Microsoft Applauds Victory Over Linux and Open Source
Once the traditional anti-open source poster child, Microsoft is slowly seeing this aura eroding replaced as a direct consequence of the rise of new, more pressing, rivals such as Google and Apple. Furthermore, the Redmond company, once the epitome of the proprietary software business model, while still retaining its overall strategy, is more and more embracing open source with its own solutions mainly through its new found commitment to interoperability. Microsoft's relaxed approach to what used to be regarded as a fierce potential competitor was on display at the company's Financial Analyst Meeting 2008 the past week. The Redmond giant stopped nothing short of declaring an all out victory over Linux and open source.
"In the industry-standard computing space, a number of years ago we faced the challenge of what was going to happen with Linux and the growth of open source. And fundamentally we made a decision that business customers make rational business decisions, and the reason they choose an open source product is because they can solve the problem better than they can with a Windows-based product. So when you put it in those sorts of terms, the way we compete against Linux is very simple: we build a better product and we have a great value proposition. Today our customers know Linux isn't free and the overall cost of the solution is in fact in most cases quite a bit higher than a Windows-based solution. And if we can offer a better solution at a great price, then customers choose Windows -- and they are. So we are growing strongly," stated Bob Muglia, Senior Vice President, Server and Tools Business.
But Muglia wasn't the only Microsoft top executive to indicate that Windows and the Redmond company's products now have the upper-hand compared to Linux and open source.
Also:
Ramji's Sisyphean task was evident last week in Portland at the Open Source Conference (OSCon) and will likely be fuel for chatter at next week's LinuxWorld gathering in San Francisco. (Disclosure: Computerworld's parent company IDG sponsors LinuxWorld.)
In Portland, Ramji, who runs the Open Source Software Lab for Microsoft and is the company's director of open source technology strategy, gave a 15-minute presentation highlighting Microsoft's work with open source, the company's first code submission ever to the PHP community and a $100,000 (£50,000) investment to become one of only three Platinum sponsors of the Apache Foundation (Yahoo and Google are the others).
And:
Every few years Microsoft gets a new “good cop” regarding open source.
He makes great pronouncements, donates some old code, maybe tosses a few bucks the way of open source.
Then Steve Ballmer opens his yap and we’re back to square one.
Eventually people stop listening.
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Victory? HahaHa...
yesterday:
http://microsoft.shareholder.com/redesign/EdgarDetail.asp?CIK=789019&FID=1193125-08-162768&SID=08-00
“Linux […] gained some acceptance as competitive pressures lead PC OEMs to reduce costs and new, lower price PC form factors gain adoption. […] Nearly all computer manufacturers offer server hardware for the Linux operating system and many contribute to Linux operating system development. The competitive position of Linux has also benefited from the large number of compatible applications now produced by many leading commercial software developers and non-commercial software developers. […] Our Web application platform software competes with open source software such as Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP, and we compete against Java middleware such as JBoss, Geronimo and Spring Framework. […] The embedded operating system business is highly fragmented with many competitive offerings. Key competitors include IBM, Wind River, and versions of embeddable Linux from commercial Linux vendors such as Metrowerks and MontaVista Software.”