, on their kids' computers, their neighbours', etc. With Microsoft even if you're a University with discount, you still have to pay a fee depending on the number of students, and only staff has the right to take home
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Man what's that all about wining against linux... Read that you dumb MS people! http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
Lets face it, everyone who uses linux or even thinks about using linux knows that that site is a piece of lying bullshit invented by marketing to give the windows fanboys some excuses for why there IT systems are constantly down and require costly licenses.
You don't even have to be a linux fan to know this. Any decent IT person knows that a website made by the marketing department of any company is hardly going to give you the facts. I wouldn't trust a Red Hat or IBM getthefacts site either.
Read the suggested tools for getting an affecionado to use windows. Getthefacts website. Right, yeah sure that is going to do it.
I probably fall into that category as I would deploy a windows server over my dead body and any MS sales person who comes to me with that sales pitch is going to find the interview terminated within a second of using that kinda crap.
Frankly at this point the only way I would ever consider using MS software again is if Bill Gates went on tv, admitted they had been selling crap and as penance gave away the next round of software for free with a real warranty that says MS pays for any damages that comes from using their software.
I have always had the luxury of only having to deal with unixes for my primary job but even then you invariably get asked to help out with the windows crap because the MSCE's can't handle it when the shit hits the fan. Yes I am still pissed of about code red. Why did I have to come back to the office when MY unixes were totally unaffected.
Pay me back for that and I might be willing to listen about how Windows 2003 isn't the total suckjob that everything else MS has always produced is.
I won't believe you, but it is the best offer you are going to get from me.
Linux delivers, it ain't perfect by a long shot, it requires real skill to use properly BUT the reward is there when the system just keeps running.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Perhaps they should have considered the state of gnash before they made their site flash based.
I find it hard to believe some of this data.
Linux Afficionado: Preferred OS for next server: 72% Linux, 17% Windows.
This is the category for all the people who really do use Linux because they think it's superior - if not on the Desktop, certainly on the server. They often hate Microsoft as well.
I can't believe that 17% of people who believe in Linux as the superior OS would prefer Windows on their server. (By definition).
Interestingly, the UNIX transitioner has a smaller preference for Windows than the Linux afficionado.
Choice quote from the Linux Afficionado: "I would put it on every desktop. I would ban Microsoft®."
Knowing the Linux Afficionado as I do, I don't think he'd say "®"
Follower: risk-averse, late adopters, practical, reluctant
Application: Open minded, application focused, pragmatic
Transitioner: IT veteran, loyal, pragmatist, cost concious
Aficonado: Open source software believer
Because, you know, open source software is a faith based thing that requires belief for it to exist.
There. If you make a platform that fits the application better than Linux, you can make this guy switch over.
The campaign is interesting. It comes in Ubuntu colors and basically lies about the large mass of Linux users who have lock in issues with MS. It goes on to talk gibberish about 'Show them GetTheFacts' and 'Many MS service people around' and 'cheaper support available'. The big problem is though that this sort of campaign is off by about 5-6 years. Today IT joints only win by having IT, Sales and Management working closely together. It's heavyly web oriented because opinion leaders see it as the only way to avoid MS lock-in and deployment fuss. When that needs to happen, flaws in the underlying technology pop into sight in the most mercyless way. .Net. Each as a kernel module. This campaing is nothing but a last ditch effort of the old school Guard over at MS trying to stop the inevitable.
In the two years in which to large, general concepts each have have gotten their buzzword that sticks ('Web 2.0' and 'Ajax') businesses have been seeking their own way to avoid lock-in. Opinion leaders in technology (99% OSS friendly most of the time) have been going full-throttle Web, Ajax, PDF and a little OpenOffice ever since and the Heat is closing in on MS extremely fast. Especially in the corporate market. A growing Mac OS *niX Community doesn't help the situation for MS.
As a Linux/OSS advocate I was alone in the wide prairie 4 years ago. Now I have Linux/Apache/PHP competitors popping up left, right and center all around me and the market is still growing. It's this combined with Ubuntu and a zero-fuss desktop Linux that scares the living piss out of MS.
If MS is smart their next Windows installment will have a rebranded Linux kernel and a closed Direct X 12 or something plus
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I agree with M$'$ evaluation of Linux "Personas", but I feel they are spending more effort on sales propaganda than actual product. This is why more people and companies are shifting away from M$.
