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Microsoft Asks Open Source Not to Focus On Price

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the please-don't-hurt-us dept.

Microsoft's supposed open-source guru Sam Ramji has asked open-source vendors to focus on "value" instead of "cost" with respect to competition with Microsoft products. This is especially funny given the Redmond giant's recent "Apple Tax" message. "While I'm sure Ramji meant well, I'm equally certain that Microsoft would like nothing more than to not be reminded of how expensive its products can be compared with open-source solutions. After all, Microsoft was the company that turned the software industry on its head by introducing lower-cost solutions years ago to undermine the Unix businesses of IBM and Hewlett-Packard, and the database businesses of Oracle and IBM."

21 of 461 comments (clear)

  1. Focus on quality? by revjtanton · · Score: 5, Funny

    So he's asking people to get a recent Ubuntu build instead of Vista?

    1. Re:Focus on quality? by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Funny

      The reality is that every operating system I've ever used can be a pain, and damned near every software package I've used has problems. I'm having consistent problems with one user using Office 2003, where I have to go in every few weeks and toast his Office registry keys. Nobody else has the problem. I've wanted to just kill his roaming profile, but he has panic attacks about that, so, dutifully every few weeks, I go into regedit and burn out that chunk of the registry. Another user seems to have problems with our login scripts, the printer mappings work fine, but the drive mappings never work. Again, I expect it's likely something in her profile, but considering how massive even the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive is, I'll probably just wipe out her profile.

      And there's the difference. A lot of the time, the "solution" in Windows is start from scratch, whether it's a profile or the whole damned operating system. Only those guys who hire themselves out as "anti-virus/spyware cleaners" or whatever actually bugger around for three hours with various shitty packages weeding out the evil. For guys like me, we have slipstreamed installs and hard drive images, and just go "Fuck it" and reinstall Windows, because it just isn't worth the time and frustration to actually properly diagnose things.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  2. it is pretty funny by Presto+Vivace · · Score: 5, Funny

    and indicative of Microsoft's sense of entitlement.

    1. Re:it is pretty funny by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 5, Funny

      ah, seriously, /. must learn to separate one of MS employers opinion from the company's opinion.
      Now, I could say that the Linux community wants more don.net integration just because Icaza, one of the most active contributors to the Linuzz community advocates this on his blog.

      Of course if you want just another inflamatory article on /., just go on...

      Stop ruining our Microsoft bashing with sensible comments.

      --
      Only to idiots, are orders laws.
      -- Henning von Tresckow
    2. Re:it is pretty funny by linhares · · Score: 2, Funny

      Dear sir, I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter

    3. Re:it is pretty funny by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 2, Funny

      Are you angling for BadAnalogyGuy's job?

      What I do isn't a job.

      It's an adventure.

  3. Synergies and Value Add Branding... by bodland · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...are more important. As is leveraging a new paradigm

  4. Re:They will listen! by DragonWriter · · Score: 2, Funny

    Why does Microsoft think they can tell other people how to market their products?

    Not just "other people", generally, but specifically telling competitors how they should market products against Microsoft's.

  5. I can see the ads! by lordofthechia · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is Lauren. She told us she wanted a stable OS with an Office Suite and some photo editing software for $0. We told her, you find it, you keep it.

    --
    Georgia Tech, the leader in Chia(tm) technology.
    1. Re:I can see the ads! by PhxBlue · · Score: 2, Funny

      This is Lauren. She told us she wanted a stable OS with an Office Suite and some photo editing software for $0. We told her, you find it, you keep it.

      Wait, is this an ad for open source software or for The Pirate Bay?

      --
      !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
    2. Re:I can see the ads! by Tokerat · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's the thing about Windows that really shines through in the ads - "Lauren" is the Windows version of "hot". You could do better, but you just don't feel like putting in the effort.

      --
      CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
  6. Dialog by marco.antonio.costa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft: Please compete with us on our terms??!?! Pretty please?!

    Open-source: No.

    --
    Send your spendthrift head of state this
  7. Re:The purchase price is NOT the "cost"... by D+Ninja · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember when Windows was laughable.

    Well, yeah. I can remember back to yesterday, too. No big feat there...

  8. Re:Funny but true.... by cthulu_mt · · Score: 5, Funny

    but as value is roughly modeled as utility/cost

    If the Open Source solution costs $0.00 doesn't that lead to an undefined value in your equation?

    Managment is stupid but even they won't fall for non-real numbers.

    --
    Virginia is for lovers. EVE is for griefers.
  9. Re:Funny but true.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    but as value is roughly modeled as utility/cost

    If the Open Source solution costs $0.00 doesn't that lead to an undefined value in your equation?

    I get it! Microsoft wants open source to fall in the "divide by zero" trap! ;)

  10. Useful support by doodlebumm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Support for your employees?? Might as well buy bras for your female employees and cups for your male employees as spend money on Microsoft support. They'll get much better support that way. You even get better information about FOS when you google than you do about MSOffice.

  11. Please Don't Focus on Price by Greyfox · · Score: 3, Funny
    We can't compete on that.

    Please don't focus on quality or security either.

    Please focus on... customer support! We heard Linux didn't have any of that. We tried logging on to #linux this one time but someone told us to RTFM and banned us from the channel.

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  12. Re:Funny but true.... by sdpuppy · · Score: 2, Funny

    I trust the Internet before I trust a support contract.

    You must have a lot of products from the company formerly known as BEA.

    Nah - if that was the case, he'd be currently consulting his oracle.

    Oh wait...

  13. Re:Funny but true.... by zonky · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you buy a Symnantec product, you need Therapy, not support.

  14. Re:Funny but true.... by xmundt · · Score: 2, Funny

    Your employees need support to use a word processor and spreadsheet? I think your money would be better spent hiring competent people over support contracts.

    There...fixed that for you.
            Unless you DID mean component...in which case I would suggest you buy better quality components.
            regards
            dave Mundt

    --
    YAB - http://blog.beemandave.com/
  15. Re:Funny but true.... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've always had better luck hiring component people.

    --
    Please do not read this sig. Thank you.