Reasons to Avoid Microsoft

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Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt

• The Hidden Cost of Using Microsoft Software (Slashdot.org, 2009.06.30)
  Detractors of free software like to point out it's not really 'free,' and claim that its Total Cost of Ownership is often comparable with closed-source solutions... [yet] they never include a very real extra that users of Microsoft's products frequently have to pay: the cost of cleaning up malware infections. For example, the UK city of Manchester has just paid out nearly $2.5 million to clean up the Conficker worm...
  

• The Anti-ODF Whisper Campaign (Slashdot.org, 2009.06.10)
  Groklaw is examining the possibility of an anti-ODF [OpenDocument Format] whisper campaign and the effects it has had on the ODF and OOXML [Microsoft's Office Open XML] Wikipedia articles. In the ODF article, Alex Brown [convenor of the OOXML BRM] bends the truth to make it seem like no one is supporting ODF, and that it is a flawed and incomplete standard.
  

  
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• Linux Allies Rebut Microsoft 'Get the Facts' Campaign (eWeek, 2006.02.13)
  [A] 17-page research report entitled "Get the Truth on Linux Management" [has been published] that challenges Redmond's claims that Linux has a higher TCO (total cost of ownership) and systems management costs than Windows. The study's overall conclusion is that Linux may, in many cases, be substantially less expensive to own than Windows
  

• Novell hits back at Ballmer's anti-Linux memo (Computer Business Review, 2004.11.03)
  Ballmer's memo was sent to Microsoft customers and partners last week, and criticized Linux's record on security, total cost of ownership and indemnification, among other things. Ballmer referenced a number of analyst reports that have long been the weapons in its Get The Facts campaign against Linux. Now Waltham, Massachusetts-based Novell has accused Ballmer of being selective with the truth.
  

• Windows v Linux security: the real facts (The Register, 2004.10.22)
  Myth: Open Source Software is inherently dangerous because its source code is widely available, whereas Windows 'blueprints' are carefully guarded by Microsoft. Fact: This 'inherent danger' clearly has not manifested itself in terms of actual attacks. Windows-specific viruses, Trojans, worms and malicious programs exist in huge numbers... the claim itself hinges on the view - rejected by reputable security professionals - that obscurity aids security. ... we find that vulnerability metrics used by the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) return 250 results for Microsoft, with 39 having a severity rating of 40 or greater, and 46 for Red Hat, with only three scoring over 40. So simply making claims based on that one metric (as Steve Ballmer did, again, earlier this week) is like judging a hospital's effectiveness in dealing with emergency cardiac care from its average speed in dealing with all patients.
  

• Microsoft slammed over misleading Windows Linux claims (The Inquirer, 2004.08.25)
  An advert [Microsoft] ran compared the two operating systems to each other, but Windows was running on a measly dual 900MHz Xeon configuration, while Linux was running on a z900 IBM mainframe. ... The ad claimed: "Linux was found to be over 10 times more expensive than Windows Servers".
  

• Analyst: Security Woes Add to Windows Cost (Internetnews.com, 2004.05.10)
  Prominent security analyst John Pescatore has put a new twist on the Windows cost of ownership debate with a call for enterprises to add the expense of managed intrusion prevention software to the price of Microsoft's operating systems. ... 'Attackers will continue to develop worms that will cause damage equal to, or more severe than, the system shutdowns and network congestion caused by the Slammer worm. Enterprises that are dependent on Windows systems must invest both in means to patch more quickly and in host-based intrusion prevention software for all Windows PCs and servers.'
  

• AtStake CTO loses job after Microsoft report (Forbes, 2003.09.25)
  The chief technology officer of computer security firm AtStake... has been fired after taking part in writing a report criticizing Windows as posing a national cybersecurity risk... Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer of network security services firm Counterpane Internet Security and a co-author of the report, said the situation illustrates the power Microsoft has to silence critics.
  

