Submitted by Claims made by Microsoft that Linux violates its software patent have not affected sales of Linux-based hardware, according to Michael Dell. Speaking to ZDNet.co.uk at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando on Thursday, Dell’s chief executive officer said his company has seen Linux uptake for servers increase faster than Windows server products, despite Microsoft’s claims. “On the server side Linux continues to grow nicely, a bit faster than Windows,” said Dell. “We’re seeing a move to Linux in critical applications, and Linux migration has not slowed down.”
When I opened this thread it was accompanied by this ad:
http://spe.atdmt.com/ds/NMMRTUMISITP/mrs06256_news_336x280.jpg?spd=…
Which we already knew was a lie (misrepresentation) and FUD.
Well this story is pretty appropriate in refuting the MS FUD. Good juxtaposition for once.
That ad is one of main the reasons I use Adblock.
I’m getting sick of these lame microsoft “infomercials”.
Edited 2007-10-14 16:47
Context_menu -> “Block Image from This Server”
Ad from this link is just another lie from Baldmer && Micro~$$$ team.
Ubuntu fits like a glove on Dell systems.
That ad is one of main the reasons I use Adblock.
I’m getting sick of these lame microsoft “infomercials”.
So do I normally but I had just installed and was trying out Flock. I hadn’t had time to install Adblock yet.
I unfortunately can’t see the ads, would you mind describing it?
They owe me £230,000 for hardship using Windows, are you going to pay up or shall I complain to the EU and sue for two million?
Edited 2007-10-14 16:42
Considering the fact that running a Linux solution is cheaper all round, even with that made up ‘TCO’ rubbish MS claims they are ahead in (yet have been repeatedly proven to be behind in), and with all the patent suit indemnification guarantees by enterprise Linux distributions in general, and RedHat in particular, it’s no wonder it’s still business as usual for Dell’s Linux server sales.
As for Dell’s Linux laptop and desktop systems, the fact that they are not selling in droves is no big surprise either. Conquest of the desktop will take time and patience 😉
There’s lies, damn lies, and statistics: none of which is spelled out at all in the very minor article/story/blog post (it was so short on details, perhaps it should be only considered worthy of a blog post) so the statement made by Michael Dell may not mean as much as some people would like, or a lot more.
Consider this made-up scenario: if Dell had been selling 1000 Windows Server systems a month, and started selling more Linux servers, of which previously only 50 a month had been sold, and their sales went up 1 unit per month for the Linux servers, for percentage increase, that’d mean that to keep even, they’d also have to sell another 20 more Windows Server seats per month. If, on the other hand, they only started selling 2 more Linux server seats per month, but only 1 Windows server seats more per month, that’d be a more meaninful increase percentage-wise for number of Linux servers sold, if only counting Linux servers, but it would hardly affect overall sales of all types of server systems.
Sadly, there’s absolutely nothing that this links to that gives any sorts of numbers to figure out what is meant, so it’s all silly PR crap to try to interpret much from the statements either way.
and Microsoft just hurt themselves trying to hurt Linux
You’re right. I’m all for good hard competition, with each feeding off each other to improve their products. Windows moves ahead, then Red Hat, Novell and Sun lift their game, and so it repeats.
The problem I have is when companies like Microsoft need to resort to lies and distortions of the truth to sell their products. Windows 2003, is not a bad product, so it confuses me as to why they need to lie to get the product into customers machines.
Because they are selling it at a ridiculously high price, before even considering “client access licenses”
10 user CALs for 1000$. This means to allow 10 users simaltaneously access a file share on the server they have to pay 1000$ on top of another 1000$ for windows server and another thousands to secure it with ISA 2006 and another thousand for TS-CAl (Terminal Server CALs) and another… to…..?!!!!
We are not thieves; we earn our money hardly and painfully. and I can get the same above features for free from any linux distro with great stability. The only competitive advantage for windows is that they have more features and funtions to their products; eg in terminal server software can automatically adjust resolution to the one that suit your remote system’s screen; in realVNC or TightVNC it can’t. Also collaborative office software is close from zero in linux while it is so advanced on windows with office live and other software. So if Features you are looking for in software then be prepaired to pay alot for licensing to Microsoft; if not then use linux for simple server tasks (samba, print, web, VPN,….others)
Thats where apple blows MS out the water imho…
$1000 gets you os x server with an unlimited license, and if you pay $3k for an xserve you get the same unlimited license bolted on to a 2x dual core controller node.
The power/flexibility of Unix and the sparkle of Windows..
Best of both worlds for those willing to pay price especially if you actually buy your licenses … throw another $500 at that and you get an unlimited apple remote desktop license that imho surpasses any remote desktop software out there…
I run both an apple and a linux shop (and wont argue which is better) …. but I think people should look beyond the apple tax when they are contemplating windows vs os x.
This is why Novell was so right to take Microsoft’s marketing money (they paid that money to create FUD, which is a form of marketing).
Novell took that money, and now has money and a position to talk to the few larger institutions that the FUD will actually work on, while all the time knowing that the FUD will be unsuccessful in the end anyway.
It was a win-win situation for them, and they get to laugh – at Microsoft – all the way to the bank (although, they could laugh harder if the Linux community understood marketing a little better – and stop giving them so much flack over a largely useless agreement which scored them some extra cash handed to them by an opponent).