From ESR’s introduction…
“The document reproduced below was presented at a Microsoft
internal Linux Strategic Review held at the Microsoft offices in
Berlin during Sept. 2002. I received it on 5 November 2002…“Here’s a summary of the tactical advice for open-source
advocates that I think we can glean from this memo:
- “The messages and tactics the open-source community has
developed over the last five years are working well. Our memes
about security, TCO, and competitive impact have achieved deep
penetration in Microsoft’s survey population. Abstract arguments
about intellectual property rights, on the other hand, have served
Microsoft just as poorly as they have served us.- “Microsoft’s FUD attacks on open source have not only
failed, they have backfired strongly enough to show up in
Microsoft’s own market research as a problem. This means we
don’t need to put a lot of energy into anti-FUD defending the
open-source way of doing things. Indications are we’ve won that
battle; effort should now go elsewhere…”