• The quiet war over open-source (Detroit News, 2003.08.22)
  [Microsoft] is lobbying furiously in state, national and international capitals against laws that would promote the consideration or use of open-source software. [T]he World Intellectual Property Organization [(WIPO)] ... was intrigued by the growth of the open-source movement and welcomed the idea of a meeting devoted to open-source's place in the intellectual-property landscape. ... In short order, lobbyists from Microsoft-funded trade groups were pushing officials at the State Department and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to squelch the meeting.
  

• Windows costs less than Linux. A bit. Sometimes - MS study (The Register, 2002.12.03)
  Windows 2000 servers are cheaper to run than Linux ones, sometimes, says an IDC study which was by strange coincidence sponsored by Microsoft. ... The differences in cost IDC identifies are relatively small, and vary depending on the tasks involved. For example, supporting 100 users on a networking server would cost $13,263 for Linux, and $11,787 for Windows; obviously, the 'difference' here could easily be wiped out by a Windows server upgrade, or by the network in question being run by a company with a background in the Unix, rather than the Windows, space.
  

• Trust us, Microsoft asks in secure computing push (Yahoo! News, 2002.11.20)
  A global powerhouse famous for steamrolling competitors is now asking us to trust it as a crucial government partner in information security.
  

• Memorandum Submitted by Members of the Free Software Users' Group, Kochi [India] (Memorandum, 2002.11.16)
  We... have recently come across what the government calls the IT@SCHOOL project. ... we submit that implementation of the scheme as it is would harm the long term interests of our State, the general public and the Country. There would be very serious violation of our citizens' basic legal and constitutional rights. ... We find the manner in which the software to be used at the schools is chosen, and manner in which it is chosen, to be disturbing. The syllabus has prescribed software by brand. It is regrettable that the government has not framed or adopted any guidelines or standards to be followed for choosing the software. ... Providing schools or other educational institutions software at little or no cost, while the same software is sold at very high prices in the open market is a marketing trick. The corporation resorts to such tactics in order to reap benefits of having a pool of people who are familiar with their software packages... The corporation whose brands and products are prescribed does not publish standards used in their software. Even in respect of standards recognized by the entire industry, this particular corporation is known to create its own variations outside the scope of such universal standards. Such extensions to the standards are not published by this corporation and information/files/programs using such extensions cannot be accessed except with applications or programs available exclusively from that particular corporation. ... This situation is known as 'vendor lock-in' or 'vendor dependence'. This is contrary to public interest and harmful to the society in the long run.
  

• Ad fiasco: we will act, says Ballmer (The Age, 2002.Oct.17)
  Microsoft may consider sanctions against a public relations consultant who tried to pass herself off as someone who had switched from the Apple Mac to Windows XP in a high-profile US advertising campaign... The software company was forced to pull the advertising, which mimics rival Apple's Switch campaign from Windows XP to the Mac, after [ireegularities were noticed] in the case study of an anonymous woman that was presented on the Microsoft Web site. The indiscretion strikes to the heart of Microsoft's attempts to turn around its unscrupulous image, while it tries to build support for its technical initiative chief software architect and founder Bill Gates dubbed last year, 'Trustworthy Computing.'
  

• Microsoft's Ballmer Sees Free Software as Enemy No. 1 (Bloomberg.com, 2002.Oct.17)
  Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is telling his employees to focus on the threat that Linux and other free programs available on the Internet pose to sales at the world's largest software maker. ... 'The advantage of open source is pretty hard to match,' said Ram Mohan, chief technology officer at Afilias Ltd.
  

