Microsoft coaches retailers to steer customers away from Linux.
Share This September 10th, 2009 James
Microsoft has been distributing literature to American retailers with the intention of training staff to steer customers away from a Linux based operating system towards Windows. Among other negative comments, the literature claims that “Linux works with few peripherals or online services.”
Microsoft has also begun to include a ‘Linux vs. Windows 7’ module with its Microsoft ExpertZone training that Best Buy employees undertake.
In light of recent announcements from the software giant that Linux is an official competitor to the Windows client, and with the launch of Windows 7 around the corner, it’s not surprising that the Microsoft marketing division has come out with their gloves off.
However, these types of below-the-belt tactics cast Microsoft in a bad light. To resort to such methods to market its software, especially considering that many of the claims made are untrue, smacks of desperation. Contrary to Microsoft rhetoric, Linux based systems support a full range of devices, with new device support constantly being added, and to suggest that Linux offers no mainstream video chat capabilities would also suggest that Microsoft has never heard of Skype.
Linux has a full range of support, from established players such as Red Hat and Canonical, developers of Ubuntu, and Microsoft themselves acknowledge that traditional industry partners such as Hewlett-Packard and Intel have begun offering support for Linux.
Microsoft has acknowledged in a filing made to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that Linux “has gained some acceptance, especially in emerging markets, as competitive pressures lead OEMs to reduce costs and new, lower-price PC form-factors gain adoption.”
Essentially this means that Microsoft has noticed the impact that Linux based operating systems are having in the emerging Netbook market. Perhaps this is one reason why Microsoft has decided to rattle its sabre at the Linux camp.
Whilst Windows XP still dominates the netbook OS market, Windows 7 Starter Edition is Microsoft’s new entry level offering. There is speculation abound across the internet that the stripped down OS rather cripples the capability of any netbook, and frustrated users will find themselves upgrading to Windows 7 Home Premium in order to obtain the functionality they expect of their device.
Most of the competing offerings in the netbook OS arena are Linux based. Ubuntu Netbook Remix is free and available. Google Chrome OS should be available by the second half of 2010, and it’s free. Google’s Android source code is now freely available and it’s only a matter of time before netbook versions begin to appear. Jolicloud is also on the horizon, and yes, it’s free.
What one has to ask themselves is why they would bother paying extra for a netbook with a Windows license. There are numerous free alternatives available to those who are a little more adventurous, and all are as equally functional as any Windows OS. Bear all this in mind when it comes time to purchase your latest netbook gadget.
If you want to have a look at the kind of marketing literature Microsoft has been distributing, surf on over to here and there.
Entry Filed under: General
16 Comments Add your own
1. Andrew | September 10th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Chrome OS (from Google) and Moblin (from Intel) are going to be major competitors to Windows 7 on netbooks. Moblin is not only free but is a far better experience than the crippled Windows 7 Starter Edition.
Consumers are not falling for the “you get what you pay for” marketing drive anymore. Instead of getting smarter Microsoft are getting more aggressive which is doing more damage to their already tarnished image.
2. Ben | September 10th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Not entirely sure about the point of your post (and I agree with you that when purchasing one should consider the whole range of operating systems), but Microsoft is by no means using “below the belt” tactics if all they’re doing is what you describe. That’s just business and standard marketing. If linux and it’s proponents want to gain more traction they should consider that they’ll have to do the same…
3. Andrew | September 10th, 2009 at 11:16 am
4. acon | September 10th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I agree with Andrew, it seems to me that these tactics warrant an investigation by the US Anti-trust Authority!
5. alinuxguru | September 10th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
“blatant dishonesty”?
Call it a difference of opinion or perspective. However, none of the MS statements are patently false.
6. linuxguru | September 10th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Microsoft is telling straight out lies. One of them being Windows 7 is more secure then Linux. If that isn’t an all out lie then I don’t know what is. Another lie is that Windows 7(aka, major update to Vista) is easier to use then Linux. Has anyone installed Ubuntu, Fedora, or openSUSE lately, way easier to install then any Windows install.
It comes down to there market share is going down, and they are losing money. Microsoft still to this day think if you use a PC, you should pay them for it.
7. rando | September 10th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Yeah, I’d have to say the average linux distro has MORE native hardware support than Windows Vista/7. Windows Vista/7 stands to have a lot of problems in offices where legacy hardware is common, while Linux is proven in many of these areas. It comes down to the fact that if the device producer doesn’t make a driver for the latest Windows, odds are no one else will. In the Open Source Community, that’s not the case.
8. gccradioscience | September 10th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Well I have alot of truthful things about Microsoft vs Linux. 1. Is that wnen I tried to install my so called Hi Definition audio driver updates when the Acer netbook rebooted all I got was a windows root system32 hal.dll is missing please reinstall the copy of this file. I could not recover it, I did not have a recovery CD or partition included in my netbook That’s when I said that’s it. I am installing one of my Linux CD’s. After installation I got online quicker than I did with playing the DOS error. I lost Windows cause of stupid Realteks and MS’s crap! Watch out and be prepared for Windows BSOD on Windows 7. I can see it in the future. hal.dll is one of them!
