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From FUD to trash talk

Evan Leibovitch | February 6, 2001 12:00 AM PST

Summary

The gloves are off as Redmond starts revving its hype machine to attack Linux.

Topics

Evan Leibovitch, Technology News
My, how time flies. Things sure have come a long way since I started writing on open source issues for ZDNet a hundred columns ago.

At that time, one of the prime goals of my corner of ZDNet was what they called "FUD busting."There was no end of misinformation floating around about Linux, much of it generated by fear and intended to confuse and confound people wonderingwhat all this open source hoopla was about.

In the two years since, the complaints about Linux have gone from:

  • "It's just a toy" to
  • "So it's not a toy, but it can't run reliably" to
  • "So it's reliable, but there are no apps" to
  • "So it's got apps, but nobody's using it in a corporate setting" to
  • "So people are using in a corporate setting, but Oracle's not supporting it" to
  • "So Oracle supports it, but there's no commercial help-desk support" to
  • "So there's commercial support, but where are the hardware vendors" to
  • "So IBM's putting a billion bucks into Linux, but there's noenterprise support" to
  • "So there's now enterprise support, let me think of something else..."
One by one the objections have fallen. Bit by bit (pardon the pun) thepeople who code, document, and market Linux have dealt with the obstacles,technical or otherwise. This is not to say that everything has been perfect,or that there isn't still a very long way to go before Linux and opensource computing achieve some of their still-elusive goals. But thecommunity -- and it still is very much a community despite its substantialsize increase over the last two years -- has proven surprisinglyresponsive to the needs of the computing mainstream.

Generally, most FUD has failed to stick. Genuine deficiencies, such asreal SMP and ease of use, have been or are being addressed, withdevelopment and bug acknowledgments in full public view. Flaws are moreoften seen as challenges rather than setbacks. I myself talked about thepost-FUDera back in August 1999, in which Linux-bashers, finding FUD no longeran effective tactic, resorted to name-calling and half-truths.

Now we see the beginnings of a new phase in the campaign against Linux -- afull-frontal assault by the company so many open source fans love to hate: Microsoft.

Some of the most interesting news from last week's LinuxWorld show in NewYork was the conspicuousattendance of Microsoft's Doug Miller, group product manager for the Windows Server Group. Like the fanaticswho handed out copies of Linux during the launch of Windows 95, Miller'sparty crashing and willingness to talk openly about Linux indicate a newchapter in the story of the relationship between Microsoft and Linux.

Microsoft was unable to scare anyone two years ago with an indirect approachdescribed in what has come to be known as theHalloween document. A little time, some strong Linux growth, and acourt trial or two have apparently led the folks fromRedmond to abandon the indirect approach and come out swinging. Barely a monthafter Microsoft President Steve Ballmer defined Linux as thecompany's main competitive target, Miller's comments gave some broadhints of how it is going to fight the threat.

To me, the direct attack is no surprise. Microsoft gave some indication ofwhat was to come with thisanti-Linux ad that ran in a German magazine. You don't need to readGerman to understand the message; even though the word "Linux" was nevermentioned in the ad, the penguin character and mutations made clear thatMicrosoft is pointing to Linux's diversity as a fault to be avoided.Ironically, the best answer to this claim was a comment made by LinusTorvalds atlast year's Linux Expo Canada:

"People from East Germany have found the West soconfusing. It's so much easier when you have only one party."
Such comments from Microsoft aren't FUD; they're about facets of Linux andopen source that most folks consider strengths, but that Microsoft triesto paint as flaws. They'll complain that Linux companies aren't, and willnever be, as big as Microsoft. Of course they neglect to tell you the flipside: the reason Linux companies won't ever be as big as Microsoft isbecause they drain less money from their customers.

In any case, I welcome the onslaught. Miller's comments sounded more likea football player's trash talk than any legitimate complaint. A big partof Microsoft's problem is that the Linux community doesn't see the need tocounter-attack or even play the game. While certain parts of the communitywill never let a bad word about Linux go unchallenged, most folks havecome to realize that while the new "recognition" by Microsoft is bound toturn up some legitimate flaws, it also establishes Linux and open sourceas the alternative. And it also indicates the predictable flow of apattern that I'm starting to hear more and more in Linux circles, based ona quote usuallyattributed to Mahatma Ghandi:

"First, they ignore you.Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you.Then you win."
Do you think Microsoft's new approach to Linux will be effective? TellEvan in the TalkBack below or in the ZDNetLinux Forum.

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