What drives a successful platform are applications and cost. If you have a particular job to do, you choose the (killer) app first not the OS. M$ believes fancy graphics will sell it's new baby (abortion) but when you are running a server for example, you need speed and stability over graphical presentation. You might spend a fortune on a Ferrari because it look's pretty, but not if it had a tiny 1.3 litre engine under the hood.
Why M$ feels it must attack Linux in this way is rather telling I think, especially as Linux still only has a small percentage of the market. Going back to Balmer's "developers, developers, developers" rant, I suspect M$ is worried more programmers & developers are shifting away from the Windoze platform, especially in the "developing" nations where the cost of Windoze is a prohibitive factor.
I'm with Startrek's Scottie on this one... The right tool for the job!
http://geraldholmes.freeyellow.com/
... :)
Try *that* after the M$-flash site
I sat out the flash crap patiently (shame on me! ;) ), and noticed the "Partner Revenue Potential" goes from 18k dollars to 240k dollar. A year, I presume, since it didn't mention a time frame. The head case (a.k.a. UNIX transitioner) maxes out PRP (which is reasonable, if you assume we're talking heavy metal here). But hell, only the yearly power bill of a decent server room probably is in the neighborhood of a quater million/year. And that's disregarding what happens when the head case decides to upgrade his mainframe (quarter mil trade-in value, anyone? ;) ) to a serious cluster. Or the hardware maintenace contract of either. The list goes on.
So how do they arrive at these numbers?
It says:
"Windows is a preferred Web platform for business with leadership of self-hosted intranets and Internet sites in the U.S."
Read: If your site runs on IIS it better be self-hosted as you will need for tweaking.
Also:
"IIS 6.0 runs on 53.4% of Fortune 1000 Web servers"
Read: General market is only about 25% IIS. Those using IIS are huge corporations that think little about costs of webservers.
Anyway this site is a serious matter. Would SUN open similar service about MS Office users who can switch to Star/OpenOffice?
It's always funny seeing BSODs in public places. I remember seeing a large TV in Melbourne (Alt.TV) which had up that familiar blue screen while the sound continued to play through the speakers on lamp posts.
When flash in not running on my FreeBSD box?
Oh noez
When I go to sell my electronic wares, why would I want Clause f tied to my product?
(Clause F - If Microsoft is sued as part of litigation over your product, you are to pay for Microsoft's lawyers)
I can screw things up all by myself. I don't need Microsoft's screw-ups bankrupting me.
Having experience in the service and solution provider market place I would suggest that the reason for a relatively narrow target for the survey is that the SME market provides the greatest scope for movement and flexibility in their adoption of technologies and products. Therefore the SME market provides the greatest scope for service and solution providers and resellers.
No, you're thinking of the British legal system there.
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
Was it just me, or did they mention Linux was superior technology? Something along the lines of "The Unix Transitioner chooses Linux not because it is superior technology, but because of reduced costs." Freudian slip, maybe?
Only a matter of time before that abusive ass is behind bars.
Just because the site with micro$$$ name on it seemingly has no detail visible does not mean none is there. The site admits that it is set up to 'detect' linux if you have it. It is simple angler fish. The curious fools go for the lure and bite, and micro$$ bites back. Why did micro$$$ make the deal with Novell and Novell buy SuSE. Now they have a way in to sue other linux users. Micro$ won't ultimately win, but will cost a lot of folks a lot of money and hardship on the way.
The moment it became clear that it was a giant flash thingy that appeared to be a time-consuming guided presentation, I closed it. Maybe that was an unfair first impression, but sometimes first impressions can be important, and this was one of them.
It also characterizes me and some reasons why I use Linux - I like choice and control.
Go to the web site, and there is one choice presented, and it appears that they have taken control of the presentation. I don't like that, and it's generally one of the things I don't like about Microsoft. (Street address of "One Microsoft Way" and all the net innuendo that springs from that.) Had they given me some choice at the front panel, other than "We control the horizontal, We control the vertical" I might have spent a little more time there. Perhaps I'm biased, perhaps I'm inclined to view facts in a way that reinforces my bias, I'll grant that. But at first blush, this site certainly does nothing to contradict my biases.
Oh, another reason I use Linux is because I believe in diversity, choice and competition in the marketplace. I also used OS/2 way back when. Please tell me how there's any way that converting me to a Microsoft user in today's marketplace increases diversity, choice and competition. (Maybe in some obscure future that has become a netBSD monoculture, in spite of what Netcraft says, moving to Microsoft would constitute diversity, choice, and competition.)
