Bonum Certa Men Certa

Leaked 2002 Document: Microsoft Compares Windows XP and Office to GNU/Linux and StarOffice

Businessman



Summary: Antitrust exhibit shows Microsoft's fear of GNU/Linux and StarOffice

THANKS to generous help from our reader wallclimber, we finally have a text version of valuable antitrust exhibits. She has more coming. Today's exclusive leak is Exhibit px08604 (2002) [PDF], which shows Microsoft discussing the threat from GNU/Linux on the desktop and addressing this threat using FUD. This whole exhibit may as well be known as "Microsoft's Linux FUD presentation."



Bill Veghte and Brian Valentine (from Windows) are among the senior recipients of these instructions on how to ridicule GNU/Linux in public.

Here are a few highlights from the full text which is appended at the bottom. Microsoft is quote-mining Red Hat in order to make it seem like GNU/Linux does not believe in itself. For example:

"I hope to see continued work on interoperability and integration between the various Linux desktop components Mozilla, OpenOffice, GNOME, and KDE Unifying the MIME subsystem is one task that Red Hat can't take on alone, but we are actively working with community developers to find a solution..." -Red Hat Corp Developer


Further down it also shows:

* WindowsXP has 35+% lower TCO than Linux (using Gartner model. In study of 2 Finnish city governments)


Look back at the Microsoft-Gartner deal and accompanying antitrust exhibits.

Microsoft and Gartner invented a yardstick (TCO) with which to attack GNU/Linux based on perceived cost.The term "Cost of Ownership" is repeated almost endlessly in this presentation, which is funny because it was more or less manufactured by Microsoft to favour Microsoft.

Microsoft and Gartner used these methods not so long ago to intercept GNU/Linux migrations across Europe.




Appendix: Comes vs. Microsoft - exhibit px08604, as text








From: Pat Fox Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 4:16 PM To: Bill Veghte; Brian Valentine; Peter Houston; Michele Freed Cc: Rogers Weed Subject: I a little concerned - Research Board desktop content

Importance: High

Per the meeting yesterday, I've worked up a couple of slides for the desktop that are fairly hard hitting. (attached).

My concern: on the desktop side, we've been operating at about DefCon 2 (to use a politically incorrect, national defense analogy) because we don't think customers or partners and the overall business situation yet calls for a more public or proactive comparison on the desktop. I think the RB could implicitly push us up to DefCon 4 and I want to make sure we've considered the implications.

My assumption: * the RB will use the slides in their analysis * the content will become public at some point * we will need to publicize the studies that underly the content - the eTesting Labs studies, etc. Much of the content is available today for field/reactive use only. We'll need the web sites, etc to organize and explain this in a way that isn't alienating to customers and partners. * we need to explain why we're being so public and proactive at this time.

My concern is that we're not ready to do the above yet, both operationally (ie the web sites, the PR plans), nor have we said the customer environment is ready for this.

Options: 1. refute my assumptions (please!) 2. continue POR and get ready to react as quickly as possible - we have a month before the actual RB visits and when this would likely become public 3. water down the desktop content and risk that the RB won't fully consider all the issues.

Net is, we have more to lose on the desktop and I want to make sure we've thought through the issues.

Thx, Pat

Plaintiff's Exhibit 8604 Comes vs Microsoft

HS-CC-Sun 00000:1.220094 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL

(Contents of "RB InfoWorker Desktop PF.ppt" attachment - as text)

Information Worker Desktop Comparing Windows XP and Office XP to Linux and StarOffice

Windows XP and Office XP Most Productive, Integrated Desktop * Tight integration, comprehensively tested * Best user experience, best productivity - Office XP users had higher task completion rate vs StarOffice users - 93% vs 80% - Office XP users completed tasks in 1/3 time - MS enables a consistent UI across work PCs, laptops, home PCs, PDAs, Tablet PCs, and SmartPhones * Most integrated and comprehensive platform - Enables powerful and productive user experiences - Ex: Tablet PC w/ pen input, Ink data types, zero config wireless, range of hw offerings and configurations - Ex: Office XP Smart Tags enable rich analysis and integration with backend/LOB applications - Ex: Windows XP unicode support enables easier international collaboration - Ex: Windows Media 9 series and Media Center PCs Superior online learning, digital media * Windows and Office enable greater end user productivity, which returns greater business value to the organization

Linux and StarOffice Lower Productivity Components * Independently developed components * Inconsistent user interface across system components

"I hope to see continued work on interoperability and integration between the various Linux desktop components Mozilla, OpenOffice, GNOME, and KDE Unifying the MIME subsystem is one task that Red Hat can't take on alone, but we are actively working with community developers to find a solution..." -Red Hat Corp Developer

* Users take longer to complete tasks * Users are less successful in completing common tasks * Requires heavy customization & manual integration * Required significant end user retraining * Requires duplicate or significantly more costly helpdesk infrastructure * Lower overall business value

Windows XP and Office XP offer richer, more integrated experiences http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/default.asp http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/evaluation/tours/default.asp http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/default.asp http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/smartphone/default.asp

Interview: Havoc Pennington Systems Developer, Desktop/UI Tech Lead at RedHat http://www.redhat.com/advise/ask.html "Q: What advances in Linux desktop technology can we expect to see in future releases? A: Printing and multimedia are big areas that we want to tackle. And we want to be looking at improving the security and manageability of Linux desktops -- meeting the needs of administrators who are looking after a few hundred (or a few thousand) client workstations.

