01.12.06
Microsoft Touts Windows On Linux Site
 By
David A. Utter
Microsoft has long made various efforts to show how Windows exceeds Linux in a
variety of enterprise situations, but a current advertising campaign by the company
showed up in an unlikely place.
To bolster the case of Windows as a better operating system choice than Linux,
Microsoft picked up some advertising space and provided links to four whitepapers
comparing the two OSes. Microsoft chose what some might see as an unusual site
to publish that advertising: Linux Today. Jupitermedia runs Linux
Today, a site which aggregates Linux news from a variety of sources.
Three of the four whitepapers listed under the "Linux Reference Center" extol
the lower costs of using Windows instead of Linux for Radio Shack, Rayovac, and
Regal Cinemas. The fourth cites a study of 550 IT managers and executives regarding
Windows security:
...the study found that "corporate enterprises rate Windows security
nearly on par with comparable Linux networks." The 2005 survey reveals that users
found "a 100 percent improvement in Microsoft's security in the past 12 months."
Linux found acceptance with a lot of system administrators who wanted to deploy
various web services like http or ftp servers without springing for a costly Microsoft
license. Admins could resurrect old hardware that wouldn't be close to supporting
later versions of Windows, install Linux, and leave open only the ports necessary
for the server's function.
The approach impacted Microsoft's sales of Windows. High-priced Unix options like
proprietary systems from Sun and Silicon Graphics among others saw their customers
opt for freely available versions of Linux. Sun eventually took the step of releasing
its Solaris operating system as an open
system, under its CDDL terms.
About the Author:
David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.
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