Microsoft launches campaign to stave off Linux threat
Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 8/1/2004 6:00:00 AM
Whether fair or not, Microsoft has a reputation for devouring would-be competitors, which is why some industry observers might find it strange that Microsoft has been relatively quiet about the potential threat Linux poses to its dominant position in the operating systems market. But it would be a mistake to take Microsoft's relative silence about Linux as a sign that this software behemoth has become complacent.
In fact, since the beginning the year, Microsoft has turned up the volume on a campaign to keep Linux, the open-source operating system, from encroaching on Microsoft's turf. The centerpiece of that campaign is a Web site that encourages visitors to "Get the Facts on Windows and Linux."
A Microsoft spokesperson says the site ( www.microsoft.com/mscorp/facts/) was launched in January and is accompanied by a global ad campaign that kicked off in February. The opening page of the site offers links to analyst group studies that reportedly show how Windows beats Linux in various areas, including overall cost of ownership. Users also can download a free Windows-versus-Linux evaluation kit.
"Microsoft customers are looking for research information, analysis, and company experiences to evaluate Linux-based and Microsoft technologies," says a Microsoft spokesperson in reply to MSI's e-mailed questions concerning the site. "Through the Get the Facts campaign, Microsoft hopes to bring some of this information to companies that are making decisions [concerning] IT solutions."
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