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Posted in Free/Libre Software, FUD, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, OpenDocument, OpenOffice, Oracle, Videos, Windows at 7:09 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Like the scorpion and the tortoise
Summary: Additional proof that the “Open Source” policy at Microsoft is still something along the lines of “We are not allowed to be seen as attacking Free software but quietly we have to”
THE RECENT REMARK from Hernán Rincón (insulting “Open Source” [1, 2, 3], which gets adopted widely where he works for Microsoft around Brazil) have helped a lot of people see that Microsoft it no friend of “Open Source”, but this does not prevent Microsoft from carrying on with this PR charade. Microsoft’s booster Marius Oiaga is helping them right now:
=> 1 | 2 | 3 | ↺ helping them
Microsoft, once the anti-open source poster child, says that the company has evolved as the world changed and that it is now committed to openness.
Watch them use their beloved Novell to spread this lie:
Microsoft made a critical move in 2006, when it inked a Windows and Linux interoperability alliance with open source vendor Novell.Since then, both Microsoft and Novell have made investments into making sure that Windows Server and SUSE Linux can play nice together for customers that need to run both platforms in their heterogeneous environments.
Let’s face it, Microsoft’s biggest cash cow is suffering (that’s Office) and while Microsoft keeps pretending to harbour “open source” on Windows it is actually attacking OpenOffice.org for Windows, even though it’s “open source” and for Windows. What does that say about Microsoft’s attitude towards “open source” on any platform at all?
Microsoft’s hiring of people specifically to fight OpenOffice.org (and LibreOffice or Lotus, by extension) is something that we covered before [1, 2]. It has turned rather pathetic. Microsoft is now blatantly lying in new videos. “Source of one of the quotes in #MSFTvOOo video,” says Jan from Red Hat, is a case “from 2006(!) about Windows 2003(!)” (he also gave a pointer to Microsoft.com). Someone who prefers to remain anonymous has chosen to study Microsoft’s ‘beef’ in this latest FUD campaign and here is what he or she found, based on this video:
=> 1 | 2 | ↺ this video
The people quoted in the spot against OpenOffice:James Fleming, Infrastructure and Support Manager, Speedy Hire Jeff Cimmerer, Director of Technology for the Pittsford School District David Sterling, ICT Manager, Central Scotland Police Bülent Türker, Product Manager, Scarves Department, SARAR Group Eugene Mariotto, ICT Director, Cobra Automotive Technologies Eros Borgogelli, Information Systems Coordinator, Ciar Randall C Kennedy, InfoWorld Tisome Nugent, Educator, Orange County Public Schools Sergey Sakharov, Business Process Optimization Manager, Art of Transport Logistics Darek Muraszko, Information Systems Admninistrator, Kaczmarski Inkasso Igor Gentosh, Head of System Integration Department, Kredobank JSC Tiziano Battilana, Information Systems Coordinator, Euromobil Group Joerg Lenze, System Administrator, Heinrich Berndes Haushaltstechnik GmbH & Co. KG Leonid Medvediev, Head of IT Department, CJSC SPC, BorschagivskiyChemical and Pharmaceutical Plant Bailey Mitchell, Chief Information Officer, Forsyth County SchoolsI am in the process of checking the quotes and I have noticed they are effectively taken from quite old “success” stories, here some examples:David Sterling, ICT Manager, Central Scotland Police Source of the quotes:http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Microsoft-Office-2003/Central-Scotland-Police/Central-Scotland-Police-Cuts-Maintenance-Costs-30-Percent-By-Replacing-Linux-Desktop/49609This is a “success” story of 2006 about a migration to Office 2003/Windows 2003. Linux desktops in 2003 and OpenOffice in 2003 are ancient IMHO, not really a good way to convince customers NOW You can find more, for example:Tisome Nugent, Educator, Orange County Public Schoolshttp://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000005095Joerg Lenze, System Administrator, Heinrich Berndes Haushaltstechnik GmbH & Co. KGhttp://65.55.21.250/caseStudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000006523Etc. etc.All you will find are arguments on how the lock-in of Microsoft Office makes sure noone can switch to alternatives.Decide for yourself
Here is some coverage about Microsoft’s latest steps (the video is said to have been removed/gone private, probably for PR/damage control reasons):