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
>We'll give you the fix in "a future release".
I think you've got this wrong, shouldn't it be, "We'll SELL you the fix in "a future release"."
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
The tools here are targeted at the SMB resellers. When SOHO users start having 6 figure IT budgets then no doubt they'll be targeted in the same fashion. No doubt there are separate sales and marketing groups building similar analyses for the consumer and home office space. Or maybe not, since Linux really isn't competition on the desktop yet.
"The new wave is not value-added; it's garbage-subtracted" - Esther Dyson, Dec 1994
Hans Reiser?
First of all he was not convicted of anything yet, so it would be polite to consider him innocent until proved guilty.
Second, he develops a file system not "Linux", ReiserFS could be very well used in other OSes including Windows.
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- Prof. Dumbledore
I had a brief look at the screening tool. I use Linux on my desktop, I use it for mission-critical messaging applications in our production environment (and have been doing so for several years), I use it for the company's e-mail services. My IT team doesn't need any Linux/Unix training - we can keep things ticking over pretty nicely. I'm not interested in adding e-commerce functionality to our websites, because we already have it. I don't have any legacy Unix applications, so I'm not interested in migrating them. The screening tool thinks I'm a Linux experimenter?? I used to be, back in 1996. Now I'm using to keep a business in operation. I know the screening tool is probably aimed at a specific market segment, but it looks to be a very blunt instrument indeed. Surely Microsoft has better market analysis than this?
They didn't list my Linux profile. I just can't use Windows, its not for supervillians: http://www.ubergeek.tv/article.php?pid=54 *Flash*
Enjoy,
It's just the normal noises in here.
Of all the links posted on slashdot, since the great days of "'nuff said", this is the most worth of slashdot viewership.
Microsoft has yet to formulate a clear strategy surrounding Linux because they still don't directly offer the same level of flexibility and stability.
The ability to automate, schedule, secure, configure, and specifically control every aspect of your production system will always lead to a more open solution that grants you these controls. Microsoft still wants to put out a turn key product, which will always limit customer control of the end result.
The case for the MS v/s UNIX stack is clear. I can run a UNIX stack on real hardware that is 64bit on the CPU's (NUMA, not single bus Intel, PS... Intel get a clue, I don't care about clock speed if I can't answer requests on my NIC while I query the database on my SCSI controller).
In UNIX (of which Linux has become a suitable member) I can run and control many processes for many users. In Windows you can hide processes from the administrators. That is NOT safe in any production environment.
Windows owns the desktop where it is a cute point and click interface for managing a single user workstation... but there is heavy lifting to be done and son... you ain't strong enough yet.
Back to the GYM, get a trainer, and for Pete's sake get on a protein supplement. Then maybe you can come back and compete in the Enterprise where we deal with more than one task at a time.
GIMP, OOffice and almost all other OSS software packages work on Windows, and a beige box from HP or whoever costs about the same as building your own (saves a little time in building, takes a little longer to set up the applications) and comes with Windows and a warranty for the box rather than the components.
The only actual point you have that's genuinely in favor of Linux is that you don't need to subscribe to an anti-virus service for that box - don't you have a site license or a 10-seat bundle or something? If you have more than a couple of computers it's usually cheaper.
Now, I wouldn't be without Linux myself because I like KDE and bash better than Windows, because it's a bit more reliable, and because it's what I use at work (it supports the necessary science apps and is cheaper than Solaris). I'm just saying that if you're going to advocate Linux you need to pick better points to use as support.
Cause, the first taste is free, but M$ makes sure you're hooked for life.
OSS lets you sit down at any chair at the bar, and pick a beer that matches your taste, and the worst thing that could happen is you get drunk off the result... and maybe have a mild hangover. But at least it's all down to discipline, rather than addiction.
Or maybe not, since Linux really isn't competition on the desktop yet.
Or maybe not yet, but very soon. Ubuntu is quickly gaining big traction on the desktop. 4 things are driving it.
1 Live CD's. Answers the question ahead of time "Will it run on my hardware?"
2 Demoware and Malware on PC's. Enough said. Apps with Ubuntu are not trials.
3 High cost of the upgrade cycle. Why toss the old PC? It's cheaper to replace than to upgrade the OS, Anti-virus, Office suite, CD/DVD burning, and Photo Programs. In Ubuntu, they are included for free except the Anti-virus which usualy isn't needed.
