LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Geoffrey D. Bennett <g@netcraft.com.au>
  To  : linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au
  Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 03:55:02 +1030 (CST)

Another interesting paper from MS

Another good read from Microsoft...

http://www.opensource.org/halloween2.html

-----
{ Halloween II -- 1.1}

Linux OS Competitive Analysis

{ This memorandum was clearly written as the followup to the one on
Open Source which I have previously annotated as the `Halloween
Document' (now Halloween I; you should browse it first). Halloween II
was leaked to me by a former Microsoft employee 3 Nov 1998, three days
after I published Halloween I, apparently as a direct result of the
national press coverage that received.

It tells us much less about Microsoft's intentions and strategy than
Halloween I. On the other hand, it is more directly useful to
operating-system customers trying to evaluate Microsoft's credibility
vis-a-vis that of Linux vendors.

In this context, the author's extremely positive evaluation of Linux's
market share, performance, reliability, and viability in the server
role is very interesting -- and completely the opposite of Microsoft's
dismissive public statements to date.

Actually, readers would do well to bear in mind that many of the
positive statements in here are short of the truth; they reflect not
so much reality as the limits of what a Microsoft employee can admit
to, even internally.

Key Quotes:

Here are some notable quotes from the document, with hotlinks to where
they are embedded. It's helpful to know that ``OSS'' is the author's
abbreviation for ``Open Source Software''.

  * Linux represents a best-of-breed UNIX, that is trusted in
  mission critical applications, and - due to it's open source code -
  has a long term credibility which exceeds many other competitive OS's.

  * Most of the primary apps that people require when they move to
  Linux are already available for free. This includes web servers, POP
  clients, mail servers, text editors, etc

  * An advanced Win32 GUI user would have a short learning cycle to
  become productive [under Linux].

  * I previously had IE4/NT4 on the same box and by comparison the
  combination of Linux / Navigator ran at least 30-40% faster when
  rendering simple HTML + graphics.

  * Long term, my simple experiments do indicate that Linux has a
  chance at the desktop market ...

  * Consumers Love It.

  * Linux's (real and perceived) virtues over Windows NT include:
  Customization ... Availability/Reliability ...
  Scaleability/Performance ... Interoperability ...

  * Linux is emerging as a key operating system in the nascent thin
  server market

  * Using today's server requirements, Linux is a credible
  alternative to commercial developed servers in many, high volume
  applications.

  * The effect of patents and copyright in combatting Linux remains
  to be investigated.

In compiling these quotes, I have ignored material that essentially
duplicates that found in the Halloween I.
-----

-- 
Geoffrey D. Bennett (geoffrey@netcraft.com.au)
Computer Systems Manager, NetCraft Australia
http://www.netcraft.com.au/geoffrey/
Red Hat Linux Resellers: http://www.netcraft.com.au/linux/

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