Microsoft launches attack on OpenOfficeMicrosoft has a long-established practice of disarming competition by not acknowledging it, because acknowledging the competition gives it power. Well, the Redmond giant has changed stance when it comes to OpenOffice and launched a video attack on the free alternative to the Office software suite.Microsoft posts video of customers criticizing OpenOfficeA few hours after this story was published, Microsoft set the video as “private,” meaning it can no longer be viewed by the public. We found it hosted on Microsoft.com, however, so if you have Silverlight, go watch it there. Get the FUD is Back…Educational organizations get locked-in and so do students. What happens if a student goes to work at a place that uses OpenOffice.org on GNU/Linux? Are they doomed? Nonsense. It’s a GUI and they point, click and type. For a school district to spend $millions annually on software they can do without should be a crime or at least a breach of fiduciary responsibility to use the tax payers’ money wisely. What does it teach a kid that his school spends more on software that they don’t need when the system has to be cut back somewhere else because the premise of the whole situation was that the budget was tight? Do you think they might have to cut something that does educate students, Homer?Oh! The Horror! The Horror of educational systems that cannot do the maths. There are thousands of systems that have deployed OpenOffice.org and GNU/Linux with no problems except what to do with the savings.Microsoft Gives its Blessing to OpenOffice.orgIn due course, more details emerged of how Mindcraft had been able to draw directly on support from Microsoft when tuning the system, but had not involved Red Hat, whose distribution was being used for the tests, in the same way. This meant that several important tweaks that would have improved the latter’s performance were lacking. Indeed, it later turned out that the tests had actually been conducted in a Microsoft laboratory.[...]It seems that Microsoft has forgotten this important lesson. For it has put together a three-minute video of customers explaining why they switched from OpenOffice.org to Microsoft Office.The criticisms made in the video are not really the point – they are mostly about OpenOffice.org not being a 100% clone of Microsoft Office, and compatibility problems with Microsoft’s proprietary formats. The key issue is the exactly the same as it was for the Mindcraft benchmarks. You don’t compare a rival’s product with your own if it is not comparable. And you don’t make this kind of attack video unless you are really, really worried about the growing success of a competitor.Just as it did in 1999 for GNU/Linux, Apache and Samba, the company has now clearly announced that OpenOffice.org is a serious rival to Microsoft Office, and should be seriously considered by anyone using the latter.Thanks Microsoft.Alternatives to Microsoft Office 2010OpenOfficeThe most popular open source office solution is OpenOffice, original released as an office suite for Linux but later released for Windows.OpenOffice features the Writer, Calc, Impress and Base applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and database management, all free, while technical support is provided in the form of help documents on the website and a directory of consultants, although this last option is intended only for businesses. OpenOffice is available from download.openoffice.org.Note that in the near future, OpenOffice will be available as LibreOffice.Oracle Open OfficeIf Open Office appeals to you but you require online support, then Oracle Open Office might be your best choice. Offering the same functionality as OpenOffice, Oracle Open Office is available to purchase from www.oracle.com as an enterprise-class office suite based on the same open standards as OpenOffice.Oracle Demonstrates Continued Support for OpenOffice.org
Regarding that last one (a press release), the Microsoft booster just had to say something negative:
=> ↺ had to say something negative
Oracle is spinning its participation in a forthcoming Open Document Format (ODF) event as proof of its continued commitment to the OpenOffice.org community.
Gavin seems to be the one spinning, not Oracle. He too seems interested in hurting OpenOffice.org, so it’s not just Microsoft which does it very publicly right now. If it hurts Microsoft, it means we need more of the same. It’s an indication of weakness. █
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