4 Word of mouth. At work I give away copies. I have run into other users to share with things like how to install Flash 9, What is the best wireless manager, What are the best codecs to use, What to set up in WINE, etc.
People are finding out it is easy to use. Not just geeks use it. It's more stable than Windows, safer online, and the biggie, it's a free alternative to junking a working computer with obsolete software.
The truth shall set you free!
Virtualized Windows sales market.
Some of us deploy Linux everywhere possible and even run our old apps in a VM Windows. Sale is a sale is a sale.
You are not going to convert us by touting Trusted Computing.
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
It's more like:
You are attempting to bash Microsoft, Allow or Deny?
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
I knew that Microsoft was bad but this "War on Linux" is so low, completely beyond what I could have imagined, and absolutely appalling and disgusting. They should just acknowledge that Linux is better, embrace it, and change their business strategy rather than peddling an inferior product in such a low and disgusting way.
It crashed my Firefox too. So yes. Although, I wouldn't blame it on the "site". I would blame it on the Visual Studio output. Microsoft continues to only support it's own web standards instead of the W3C standards. There's "more than likely" a deviant plot there somewhere.
I say things which affects my Karma negatively. (and I don't care) For instance; All religion is false.
It's probably not a good sign when you have to spoon-feed people ways to sell your product.
supporting open open source standards for their public presentations. Having podcasts which are listed to only support Win2000, and information which is not accessible from my Linux box surely wins my heart if not my respect... Common guys, get a effen clue already.
Want to know what I care about? Well here goes...
I need open data format standards that I can write I/O programs for when they decide to abandon some product line (I have a wall full of old data, and am currently struggling to configure hardware to read the essoteric media for data archival). I need them to patch there bugs in a timely fashion (18% of all WinXP-Pro advisories are unpatched http://secunia.com/product/22/?task=statistics -- compare this to Gentoo with 1% unpatched advisories http://secunia.com/product/339/?task=statistics). A couple of important notes on these statistics are 1) there are a lot more than 179 WinXP-pro advisories only cover the OS and not all associated programs, while Gentoo's 1072 advisories cover anything associated with the platform. 2) I cannot find the "mean-time-between-fixes" statistics anymore, but the last time I saw these stats it was something like 6 months for Microsoft and 3 weeks from Gentoo. In addition, the fastest critical patch from Microsoft was a couple of months while Gentoo pumped one out in 1 day!
So, do you *really* want to know why I avoid your products like a plague?
I just registered it, if anyone wants to have some fun. ronnie A T cruzit D0t com
I say things which affects my Karma negatively. (and I don't care) For instance; All religion is false.
The PinkPanther has what he thinks is helpful advice to force M$ shit onto people:
The reason that the sales cycle is longer for some of the types is that either they are rabid OSS drones (medium-length cycle; note to sales folks - do a political end-run around the geek) or they actually have successful experience with the alternative platforms (longest cycle; note to sales folks - it is going to be a hard fight and a lot of the "sales tools" relied on for other profiles likely will fail here).
There are a couple of problems with that advice, but the root cause is that M$ is not competitive. The first important problem is that those with successful alternative platform experience learn to value their freedom and become "rabid OSS drones" like me. The second and most important problem is that pushing inferior crap onto an application driven user by a "political end-run around the geek" is the surest way to teach people to value their freedom and to loath M$ sales asshats in particular. When you sell something, it has to have real advantages. The list of M$ advantages has always been slim and is now heavily offset by digital restrictions.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
If MS is smart their next Windows installment will have a rebranded Linux kernel
The strength of Linux isn't the kernel, it's the userland. First, there have been dozens of radically different UNIX kernel architectures over the past decades and all of them have served the same purpose as Linux, some better than others. The NT kernel and the Windows Networking environment has some real strengths (and if you don't see that, you're fooling yourself and hurting your own business), and its biggest shortcomings - the relentlessly single-instance nature of the Win32 subsystem and the handful of single-instance components in the kernel - are going to be seen as less important as people rush to OS-supported virtualization.
Microsoft acquired an excellent UNIX-compatibility subsystem with Interix, and they can easily parley this into an environment that can run open-source applications seamlessly and painlessly if they need to. Currently Interix is only available for Vista Enterprise and Ultimate, and (if you have a copy) for XP and earlier, but they can turn on SUA ("Subsystem for UNIX Applications") elsewhere if they need to with the flip of an update.
