Microsoft on FLOSS

Over the holiday break, I’ve been working on a small project. I’m trying to collect up quotes from Microsoft on Linux, Free Software, and Open Source.

You can see the initial results here: Microsoft on Free and Open Source Software.

I wanted to start collecting these quotes for a lot of related issues:

• Microsoft has gotten a lot more subtle when attacking FLOSS. Often it is only through court records or other revealed privileged information that a clearer picture emerges. Without a central repository, a lot of thing just disappear down the “memory hole”.
• Microsoft is opposed to Open Source in general - not just Linux. It’s not just a competition between two operating systems. Microsoft recognizes the process and philosophy as a threat. If you use, support, or contribute to Free or Open Source, you can not afford to think “Microsoft is not my enemy” – you don’t have that choice – Microsoft has already declared you the enemy.
• Microsoft has a huge PR effort, that FLOSS just can’t match. MS is forever rolling out some study, ad campaign, website, or “initiative”. They are pretty slick with it – and it’s another internally recognized “attack” against Open Source. Maybe this project can be one small breath of fresh air in the stench of Microsoft spin.
• Informed people have informed opinions. A lot of newcomers to Linux don’t understand the “hostility” of the community towards Microsoft.

Some things that particularly struck me in reading through a lot of MS documents:

• Bill Gates himself has been spreading FUD and straight lying about Open Source for damn near 10 years. That’s a long time – I read somewhere that if you repeat a lie to yourself enough times, your brain starts to internalize the lie as if it were actually true; I wonder if the man now may truly believe his own press.
• Microsoft absolutely considers the role of patents in retarding Open Source – something a lot of people don’t want to acknowledge. BillG often goes straight to this chorus.
• Microsoft clearly recognizes that .NET helps in competing against Open Source – another thing some people don’t want to acknowledge.

Language

The use of language is also funny to me after reading through literally hundreds of internal Microsoft documents.

• Problems with Microsoft products are almost always phrased indirectly as some mystery opinion, such as “Windows is perceived to be less reliable.” or “We must address the customer perception that Office is bloated and has slow start-up times.”
• Microsoft spin is almost always phrased as factual, such as: “The fact that Linux costs more.” or “Use fact-based arguments against Linux” (when really the argument is some spin out of a report Microsoft paid for and then pushed and pushed the analyst to change.)
• Virtually everything Microsoft does is referred to as an “innovation”. I’m willing to bet if you constructed a some word frequency distribution graph on internal Micsofoft email, “innovat[e|ion]” would be in the top 10 words.
• However, it is the FLOSS advocate that is so-often painted as a “zealot” or “fundamentalist”.

Help Wanted

I’m primarily working my way through the exhibits in Comes vs. Microsoft right now, and I welcome your submissions from there or other sources. Please forgive the lack of commentary for now — the quotes pretty much speak for themselves anyway — but I might go back in later and add some commentary and context. Somethings might not resonate as well because they are extracted from emails and are responses, but I am listing things by who said them.

If you are so inclined, please send quotes to me or post them in the comments here. Please include a reference to the original source (or a reliable report if the original source can’ t be found) and the position of the person at Microsoft. I’m only looking for Microsoft employee quotes – no need for any “analyst” opinions. I’m also trying to keep the quote directly related to FLOSS – I know there’s a metric ton of stuff on how MS “competed” against DR-DOS, Lotus, and other straight commercial products that is interesting, but is also outside of my narrow focus.

Happy New Year!