Roy Schestowitz wrote:
High Plains Thumper on Sunday :
Linux has worked well with me. OTOH, even Microsoft MVP's
shun Vista:
http://aspnetresources.com/blog/vista_sucks.aspx
[quote] Help with the launch? No, thanks
As a diligent Microsoft MVP, I wanted to volunteer to help
the mother empire with the Vista launch. I would go to a
local BestBuy or CompUSA and help Microsoft promote the new
OS. But after this experience, you won’t drag me there even
with a free Zune. I just can’t offer people to buy such
crap. I’m sorry for people who will buy and install it. Hey,
at least I’m being honest about it! [/quote]
Here is a hum dinger:
[quote] Freeze-ups
I couldn’t even suspect I’d have so much use my the Reset
button. If I put Vista to sleep, things go very wrong once I
wake it up. IE 7 freezes everything so bad, that you can’t
even bring up the Window Task Manager (CTRL-Shift-Escape
does not respond). I don’t know if the networking drivers
crap themselves over, and I don’t really care. My Reset
button is now shiny! [/quote]
I have done some selective snippage to home in on key points.
Bill Weisgerber is one of those in the Microsoft marketing
cult. It's better not to feed him. He does the "Slog":
It may seem he is well entrenched but he is not infallible.
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071023002351958
(From Microsoft)
"5: Jihad
A Jihad is a road trip. in which an evangelist visits a large
number of ISVs one-on-one to convince them to take some
specific action. The classic Jihad is one focused on getting
Tier A ISVs to commit to supporting a given technology by
signing the technology's Letter of Agreement (LOA - see
above).
<SNIP>
-- They understand that those who do not sign the LOA, are
frozen out of all further information about the techology
until it goes into public beta
-- They understand (without being crude about it) that you
will be making the same offer to their competitors
-- You have T-shirts or other swag to give to those who sign.
lt's amazing what some people will do for a T-shirt.
Or a nice laptop (like to bloggers).
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/12/bloggers-who-have-received-microsoft.html
[quote]
Microsoft, in partnership with AMD, has sent the Ferrari 1000 or
Ferrari 500 Laptops (Acer and Scuderia Ferrari) pre-loaded with
Windows Vista Ultimate to "key community folks". [read full
disclosure at the end]
These dual-core 64-bit AMD TurionT laptops were either directly
shipped by Microsoft or through Edelman, their PR firm.
Here's a list of 25 bloggers (myself included) who have received
the hardware and what they intend to do with the Microsoft
Christmas gift.
1. Mauricio Freitas - Decides to keep it.
2. Scott Beale - Will probably give it away Will sell it on eBay,
proceeds going to EFF.
3. Ed Bott - Decides to keep it - Will either send it back to
Microsoft or auction it off for charity.
[....]
23. Barry Gerber - Decides to keep it.
24. Hugo Ortega - Will probably give it away.
25. Amit Agarwal [me] - Decides to keep it.
Yes, I have received a Ferrari Laptop from Microsoft and I have
no intention of sending it back to Microsoft or giving it away in
charity.
[/quote]
Actually, where the bloggers come in is in the point from the
document regarding independent praise.
[...]
8: The Slog Guerilla marketing is often a long, hard slog.
slog (sl^g) v. slogged, slogqing, slogs. –tr, To strike with
heavy blows, as in boxing. -intr. 1. To walk with a slow,
plodding gait. 2. To work diligently for long hours. –n. . 1.
long, hard work. 2. A long, exhausting march or hike. [Orig.
unknown.] -slog'ger –American Heritage Dictionary, 1991
In the Slog, Microsoft dukes it out with the competition. MSDN
and Platform marketing are the regular forces, exchanging
blows with the enemy mano a mano. Evangelism should avoid
formal, frontal assaults, instead focusing its efforts of
hit-and-run tactics.
In the Slog, the enemy will counter-attack, trying to subvert
your Tier A ISVs to their side, just as you should try to
subvert their ISVs to your side. New ISVs should be sought,
and directed to MSDN's one-to- many programs.
<SNIP>
Working behind the scenes to orchestrate "independent" praise
of our technology, and damnation of the enemy's, is a key
evangelism function during the Slog. "Independent" analyst's
report should be issued, praising your technology and damning
the competitors (or ignoring them). "Independent" consultants
should write columns and articles, give conference
presentations and moderate stacked panels, all on our behalf
(and setting them up as experts in the new technology,
available for just $200/hour). "Independent" academic sources
should be cultivated and quoted (and research money granted).
"Independent" courseware providers should start profiting from
their early involvement in our technology. Every possible
source of leverage should be sought and turned to our
advantage.
See comment above regarding bloggers receiving laptops. Also,
working behind the scenes includes trolling done in this
newsgroup, so that when people Google, they see nothing but lies,
half-truths and innuendos regarding Linux. This is that last
part of "Every possible source of leverage".
However, it is a 2-edged sword. Googling also brings up other
facts regarding our troll's efforts. Basically, their zeal has
resulted in many no longer listening due to the idiocy brought forth.
Ah yes, but this next part is interesting. It reminds me of the
recent manner that OOXML was ushered in to approval for being an
ISO standard.
I have mentioned before the "stacked panel". Panel discussions
naturally favor alliances of relatively weak partners - our
usual opposition. For example, an "unbiased" panel on OLE vs.
OpenDoc would contain representatives of the backers of OLE
(Microsoft) and the backers of OpenDoc (Apple, IBM, Novell,
WordPerfect, OMG, etc.). Thus we find ourselves outnumbered in
almost every "naturally occurring" panel debate.