The difference between NT with Interix/SFU/SUA and Linux/UNIX is pretty much academic for most people. They buy computers to run applications... the operating system is at best a nice framework for running those applications, and more often an obstacle to running them the way they want. One of these days Microsoft is going to wise up about open source software and realize that they can sell people Windows to run Apache just as easily as IIS.
Look at the figures about whether the next server is going to be Linux or Windows.
We'll discard the Linux advocates and Unix transitioners. Of course those groups are going to choose Linux over Windows. Just look at the remaining groups.
In these three groups, the only group that shows a marked preference for Windows are the most risk averse. The pragmatic adopters are overwhelmingly satisfied with Linux and are planning to use Linux for their next server by nearly a 2:1 margin. The experimenters, who are Microsoft Windows shops that simply have dipped their toe in the Linux pool, still prefer Windows for their next server. But they do so by a razor thin margin: 46:42.
While there are a lot of risk averse people out there, if the pragmatists adopt Linux as planned and continue to be satisfied with it, it leaves the door open to considerable growth for Linux and companies with Linux offerings. If this is allowed to reach the point where Linux starts looking like the wave of the future, people in the market follower category are going to consider defecting.
In some ways Microsoft's long term position is most stable with the experimenters. These are apt to be people whose technical skills with the Windows platform are the greatest. They aren't scared off by Linux, but in the end have found that they can still do more with their current tools. I'd suspect that these shops will continue to be predominantly Windows for a long time, but they'll also make room for Linux where they think they can save a buck.
In any case, we're dealing with an MS dominated future for a long time. But the openness of pragmatic adopters to Linux is a chink in the MS armor that could allow Linux and F/OSS acceptance to reach the critical mass where they start driving the price MS can charge downward. Once the direct financial effect of competition begins to drive pricing decisions, the MS monopoly is over, although possibly not MS dominance.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
So far I'm having very little success in locating the needed information becuase unlike Windows where a group policy allows me to enforce the usage of specific certificates based on purpose (Sales, Support or a default), I can't make the switch to Linux until I confirm through actual testing because it's MY company policy that no email goes out unsigned.
Microsoft has 95% or so of the PC market. That is not changing anytime soon.
A Network administrator at LSU told me the M$ share was already down to 80%. M$ only services now generate substantial outrage and resistance. It's getting easier to do without the soft all the time.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
(that, and it's not "just over 50% Linux" up in this piece... it's more like 80-90% Linux and 5% Free/OpenBSD in the server room, and 50%+ Linux desktop usage in my particular corner of the company. Interesting thing is, my last employer had similar stats in their server environments as well).
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
As a Linux user, let me see if I can speed up your research. The reason we use Linux is...
We like stuff that works.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
PGA
I want a usable yet secure OS. I don't want to pay $50 a year for a security suite that's going to hog my system's resources and require I give express permission to every program that wants to run or connect to the internet.
I also don't want my OS to restrict what I can do with my own computer. I want to be able to use my media and my hardware without being told what is appropriate. I don't want my computer's security to lock me out.
I also don't want to rely on a particular company for access to my files. If MS files are only compatible with MS Office, and Microsoft decided to charge 10x as much for the next version of office, I'm either stuck with old, unsupported software, or paying out the wazoo to access my files. Everything I use comes with an open standard. If OpenOffice were to cease existing, someone else could easily replace them and my files would still be useful. If I could use open formats with MS office to ensure MS couldn't lock me to their products - this would mean I used their product because it was the best, rather than because I have to in order to access my files.
In short, if Microsoft wants to gain my business, they'll have to do it by creating the best product and convincing me I won't be tied to them no matter what for as long as I'm doing business. Right now, they seem more interested in satisfying media distributors and hardware vendors than the people who buy their product, and they'd rather create a market that requires you to use their product, rather than creating a product that's really superior.
The copyright owner can set those license terms, and most do. The vast bulk of commercial software (*including commercial OSS) you will buy is licensed for use on one computer - are you suggesting all those vendors are monopolies ?
It does not matter, M$ loses this one by being harder to use than free software.
Copyright is a temporary, exclusive right to publish by the holder. That is a form of monopoly. You can quibble over the meaning of "publish" and wonder if that covers single user or family coppies of software, but that does not absolve the vendor.
If a vendor tries to make it difficult for you to share their program with yourself and members of your family, they have taken themselves out of the family market.