9. Harry Fulkerson | September 11th, 2009 at 6:19 am
Redmond will resort to any trickery, and lies they can to keep Linux down, but nothing can stop it. They are shooting themselves in the foot by repeating all the falsehoods. Linux supports more hardware, installs easier and faster, is easier to use, and comes with more software ready to run. No need for antivirus, adware remover, malware remover, and no registry to keep clean. Plus it won’t slow to a crawl after 6 months. Windows can’t compete on a level field so they have to resort to all these lies and untruths.
10. Kyle | September 11th, 2009 at 9:50 am
This is just too funny. It smells of politics (traditional type where nations vote for their next idiot to lead them).
On the one hand, and in public, M$ “reaches out” to the open source community. Anyone who was seeing this for what it really was, and saying so, were branded at disingenious and causing division.
On the other hand, and in private, M$ cuts the proverbial throat of the open source community, specifically Linux.
Were the naysayers really causing division? No, they obviously know that M$ basic character is to take anyone they can for a ride and use gestapo tactics to try and squash any opposition.
Now, M$ have lost all credibility with the open source community and anything M$ tries now will be viewed with extreme suspicion.
11. ltosar | September 11th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Harry you are 100% right, M$ windows is the biggest garbage in the planet earth and that’s not counting the rest of the planets, Well thanks to MS Windows I can pay my mortgage and expenses every month and that is by going out all day long to different customers and remove viruses and spy-wares, Nice,!!! What a good operating system, Thank you M$.
12. Comrade Linux Malema | September 12th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Dear Comrades,
We the peepool demand a free softwares and operating systems for all previously disadvantaged by crappy microsuck flawed gimmickery. We the peepool must stand togetha and demand an end to this in-just-ice and a begining of a free affordabool software for all those who’d just copy the damn windows os anyway. Viva ubuntu viva!
13. Joseph | September 12th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Well Microsoft can attempt to claim their lack of device support by device manufactures own product inserts. For example many Wifi cards are supported under Linux but not according to the box and if you call their support they will tell you that it’s not supported. Where this is partly true is out of the box. For example if you buy a card the software that comes packaged does not provide a linux driver, but the chipset of the device is supported (for example Linksys cards with an Ralink chipset) so some amount of work will have to be done to configure it but it’s still supported just not out of the box.
But on the other hand things like MP3 players work just by plugging them in. So yes Microsofts claims are outright lies with a shred of truth that they’re counting on the non-informed public to know.
More disturbing in all of this is that major retailers are having training programs that come directly from a company such as MS. Retailers should be designing their own training programs that are not central to one company as the retailers business should be centered around overall profits, not just to that of one company.
14. motie38 | September 16th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Many peripheral manufacturers are missing the boat by not including the (most times) already available Linux device drivers and some installation instructions for popular distributions on their CDs. It’s not like the CD’s don’t have enough room. Then they could include a “Works with Linux” penguin on the box. In the release notes they could include a “your mileage may vary” type disclaimer, and list some forums where to get help. And for those devices not yet supported, manufacturers should take up the kernel developers’ offer to write device drivers for them. It could only increase sales of their products. I know some manufacturers are reluctant to open up the source to their device drivers because of fear they would give away trade secrets of how their device works, but if they have properly protected their hardware(not software) with patents, they shouldn’t have to worry.
15. robert3353 | September 21st, 2009 at 5:36 am
The only reason that Windows XP still dominates the netbook sales in the US is that there is not one retailer that I have looked at, including all the on line ones that carry anything but Windows OS. The reason for this is that the vast majority of netbook makers do not offer anything but Windows pre installed except for Dell (where they hide this option very well on their website and most of their sales agents are ignorant of the possibility of getting one with Ubuntu pre installed) and HP. I do give HP credit sort of, they offer their own flavor of Linux pre installed on their best netbook hardware. The ones that you can expand the memory to 2GB. All the Windows XP machines only support 1GB. The reason I say I sort of give them credit is for some strange reason they have crippled their version of Linux, no command line and I doubt that there is any sort of package manager available either, also to get one of their Linux netbooks you have to order it off of their websites as none of the traditional retailers and none of the online retailers who sell HP netbooks have anything but Windows XP versions.
Until this situation changes, and I am not holding my breath, then Linux netbook sales in the US will always lag far behind those with the crap ware called Windowzzzz. The only thing that will eventually change attitudes about Linux here in the US is when Linux takes over the computing landscape in the rest of the world. We US users of Linux should begin to demand that Open source OS’s and software be used by government in the US both national, state, and local government. To me for government to continue to use closed source proprietary software is a miss use of tax payer money.
16. Roger | September 21st, 2009 at 9:39 pm
I have tried Microsoft Office for many years I also have tried Microsoft Office Word 2003 also for many years. But now I have downloaded OpenOffice.org 3 and I can tell you that this software product is better then Microsoft Office Word 2003. This is by far the best software program for me Sun Microsystems created a far out program and it excellent and cool. I love it and I use it ainstead of Microsoft office Word 2003 I also use the language JAVA by Sun Microsystems. No one beats Sun Microsystems in software. they are the best. I also use Microsoft’s Bing which is better then Google. Even Yahoo is better then Google.
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