A stacked panel, on the other hand, is like a stacked deck: it
is packed with people who, on the face of things, should be
neutral, but who are in fact strong supporters of our
technology. The key to stacking a panel is being able to
choose the moderator. Most conference organizers allow the
moderator to select the panel, so if you can pick the
moderator, you win. Since you can't expect representatives of
our competitors to speak on your behalf, you have to get the
moderator to agree to having only "independent ISVs" on the
panel. No one from Microsoft or any other formal backer of the
competing technologies would be allowed – just ISVs who have
to use this stuff in the "real world." Sounds marvelously
independent doesn't it? In fact, it allows us to stack the
panel with ISVs that back our cause. Thus, the "independent"
panel ends up telling the audience that our technology beats
the others hands down. Get the press to cover this panel, and
you've got a major win on your hands.
Obviously the stacked panel approach did not work with the EU
Commission. 6,000 pages of documents to comply with EU directive
regarding communications protocols did not meet timely approval,
resulting in hefty fines. It also makes me wonder what the
reception will be for the recently submitted 14,000 documents?
Finding a moderator is key to setting up a stacked panel. The
best sources of pliable moderators are:
-- Analysts: Analysts sell out - that's their business model.
But they are very concerned that they never look like they are
selling out, so that makes them very prickly to work with.
-- Consultants: These guys are your best bets as moderators.
Get a well-known consultant on your side early, but don't let
him publish anything blatantly pro-Microsoft. Then, get him to
propose himself to the conference organizers as a moderator,
whenever a panel opportunity comes up. Since he's well-known,
but apparently independent, he'll be accepted – one less thing
for the constantly-overworked conference organizer to worry
about, right?
Gathering intelligence on enemy activities is critical to the
success of the Slog. We need to know who their allies are and
what differences exist between them and their allies (there
are always sources of tension between allies), so that we can
find ways to split 'em apart. Reading the trade press, lurking
on newsgroups, attending conferences, and (above all) talking
to ISVs is essential to gathering this intelligence.
Well, it has been a long battle, but Linux has already made a
foothold and is here to stay. Recent indicated are Venezuela's
Banco Mercantil, Northern California Windsor School District, and
Linux deployment sampler (incomplete):
20,000 Singapore Ministry of Defence
3,500,000 India
80,000 Extremadura, Spain
80,000 Générale des Impôts, France
62,000 Ministry of Equipment, France
1,154 Parliament, France
4,000 Federal Public Justice Service, Belgium
600 Central Bank, Turkey
300 Scientific and Technological Research Council, Turkey
1,000 Ministry of Water Resources, Turkey
300 Istanbul City Health Directorate, Turkey
12,000 Lower Saxony Tax Authority, Germany
150 Ministry of Finance, Macedonia
10,000 Department of Justice, Finland
1,500 Metropolitan Court, Budapest, Hungary
58,000 Berlin, Germany
400 Largo City Offices, Florida
14,000 Post Office, Brazil
32,000 Government, Brazil
2,205 North West Province Schools, South Africa
15,000 Ministry of Education, Portugal
20,000 Indianna Department of Education, US
5,000 Macedonia Schools
Here is something said of Windsor:
http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid39_gci1245710,00.html
or http://tinyurl.com/5p5x5o
[quote]
The new setup also allows for better remote management. "[With
Windows] we had spent half our time driving around; we had to
touch every machine," Carver said. In a school system like
Windsor, all that driving was costing an already strapped IT
department too many resources.
Carver said it cost the district about $2,500 per school to
migrate to Linux, compared with the estimated $100,000 it would
have cost to upgrade their Windows infrastructure. In addition,
buying more Microsoft Office licenses would have cost the
district $100 per license, she said, whereas OpenOffice was free.
Linux as a learning tool
Ultimately, moving to Linux has enabled the Windsor School
District to build out technology capabilities that wouldn't have
been possible with Windows.
"[The students] are able to do more because Linux cost less,"
Carver said. "Our new computer lab [at Brooks] was set to cost
$35,000 and ended up costing us $16,000 with Linux [on thin
clients]."
And the kids love it too. "The kids think Linux is cool because
it's new, but what they're really doing is stepping into the 21st
century," Carver said.
[/quote]
This is a very tough phase of evangelism. You'll be pulled in
every direction at once, randomized by short-term
opportunities and action items, nagged by your Tier A ISVs and
pestered by every other ISV that wants to become a Tier A.
Management will want to know right now how you're going to
respond to some bogus announcement by some random ISV. Some PM
over in Consumer will demand that you drop everything to go
talk to an ISV in Outer Mongolia, that's run by an old college
chum of his. Competitors will make surprise announcements, lie
through their teeth, and generally try to screw you just as
hard as you are trying to screw them.
The difference is the truth is out there. The trolls can
continue their half truths, exaggerations and lies. There's no
need to for Linux advocacy. Factual information abounds, court
case documents have brought to light anticompetitive tactics to
arm promoters and decision makers giving insightful knowledge, to
restore competitiveness once again into the market place,
Of course, if you are very, very lucky, there will be no
competition to your technology. But this is almost never the
case. ODBC had its IDAPI, OLE had its OpenDoc, COM had its
SOM, DCOM has its CORBA, MAPI had its VIM, etc., etc., etc.
The existence of a Microsoft technology nearly guarantees that
a competitive technology will spring into existence overnight,
backed by an impromptu association of Microsoft competitors
which have decided to draw yet another Line in the Sand ("If
we don't stop Microsoft here, then they are going to take over
the whole world!").
IMHO, Vista has been the best thing to promote Linux advocacy,
the Linux advantage,
--
HPT
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