The technician's other points also stick. Everyone in my family has all the software they want and all of it runs great on six year old PCs. The same arguments only grow with the number of users to be served. The case for small and large business is even stronger.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I use a linux workstation and run VMware workstation for my jobs required information infrastructure. I also run all my windows server installations in VMware's ESX 3. Looks like a loosing sales battle to me.
At least, MS realized they can't beat linux using his tradicional wrong way...
drmad
Actually, alarm bells should be going off in your head. This cynical and inflammatory poster thinks he knows you and how to deal with you. His advice is to "do a political end-run around the geek." I imagine he means like they did in Massachusetts and thinks that was a winner.
This is why free software users must also be free software advocates. The bad guys know who you are and will not waste their time on you. They will go for you boss or institution first. Character assassination and other attacks from above won't work if you already have a good reputation as a practical person who's getting work done. Freedom itself can and should be promoted as a practical way to avoid roach traps for your data. You can't ignore them when they come gunning for you so it's better to be prepared in advance.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
This is a text book example of sales people trying to do their job. Windows is an easy sell at the local computer retailer because it's a single user operating system with good hardware support. Beyond that, how does a M$ salesperson keep a straight face when talking to the IT department in a medium sized business? M$: I'd like to offer you an easier to manage more secure infrastructure. IT: Tell me about the easier to manage part. M$: Everything is point-and-click. IT: So what if I don't want to point and click at 12am every night to run my nightly billing process. Can I script it? M$: If you purchase the Visual Studio suite, a third party job scheduler, Enterprise Windows with IIS, install on a dedicated server, they can all talk to each other, just point-and-click. IT: Uh yea. What about the security? M$: If you install a dedicated server for active directory, where you can point-and-click IT: Another server? M$: Oh yea, more secure. Each person gets their own computer, you see... IT: Can't we share a box? M$: Well you can't have multiple concurrent users per box, but it's more secure... IT: Wouldn't we have to give local admin rights to each user? M$: Only to install software, manage file type associations, little things like that. IT: Can we install software remotely? M$: Well no, we consider it more secure to be sitting at the box with a CD, you know, reboots and all. IT: Ok, well, I think you've wasted enough of my time...
If you had read the whole thread, you would have realized that Linux was not to blame. The person posting the original was ken Tilton, a well known anti-free-software troll. In the end, the problem had nothing to do with Linux or open source, but with the poorly designed proprietary system that just happened to be running on Linux.
Ask yourself: why was this posted on comp.lang.lisp?
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Don't assume it's a bad thing either. It's just a thing. That happens. When you power up a computer with Linux installed. Wheeeeee!
Who is this delectable creature with an insatiable love of the dead?
Find something common instead of 'Persona'. Half of them never got laid (those few girls included). The remaining 49.99% is married somewhat happily. The last 0.001% - that's Hans Reiser!
I hate Microsoft and everything it stands for.
I wouldn't piss in its eyes if its brain was on fire.
The day I am forced to use Microsoft products is the day I pick a rifle off the shelf and start stalking Bill Gates.
And how the f*ck are they going to start to 'sway me toward Microsoft products' ????
I didn't RTFA because it won't run on the Windows ME machine I'm using right now! (not kidding!)
Besides the fact that OSS is free and that it simply works... I am strongly drawn to OSS by the sense of community and the inherent support system. Even if ubuntuforums.org doesn't help, I have a ton of other resources where I can get input from other people just like me.
Yep, I did read the whole thread, and yep, Kenny is an interesting characted of c.l.l., often a troll, but often quite insightful (and his lisp advice is useful).
Paul B.
send serious offers to webmaster@ihatems.com
i downloaded xp pro off of thepiratebay, but i cannot find it in me to install it, so even if microsoft offered their products for free, if it isn't free software as in gpl/lgpl, i'm not interested in using it. Microsoft would have to change their licensing in order for me to run their software. I don't like the fact that microsoft thinks they own the terms on the software they sell, if I buy something, i OWN IT, PERIOD! I'll wipe my ass with it if i want reguardless of what anybody says. If the purchasor of software has this attitude and decides to share it, it's not piracy, it's sharing, because their is no meeting of minds and the eula is ecspecially not applicable if they didn't read it and just clicked ok. You cannot agree with something that you don't know what it is. It's OK, i'll install this software. Besides if you bought it and didn't agree to the termrs, no store will give you an open box refund. moving their software online like redhat does, will eliminate this problem as long as they can post the terms before they agree to buy it. The anti-piracy ppl are the worst and those that work with them because they frame the arguement as if ppl are doing something wrong to begin with, by crying piracy. Copyright law needs major reform to deal with this issue.
