Via OpenBytes

Summary: Talks about further MSFT reductions are now seen as more substantiated and GNU/Linux is a main cause

GNU/Linux is killing Microsoft on sub-notebooks (financially) and this may lead to more Microsoft layoffs. And yes, we are seeing it again, even in the pro-Microsoft press from Seattle.

"Over the last week, we have heard from multiple sources that Microsoft may engage in additional restructuring activities in the near-term," wrote Sid Parakh, an analyst at the McAdams Wright Ragen brokerage firm, in a note to clients this morning. "While our checks seem to unanimously imply further headcount cuts, there is uncertainty around whether such cuts will be a moderate revision to plans announced in January or is a sizable addition to prior headcount reduction plans."

By coincidence, the answer may come just hours (or half a day) after the release of Ubuntu 9.04 (officially announced in London). It is an interesting coincidence because GNU/Linux distributions like Ubuntu are the major reason for Microsoft's huge reduction in prices, which is tearing it apart (margin erosion and devaluation of Microsoft's products).

Check back Thursday afternoon for detailed coverage of the company's fiscal third-quarter results. In the meantime, here's our snapshot showing how the rest of Microsoft's business units have done over the past few quarters, in revenue and operating profits (in millions). Click to open a larger version in a new window.

Microsoft is attacking GNU/Linux a lot these days, but it passes this responsibility of smearing to others in order to publicly distance itself from bad behaviour and in order to hide how terrified it is of competition from GNU/Linux. The next couple of posts will present the latest examples. ⬆

"...Microsoft wished to promote SCO and its pending lawsuit against IBM and the Linux operating system. But Microsoft did not want to be seen as attacking IBM or Linux."

--Larry Goldfarb, Baystar, key investor in SCO