wow sal, you killed it

Story: Winning Against Linux the Smart WayTotal Replies: 31
Author Content
tuxchick

Mar 20, 2007
11:17 AM EDT
This is what the link leads to:

"This material is being updated and will be made available to Microsoft partners shortly."
jimf

Mar 20, 2007
11:24 AM EDT
Yeah, do you supose they're reconsidering... Naw ;-)
SFN

Mar 20, 2007
11:33 AM EDT
Stay away from the windows, Sal.
evol

Mar 20, 2007
11:45 AM EDT
google cache still shows the page. it's like one of those educational multimedia cdroms that were all the rage ten years ago. i don't think anyone will take this seriously.
herzeleid

Mar 20, 2007
11:52 AM EDT
OK, assuming for a moment that I don't know how to access the google cache version of a URL - how would I go about doing so?
vainrveenr

Mar 20, 2007
11:55 AM EDT
One of the charts from the out-of-service linuxpersonas site is at http://warsawpact.livejournal.com/54011.html, until a Microsoft "partner" should somehow effectively threaten these hosts to take the chart down.

As a head's up, this chart categorizes Linux users as follows:

- Linux Experimenter Are largely Microsoft shops experimenting with Linux

- Market Follower Are waiting for broader industry support for Linux before expanding deployment

- Application Driven Are focused on business requirements and place application needs ahead of platform decisions

- Linux Aficionado Are deploying Linux aggressively and believe it to be superior technology

- UNIX Transitioner Are primarily interested in transitioning legacy UNIX applications

If this chart-page goes down or the personas site gets modified, this chart might also by mirrored by someone at digg.
vainrveenr

Mar 20, 2007
11:57 AM EDT
http://warsawpact.livejournal.com/54011.html

Leave out the last comma, which somehow got stuck in there at the end of the link:)
Sander_Marechal

Mar 20, 2007
1:22 PM EDT
What's much more interesting than the slide show is the "sales guide" section. It details what lies to tell each type of Linux user in order to be most effective. I especially liked this bit (paraphrased from memory):

Quoting: Linux afecionado: * Don't get drawn in a philisophical Windows v.s. Linux debate * Prove better Windows TCO with the studies from the "Get the facts campaign" * Focus on the fact that 56% of the world's webservers run IIS. Especially point out the recent GoDaddy and transitions.


That really made me laugh out loud. Expecially the "get the facts" bit.

BTW, I visited the site before it went down and I haven't closed my browser since. If someone can tell me how I can fish the swf from the FireFox cache, I will put it up somewhere -- purely for educational purposes until the original comes back of course.
Sander_Marechal

Mar 20, 2007
1:38 PM EDT
I love FireFox :-) Check the following link until the original comes back. Check out the "sales guidance" tabs.

http://www.jejik.com/sander/temp/linuxpersonas.swf
swbrown

Mar 20, 2007
2:15 PM EDT
My favorite sales tip from the "Linux Aficionado" part is to ask what version of IIS they're running. That's going to work real well. :)
dcparris

Mar 20, 2007
2:19 PM EDT
This is definitely entertaining. Thanks Sander!
tracyanne

Mar 20, 2007
2:42 PM EDT
quote:: I haven't closed my browser since. If someone can tell me how I can fish the swf from the FireFox cache, I ::quote

Cache Viewer or Cache View might help but you'll have to restart FF to load them so I'm not sure if it will help in this case
Sander_Marechal

Mar 20, 2007
2:54 PM EDT
tracyanne: I did it by typing "about:cache" in the address bar and then Ctrl+F search for linuxspersonas. 4th hit was the swf. Click the entry and it tells you what file it is on your disk. Then simply copy the file :-)
tracyanne

Mar 20, 2007
4:09 PM EDT
quote:; tracyanne: I did it by typing "about:cache"........... ::quote

Cool



quote:: Winning Against Linux the Smart Way ::quote

There's an interesting subtext to this statement by Microsoft. It would seem they already see themselves as the underdog, rather than the current market leader. Maybe we are seeing a self fulfilling prediction in action.
Scott_Ruecker

Mar 20, 2007
5:10 PM EDT
I just showed this to my boss, he was blown away..

"If their going to spend all that money just to talk about how to sell around it?" - My Boss
ABCC

Mar 20, 2007
9:07 PM EDT
What fantastic use of flash!

Some interesting info in this though:

Market follower/Sales Guidance view states that the herd believes that linux has a lower TCO than windows. Given that this swf is copyright 2006, do we have a clear admission that the GTF campaign failed to convince people that linux was expensive?

From the Market Follower/Persona view we learn that 41% of the herd plan on deploying linux, which is10% above current and projected growth targets as reported in the mainstream IT press.

Coming from MS themselves these are very interesting statements, I'm looking forward to the fallout of this document.

Bedankt voor het bestand Sander!

tracyanne

Mar 20, 2007
9:25 PM EDT
Interesting look into Microsoft's mindset on Linux.
henke54

Mar 20, 2007
10:35 PM EDT
even the google cache is gone now .... ;-P
Sander_Marechal

Mar 20, 2007
10:57 PM EDT
You should check out all the "resource" links from that swf. Here's a good one. A PDF from 2005 on how to beat Linux.

https://partner.microsoft.com/download/US/40022056

Within is this gem: Perhaps this is one of the the reasons MS wanted to partner with Novell:

Quoting: Novell/SUSE Linux Distribution Model

Novell has become one of the largest distributors of Linux with its acquisition of SUSE in November 2004. Using its substantial partner ecosystem, consultants, and Linux certified technical support staff worldwide, Novell is poised to leverage the SUSE and Ximian brands in both the large enterprise and the small-mid size business (SMB) market. However, most of Novell’s existing partners will need to go through substantial retraining in order to implement and support the Novell/SUSE distribution. Since most Novell organizations have Windows NT4 domains, they are already familiar with Microsoft software, creating an opportunity for Microsoft to gain market share in this market.