The "doesn't bicker over operating system preferences because they all work fine and he's too busy trying to win back free time to get drunk, party, and dance around like a chicken" archetype seems to be missing...but maybe time, experience and the loss of the techno-evangelical insecurity complex turns one into a blathering simpleton
The SOHO market, in my experience, is a mixed bag. They're risk-averse, price-conscious and time-constrained. I think that the last of these is the greater barrier to Linux adoption, since they're afraid they'll have to learn something new and it'll take time away from their small business that's already consuming every waking hour.
The availability of apps is perceived to be an issue, but I think that there's not much fact behind that belief. I have friends who have run fairly complex small businesses on GnuCash for several years without incident, so I question the indispensability of Quicken. And few small businesses have unique requirements that cannot be satisfied by either Linux apps or going to an ASP such as Salesforce.com.
Much of what I hear from small businesses is focused on the assumption that they need a particular product rather than a solution: "I've gotta have Outlook." No, you've gotta have a way to do email and calendaring that works for you and your customers. Same goes for document formats. And another barrier to Linux adoption is migration cost. They're already in a hole and it'll cost them effort (which more or less equals money) to get out.
So... yeah, they're cost-conscious, but some of those costs aren't where they're commonly believed to be. Even when they understand the relative costs, they're still willing to endure the continuing short-term pain because of the greater one-time pain of making a transition to what will often turn out to be a lower-TCO end state. To put it another way, they're in an energy well.
Based on that, improved Linux usability and improved migration tools is likely to further encourage defection from MS, since it lowers to "barrier to exit." That might matter as much as or more than the availability of specific application functionality.
Get your teeth into a small slice: the cake of liberty
Linux can't run without Windows...
While that software may very well run on both OSes, Windows comes with a license fee for the OS itself which is not insignificant. Four machines running the most basic model of a supported Windows version is between $100 and $200 per license meaning you're paying between $400 and $800 just for the OS.
On top of that, you eventually move out of support, and are forced to spend more money upgrading to the next version of Windows (in the case of Vista between $200 and $400 per license for an upgrade total of $800 to $1600). When the new version of Windows fails to support the old software (like Quicken and Turbo Tax) then you're forced to purchase the new versions of that as well.
With Linux you are not forced into an upgrade cycle (barring critical security flaws on an old kernel version that is no longer supported -- older than 2.4) and even if you are, it costs you nothing. If Intuit provided Quicken/TT for Linux then an upgrade of the kernel is rather unlikely to break Quicken, but even if it does, you can run Quicken from within a chroot jail using an older version of the kernel that still works. Again, all this is accomplished at only the cost of the software (Quicken) were it provided for Linux.
I think the GP's point still stands.
...and that's the way the cookie crumbles.
"Don't be evil."
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
I'm wondering isn't that costly and futile MS fight against Linux and OSS considered already against their shareholders best interests?
Clearly fighting against something that they really can't win and which only incurs expenses is just reckless waste of company assets.
They should have already figured out that years ago and joined the movement instead. (Porting producitvity tools to Linux etc.) I just
can't get it why they still fight instead join and make money out of it.
ac.
ps. This is not a troll, I'm longtime Linux, Unix, *BSD, networking & security pro and I've been thinking like this over 15 years now.
pps. And, I'm not new here either, been lurking since the dawn of this site. So spare me and others jackass comments, thanks.
Get this:
[taken from "Meeting the Linux Challenge - For Partners"]
Novell has released a Ximian desktop solution (with Exchange connector integration) and Open Enterprise Server (OES) supporting both Linux and NetWare platforms. In terms of current offerings, Novell's acquisition of SUSE Enterprise Server makes it the second largest commercial distribution after Red Hat. This fundamental shift to Linux may complicate long-term planning for existing NetWare customers who have concerns about the predictability and reliability of the Novell's product road map. This acquisition could confuse enterprise customers who are concerned about Novell's ability to effectively support both the Linux and NetWare platforms across all of their product offerings. Microsoft is targeting current NetWare customers for migration to Windows Server: there is a near-term opportunity to address the pains of these customers before Novell has a fully articulated and ready-for-primetime solution for them.
Microsoft has been planning to steal Novell's customers all along! The whole agreement between them was a trick. I knew there was something shady going on...
