GLOBES Online: “Certainly We’re Paranoid”

“Scope is a little worked up. In the end, and with all due
respect to Linux operating systems, there is still no suitable
alternative to Microsoft’s operating system. Nonetheless, Microsoft
launched an ad campaign to provide comparative data about
performance and costs for Windows and Linux. The first ads have
already appeared in Israel. The cost of the campaign in Israel is
$150,000.

“‘Products that don’t need support are not easy to grasp,
because customers look at the buying price, but not at the owner’s
cost for working on and maintaining the software. Linux’s software
is presented as if it is given for free, whereas our software
carries a cost. That’s why we launched the ad campaign to educate
people that it’s not only the cost of software that is high, so is
the cost of installing and maintaining it. It’s important to
realize that Linux is neither free nor cheap. Their attack on us
was the motivation behind our educational effort…'”

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