[ Thanks to LinuxNews.com Editor for this
link. ]
“Microsoft has managed to create a quagmire of uncertainty
among some potential Linux users by conveniently recognizing Linux
as a technological threat to Windows 9x and NT during the Antitrust
Trial, then denouncing Linux as ‘hype’ on a Microsoft web
site. Obviously, Microsoft was willing to portray Linux as
competition to the court, but not to the buying public.”
“One the one hand, in its ‘Proposed Findings’ submitted to the
anti-trust court, Microsoft all but endorsed Linux. The section on
the findings on competitive operating systems glittered with
references to Linux’s viability and acceptance. While anti-trust
prosecutors no doubt anticipated that sort of tactic from
Microsoft, such detailed recognition of Linux coming from Microsoft
was stunning. Of course, Microsoft’s Proposed Findings were not the
findings of the court, and shortly after the trial, Microsoft
accordingly changed its public position about Linux.”
“While Microsoft may have previously characterized Linux as ‘pie
in the sky,’ the company felt sufficiently threatened to show a
short film ridiculing Linux at its July meeting with stock market
analysts. Most people would consider that good old-fashioned FUD
(Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt), a tactic frequently employed by
Microsoft. After the meeting, however, Microsoft executives
reportedly emphasized the real point: They had ridiculed Linux
because they were afraid of it.”