• Microsoft embarrassed by satisfied customer who never was (Canada.com, 2002.Oct.14)
  Red-faced executives at Microsoft Corp. on Monday pulled a breezy advertisement purported to be by a free-lance writer who switched to using Windows software from the rival Macintosh, amid questions about whether the woman actually exists. An employee at a public-relations company hired by Microsoft ... later acknowledged she was Microsoft's mysterious convert. The Associated Press tracked Mallinson by examining personal data hidden within documents Microsoft published with its controversial ad. ... Trouble erupted after [someone] noticed a photograph showing the woman with a cup of coffee was a stock image available for purchase elsewhere on the Internet. ... Documents accompanying the ad, which encouraged other Windows users to tell Microsoft about their experiences, included hidden references to Mallinson's name, public relations firm, Wes Rataushk & Associates Inc., and personal Web site.
  

• Organisation for Internet Safety launched (vnunet.com, 2002.Sep.27)
  A Microsoft-backed security organisation set up almost a year ago has finally had its formal launch. ...when it was first suggested last autumn, the OIS was criticised by members of the security industry who suggested that a limited disclosure standard could be used as a stick with which to beat other researchers into line.
  

• Ballmer: United, we'll stomp on Linux (CNet, 2002.Sep.24)
  'Linux is a serious competitor,' said Ballmer. 'We have to compete with free software on value ... so we need to justify our posture and pricing. Linux isn't going to go away...' 'Linux is not about free software, it is about community...'
  

• Group campaigns against open source (CNet, 2002.Aug.13)
  Microsoft and other software companies are ramping up a lobbying effort that aims to convince governments to think again about adopting open-source software. ... The initiative takes aim squarely at what has become one of the major themes in the software business this year: government use of open-source software...
  

• Ballmer 'fesses up to Linux/Windows cost FUD (The Register, 2002.Jul.16)
  Windows is a lot more expensive to run than Linux, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has finally confessed. ... an old page on the MS Web site claiming that the lower costs of Linux are 'a myth' has been removed.
  

• Ballmer: Linux Changed Our Game (VARBusiness, 2002.Jul.15)
  Since the arrival of Linux, Microsoft has been forced to abandon its traditional value proposition of being the lower-cost solution...
  

• Open source invites terrorism - study (The Register, 2002.Jun.06)
  A Washington think tank ... is preparing to release a 'study' warning that the widespread use of open source software will allow international terrorists to have their way with us. We imagine the argument will have to go something like this: Microsoft software is safer because the company carefully conceals its security flaws ... We say that because we know they can't possibly try to argue that MS offers inherently more secure products. Although they might; ... the Institution takes money from [Microsoft]. This could explain why [they] would, with a straight face, recommend the MCSE as a qualification for adult participation in a democratic economy superior to a university degree.
  

• Study: Open source poses security risks (ZDNet News, 2002.May.31)
  The ADTI white paper, to be released next week, will take the opposite line, outlining 'how open source might facilitate efforts to disrupt or sabotage electronic commerce, air traffic control or even sensitive surveillance systems,' the institute said.
  

• Anti-Unix Web site back online (CNet, 2002.Apr.04)
  Although it's less than a week old, the site has received a great deal of attention, but probably not the kind that Microsoft and Unisys wanted. Early this week, it was discovered that the anti-Unix site ran on Web servers powered by FreeBSD, an open-source version of Unix ... The companies shifted the site over to Windows 2000 and Microsoft Internet Information Server on Tuesday, the same day the site went blank.
  

• Microsoft's anti-Unix campaign backfires (The Register, 2002.Apr.03)
  A $30 million advertising campaign ... has turned into a public relations nightmare for [Microsoft and Unisys]. ... Embarrassed by the revelation that the promotional website was actually running [Unix] ..., sysadmins hurriedly switched the system over to a Windows/IIS combination. ... The campaign didn't name the evil from which users should flee [but hinted at Sun Microsystems] ... but the alternative on offer was to jump through a window, which literate readers will know as defenestration, a popular way of inviting kings to commit suicide in 17th century Europe. The 'jump to your death' route seems to be the path followed by the advertisers themselves, as the promotional website itself has performed some form of ritual suicide in its migration to Windows.
  

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