Justice is for the patient. It's much easier to just have summary judgement based on how a case 'feels'.
The Micheal Jackson case is a good one. People assumed he was guilty on all counts based on two facts: that he's creepy looking and that he's gotten in trouble for something similar before and bought his way out of it before going to trial.
Ask most people today, and were they wrong? Oh, no. Obviously his slick lawyers got him off or the jury was filled with starstruck yokels. Yes, there were reams and reams of facts to go through, and the jury got to see them while the most people outside the courtroom saw were snippets on the evening news, but it matters not, because he is GUILTY. I mean, just look at how pale he is!
It's been a long time.
What, you don't own a Mac? I'm thinking we've found the perfect people to sell your profile to, thanks!
How we know is more important than what we know.
...I'd compare Microsoft trying to compete with Linux to a case of McDonald's trying to compete with Ian Gawler. ;-)
Microsoft genuinely is the software equivalent of junk food, and as such, the only way they can compete with Linux/UNIX at all is in terms of superficial aesthetic appeal and initial user friendliness.
However, be warned, kids. Joe Sixpack will go for sizzle over steak every time, and sizzle is where Microsoft lives. However, it's also true with things like Beryl, Linux is catching up on that score as well. Eventually Linux will get to the point where every single perceived checklist item Microsoft can come up with, Linux will have a counter for. We're getting close already.
I don't necessarily mean to poke holes in your usually grandiose theories - 10 years ago, rich - but sometimes it pays to back your claims up with something other than a data point.
So assuming you're not just lying as usual, what are people supposed to do with your data point?
Let's see. I won't get into desktops because that would be a lost cause for you. But we'll do servers. At my data center (one of many around the world operated by this company) there are just over 450 servers (excluding a few midrange boxes). We'll use the 450 figure, though I'm sure there are more by now.
As of last quarter (end of 2006), 4-5 were Sun boxes of some sort. I believe that's where they run Checkpoint or some such.
Then there are a couple of BSD boxes, though I don't know which BSD specifically. I don't know what they're used for, but I've seen them in the reports. Let's say 5.
Finally, there were around 10 Linux boxes (a mix of RHEL and some "unknown" distro) in the mix. They are used primarily to run a Java app that requires Tomcat but won't run on Windows or something like that. They are actively trying to get rid of it but it'll take a year or so still.
So of those 450 servers, roughly 430 (mostly HPs and Dell DL3xx but some IBMs as well) run Windows. The bulk of them have W2003 but a few still have W2K. The remaining 20 are running something else.
I'll round down your 4.4% to 3% since you probably don't approve of Sun or BSD anyway. So my data point tells me that the "M$" share is actually 97%.
Of course, my data point is really meaningless because it does not represent overall reality, a median or an average. It's just a data point. It tells the story of a single data center of a single large company.
Yours is even less meaningful. Even ignoring that universities tend to be a lot more homogeneous than corporations, no industry data I've ever seen backs up your 80% number, not in a thousand years. No way. Not for a while, at least. Even if it did, and if we were talking desktops as well, part of that would be Mac boxes. And you hate Apple as well, don't you? So no big gain there for you.
No one with any sense of measure would ever claim that, which I guess is ultimately your main problem.
Hope that helps.
There! Doesn't that look better? I wasn't really able to read what you wrote before because of the dollar sign shitstorm, but at least now it has comedic value.
The Micheal Jackson case is a good one.
Don't forget OJ Simpson.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
True and there are a lot more than 500 computers at LSU, each one representing the independent choice of each of LSU's 33,000 plus students. I have to admit, I was surprised when the guy running LSU's networks told me that number but that was his estimate. Now why would a Windows user like him make up a number like that and why would I lie about it?
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
The Ramseys too.
It's been a long time.
Perhaps a general solution would be to improve the product. S'pose they'd pay me to let them in on that secret?
Because you lie about everything else? I mean, the question isn't "Why would a Windows user say 80%", it's "Is it worthwhile even considering you to be a reliable source", to which the answer is: No.
Find one lie I've ever told here.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Nobody mentioned Uwe. I'm sure he's highly offended at being left out.
Both links have been slashdotted, more or less. They haven't succumbed to the load, but we seem to have attracted enough attention to make them hide it better ;-)
The first link now points to:
http://www.sublimemedia.com/usCSI/index.html
Am I the only one that read sublimemedia as Subliminal Media the first time 'round?