YESTERDAY we wrote about the role of Kevin Turner and Steve Ballmer in the latest moves against GNU/Linux and OpenOffice.org [1, 2]. It sure looks like EDGI based on the wording and descriptions. Microsoft is willing to drop its products free of charge in selected areas, as long as these areas don't touch a competitor's product. "It's easier for our software to compete with Linux when there's piracy than when there's not," said Bill Gates1. "As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours," said Gates on another occasion and Jeff Raikes, who was Microsoft's Business Group president before joining Gates' newer business venture, said: "If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else."
Microsoft is up to its old tricks in the new year, as evidenced by a recent job posting for anti-FOSS personnel. This time, the thing that has Redmond sweating is what appears to be a mass migration of students to OpenOffice. And why wouldn't they? "It's free-as-in-beer and good enough -- much better than the Microsoft Works that came on their computer," noted Slashdot blogger David Masover.
Microsoft's technology director Jasper Hedegaard Bojsen then sent an open letter to the municipal mayor, which he denied that that OpenOffice should be an equal and cheaper alternative to Office. It led to accusations that Microsoft tried to implement a scare campaign.