I just read to separate articles that suggest Microsoft is trying hard to get people to buy from them and not turn to Open Source alternatives.
In the first article, Microsoft: The Walmart of Software states
At a time of economic uncertainty, Microsoft serves as a Wal-Mart of software, offering high-volume, low-cost products, a Microsoft executive said in an interview.
Robert Duffner, senior director of Platform and Open Source Strategy at Microsoft, says “We’re a good choice right now in this economic downturn.”
They would have you beleive that it paying for software somehow saves you money from the alternative, which is free of charge.
Then in a second article, Open Source Success due to Microsoft states
The success of open source software is now being driven by its rapid commercialisation and not simply its appeal to evangelistic developers, a new report has suggested.
The authors of Power, Speed and Assimilation: Open Source Changes the Industry, and the Industry Changes Open Source, a mini report from Saugatuck Technology, go as far as to suggest that it has been the involvement of large IT vendors, such as IBM and Microsoft, that has given open source its most important boost.
They also want you to believe that they are the ones behind Open Source. They want the consumer to feel that Open Source is like a “Free for personal use” type of deal, while the better versions will cost $.
How sad you are, Microsoft, for taking the credit for other people’s hard work. I’m disgusted.
