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Simon Phipps's personal commentary

Not a product

In my comment area, Noel Bergman writes:

Microsoft is planning new negative comparison marketing, starting with Linux, Apache HTTPd, and MySQL, most likely reminiscent of their anti-OS/2 campaign.

keyed from the news that the Empire has executed another General^* and the replacement plans to fight Linux by proving it is not as good as the Microsoft equivalent product.

This strategy worked well against IBM and OS/2 because firstly IBM felt comparison marketing was demeaning and chose to stand aloof, and secondly because OS/2 was a product that could indeed be benchmarked and made to look inferior. But Linux is not a product. It's a community, or a code pool, or a marketplace (not so sure about the 'process', Ian) - the expression of the need of a massively-connected demographic for a platform that enfranchises them. Trying to compete on features and creating FUD will be like boxing a cloud and suggests even the new guy will soon be facing Darth's dark doom.

^* A Star Wars reference - you'll recall that reporting bad news to the leaders was often fatal.

posted at 11:14 PM (UK) | |