MS wanted a foot in the door with the Novell customers to prevent the NT4 networks from becoming Linux networks.

Quoting:Microsoft is targeting current NetWare customers for migration to Windows Server: there is a near-term opportunity to address the pains of these customers before Novell has a fully articulated and ready-for-primetime solution for them.


That last one is about Suse/Ximian.
helios

Mar 21, 2007
2:14 AM EDT
"Ken, When a multi-billion dollar corporation begins to train their customers and low-end partners in the art of defending their product, someone is horribly frightened of the competition. You tell your people that these f***'s are on the ropes and if they don't deliver the knockout punch now, they deserve to lose the fight."

Chuck E. Owens - 3-20-07

My boss sent me this link via email early last night. I have the swf put away for historical/hysterical posterity. Will LXer do the same? Good idea methinks.

Oh, and a postscript to aforementioned email:

"Make it a late-day priority tomorrow to get Suse off the Accounting computers here and in Boise. Put Mepis on all of them but Rainie's. She wants Elive. Also, get me the contact info for the guy that develops Elive. If they don't like it, put Windows 98 on until they quit crying. Jenny is sending the nastygram to Novell tomorrow." - Chuck

h
Sander_Marechal

Mar 21, 2007
2:48 AM EDT
Quoting:Will LXer do the same? Good idea methinks.


I got a copy tucked away on my PC and put a copy up on my webserver (see a few posts above). I don't think it's a really good idea if LXer put it on their webserver. Copyright 'n all that.

PS: When are we going to get more Chuck stories on your blog?
dinotrac

Mar 21, 2007
3:25 AM EDT
Helios -

Sounds like Chuck knows his way around business.
number6x

Mar 21, 2007
7:42 AM EDT
If Microsoft spent half the time and money they put into developing their anti-Linux strategy into improving their own software(on top of their existing development expenditures), they might actually offer a product to compete with Linux instead of resorting to psychological warfare.
Bob_Robertson

Mar 21, 2007
9:11 AM EDT
Sure enough, when using their "profile tool" in the flash file (Arigato, Sander-san!) I came out as a Linux zealot.

Looking it over, it certainly does look like a desperation move, trying desperately to convince people of things that they could have discovered themselves (if they were true).

The "find out what version of IIS they're running" is hardly nefarious. It makes perfect sense for them to try to misdirect the "this just isn't working, let's try something else" to "let's try the latest version" instead.

This whole presentation is obviously a holding action. But look at the target audience: Salesmen trying to stop or hold back Linux deployments in their customer base.

So maybe the entire defeatist tone of the presentation is a result, not of Microsoft being defeatist, but of the defeatist nature of talking to the little boy with his thumb in the dyke, trying to get him not to run away for just a little bit longer.

Helios, indeed, More Chuck Stories! This guy is a marvelous case study of someone who really is just trying to get the job done.
Sander_Marechal

Mar 21, 2007
3:06 PM EDT
What's also interesting is the "facts" that MS offers their sales partners to help them sell Windows over Linux. It's the same lies that they feed the media. What happens if such a sales partner is hit with the real facts and find out MS has been feeding them lies to sell on?
dcparris

Mar 21, 2007
3:28 PM EDT
Gee, that one's obvious, Sander. MS will release the Marketing Tips Service Pack. ;-)
helios

Mar 21, 2007
5:21 PM EDT
Criminal Case in San Jose is to clear either This Friday or the Monday next. Right index finger is poised on the "enter" button. Payload will be the third install of the Ultra-Secret Corp. saga.

And yes. My boss has proven that anti-ms psychosis and the enterprise do mix with very little stirring.

h
Sander_Marechal

Mar 21, 2007
10:29 PM EDT
Great, I can't wait :-)
jezuch

Mar 22, 2007
1:39 PM EDT
Quoting:If Microsoft spent half the time and money they put into developing their anti-Linux strategy into improving their own software(on top of their existing development expenditures), they might actually offer a product to compete with Linux instead of resorting to psychological warfare.


Actually, they are spending so much on the software *cough* development, that they probably can't spend any more. Or rather they can, but it won't make almost any difference (based on some articles on Joel On Software). So I believe they did a cost/benefit analysis and found out that "panic" is the most cost-effective way of spending the money ;)
tracyanne

Mar 22, 2007
8:00 PM EDT
I just did the Persona test on the Winning against linux the smart way, and apparently I'm an application driven person. It seems that because I scored less than 8 on the transitioning UNIX to Linux question - I scored 1, the lowest because I don't have any UNIX boxes, and I've already moved all my Windows to Linux, and because I scored greater than 5 on Adding Ecommerce functionality to Websites, which is what I do, and greater than 5 on the I am willing to Use Linux on applications............ for improve collaboration aI scored 1.
tuxchick

Mar 23, 2007
7:47 AM EDT
jezuch, that explains a lot :)
tracyanne

Mar 23, 2007
8:27 PM EDT
Well basically I don't really fit into their stereotypical persona's. They really needed a Transitioning Windows to Linux question..... but we all know that nobody does that........

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