I hope to see continued work on interoperability and integration between the various Linux desktop components. Mozilla, OpenOffice, GNOME, and KDE Unifying the MIME subsystem is one task that Red Hat can't take on alone, but we are actively working with community developers to find a solution. There should be one place to configure the applications and plugins for a given file type."

Microsoft Confidential 1

MS-CC-Sun 000001220095 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL

10/2/2003

Information Worker Desktop (cont'd) Comparing Windows XP and Office XP to Linux and StarOffice

Windows XP and Office XP Lower Total Cost, Better Overall Value * WinXP IT deployment time is 57% less than Linux (eTesting Labs study) * WinXP IT deployment success rate was 95% vs 65% for Linux (eTesting Labs study) * Documant sharing was much more successful with OfficeXP vs StarOffice with <1% of documents having errors with Office and >35% having errors with StarOffice (eTesting Labs study) * WindowsXP has 35+% lower TCO than Linux (using Gartner model. In study of 2 Finnish city governments) *Windows XP and Office XP have well-documented features for people with disabilities - Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates available on www.microsoft.com/enable/, meets US Govt Section 508 standards - Many applications and Assistive Technology addons available for people with disabilities

* Windows and Office result in lower deployment and operational costs and consequently lower TCO

Linux and StarOffice Potentially lower acquisition cost, but higher total costs * Higher Total Cost of Ownership * Higher deployment costs * Higher ongoing management costs *Poor document conversion capabilities * Significantly weaker capabilities for people with disabilities

* Linux and StarOffice result in higher Total Cost of Ownership

Better support for people with disabilities Meet US Govt Section 508 -- VPATs (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) for MS Prods: http://www.microsoft.com/usa/government/section508.asp www.rhat.com - NO VPATs available

Industry Analyst Discussion of Linux/StarOffice on the desktop: - Licensing cost< 1/3 of total cost when implementing new productivity software - There are significant unforeseen doc conversion and training costs when moving to StarOffice from Office - Significant costs due to IT labor and lost productivity

Ecosystem benefits around Windows and Office are significant. Assume they will be discussed in other section of presentation.

Microsoft Confidential 2

MS-CC-Sun 000001220096 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL


Credit: wallclimber

Recent Techrights' Posts

Michael “Monty” Widenius: It Started in 1983 With Richard Stallman (RMS)
The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
For the Second Time in a Few Weeks Microsoft Lunduke Makes False Accusations Against Senior Red Hat Staff to Incite a Despicable 'Troll Army'
Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims of says can be trusted
su lisa && rm -rf /home/ibm/power
Novell was ruined by another person from IBM, Ronald Hovsepian
A Record Demand at Microsoft: Demand to Cancel
What we're witnessing is a very ungraceful destruction of XBox
 
Links 03/10/2025: Conflicts, Death of TypePad, and TikTok/CheeTok Gives a Boost to Far Right Groups in Europe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 02, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 02, 2025
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, Google News, and LinuxSecurity
They carry on polluting the Web with fake articles
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: Kubernetes With FreeBSD and robots.txt
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: 'Open' 'AI' Resorting to Gimmicks and Fake Funding, Europe’s ‘Drone Wall’ Discussed
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: Brave Passes 100M Users Milestone, Kodak Selling Its Own Film Again
Links for the day
Microsoft is Losing Europe
Hence all the "support" and "discount" offers that are limited to Europe
The Free Software Foundation Starts Fund-raising for 40th Anniversary
New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
Systemd Breaks Networking in Debian and Microsoft Staff Rushes to Make Face-Saving Excuses in LWN
Microsoft's bluca is already there in the comments, his Microsoft money pays for LWN to let him leave comments early
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
XBox is the next Skype. It won't last much longer. Expect many more layoffs.
Richard Stallman is Going to Finland to Give a Talk Next Thursday
A day later he speaks in Sweden
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: SMTP Pipelining and End of ROOPHLOCH 2025
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Plagiarism, Fake Articles, and FUD About Linux
not a day goes by without Google News feeding FUD from slopfarms
Gemini Links 01/10/2025: Chat Control and End of Life
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: Long Covid Risk Reiterated, "Bitcoin Queen" Caught
Links for the day
Links 01/10/2025: EA $55 Billion Deal is Debt and Slop "Raises Vishing Risks"
Links for the day
Bluewashing at Red Hat Means Redundancies
The man who sold Red Hat to IBM meanwhile became a Microsoft Mono booster
After Killing OpenSource.com, IBM ('Red Hat') and OSI Told Us OpenSource.net Would Replace It (But That Didn't Happen)
Now it's time to move on, perhaps tarnishing the "Open Source" label some more (for whatever sponsor wants this)
Linux is Not a Community Project, It's a Wall Street Product
The core goal should be freedom
Bad Actors Abusing the Free Software Community, Vandalising It Using Rogue Politics and Old Tactics
Oil giants have long attempted to do this; now, the digital equivalent of Big Oil does this in technology
Social Control Media Isn't the Future, The Federation or Fediverse Isn't Growing, People's Accounts Vanish for Good
users' accounts will get deleted, not just become inactive
IBM is Failing, This Helps Show Wall Street is Entirely Detached From Actual Commercial Performance
IBM is unable to grow, it's just constantly shrinking
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Clerical Aspects of Publishing and Development
In Free software, the management aspects are considerably reduced
Slopwatch: Fake Articles and Google News Promoting "Linux" Spam or Bot-Generated Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
These slopfarms help misplace blame
Third Wave of Microsoft Layoffs in September, This Time Many in Liverpool Affected
Be ready for more waves of layoffs ahead of the so-called "results" in late October