Microsoft's Linux ad 'misleading'
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Microsoft has been warned by the UK's advertising watchdog about misleading Windows vs Linux adverts.
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Supporters of the free PC operating system Linux are preparing to counter a recent Microsoft Corp.  deal which established for the first time the principle of paying the software giant to use Linux.
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More FUD  from our friends in Seattle:  "Asian governments using Linux will be sued for IP violations, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said today in Singapore. He did not specify that Microsoft would be the company doing the suing, but it's difficult to read the claim as anything other than a declaration of IP war."  "According to a Reuters report (which we fervently hope will produce one of Ballmer's fascinating 'I was misquoted' rebuttals*), Ballmer told Microsoft's Asian Government Leaders Forum that Linux violates more than 228 patents. Come on Steve, don't hold back - what you mean 'more than 228' - 229? 230? Don't pull your punches to soften the blow to the community. "Some day," he contin ...
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Don't expect a patent deal between Microsoft and Ubuntu Linux distributor Canonical anytime soon. CEO Mark Shuttleworth says he won't pay for something he thinks has no legal merit.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft said it moved quickly to remove a banner advertisement that appeared on its instant-messaging program for a software application that falsely hypes security threats on a user's computer. "We immediately investigated the reports and removed the offending ads, as this is a violation of our ad-serving policy," wrote Microsoft spokeswoman Whitney Burk, in an e-mail Tuesday. Last week, computer security analysts noticed twoÂ advertisements for WinfixerÂ -- a self-described security program that also goes by the name ErrorSafe -- on Windows Live Messenger. Security companies have labeled it as a "potentially unwanted program." They believe the program falsely alerts users to problems with their computer and encourages them to purchase the application. It falls into an informally named category of program called "scareware," whose creators try to bully users into downloading their program or face problems with their computer. Microsoft, which called Winfixer "malware," did not detail how the ads appeared. However, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a civil liberties and consumer group in Washington, D.C., has investigated how questionable ads promoting spyware and other malicious software have appeared on ad networks. The incident highlights how even a well-resourced company such as Microsoft can be vulnerable to the vagaries of complex associations of Internet advertising networks. "There are often a host of parties involved in the advertising chain, making it difficult to track the journey an advertisement takes from its original source to a user's computer," according to a CDT report released last year. It's extremely hard to police advertisements, as the organizations which supply them could suddenly substitute new ones, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, a security software company. "There remains a risk that advertisements may be vetted and approved when first placed with an advertising network only to be later 'updated' to advertise less savory products," Cluley said. "This isn't just a problem for Microsoft, it's a problem for any company which is delivering advertisements to its userbase." The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has undertaken several actions against companies that have created special programs designed to exploit security vulnerabilities in computers, that -- like Winfixer -- purport to repair the machine. The Winfixer incident sparks concerns over end-user security and could be especially important for Microsoft. The company seeks to use advertising to subsidize the cost for free services such as Windows Live Mail, formerly Hotmail, and other Web-based services it's using to compete with online offerings from Google Inc. "For years I have been holding up MSN Messenger banner advertisements as an example of how advertisements can be safely served up to end users without putting them at risk of malware," wrote Sandi Hardmeier, a Microsoft Most Valued Professional and specialist in Internet Explorer, on her blog. "Now, everything has changed. This simply shouldn't have happened." Winfixer, which sells for around $39.95, has a shady history, experts says. It's a persistent program, constantly popping up on newly-created domains under various aliases, including ErrorSafe, WinAntiVirus and DriveCleaner, said Chris Boyd, security research manager for FaceTime Communications Inc. The changing names and versions are hard to keep up with for security analysts, let alone for ad network managers who may have no idea of the true nature of the program, Boyd said. "The suspicions are that it [Winfixer] is a quite sophisticated operation," Boyd said. At one time, Winfixer was one of several bad programs installed in a bundle by hackers on vulnerable machines, wrote Ben Edelman, a malware researcher and doctoral candidate at Harvard University, on his Web site. The hackers exploited the Windows Metafile (WMF) problem, a particularly dangerous security hole that appeared in December 2005 and prompted Microsoft to hurriedly issue an off-schedule patch. As always, users should be careful. "The responsibility ultimately falls on the users to be wary of advertisements which may be selling inappropriate or potentially damaging -- to data or finances -- goods," Cluley said. Â
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This little OQO  machine is certainly pretty cool.  The biggest problem though is that it doesn't run Linux.  This leaves you with a device heavier than your PDA and all the insecurity and bloat of Windows and with a price tag of only sub $2000.  People don't care what OS their PDA/Handtop runs.  It can run an alternative OS and for the most part consumers don't care.  WinCE hasn't exactly been a stellar market success.  While Microsoft does have significant market share PalmOS, Symbian, and Linux are doing just fine.  Also most of the WinCE devices never have the fit and finish of their Palm and Symbian counterparts.  I don't know where OQO thinks they are going to fit in.  If they were to  ...
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Back in February, Ralph Green asked me to speak at the North Texas Linux Users' Group. I discussed Linux administration and then took questions. Some one in the audience asked me about Mono. I gave a cavalier answer having a bias against it. Then someone else in the audience said that I needed to get my facts straight.
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Developers forum looks at Linux for the disabled. Also: Microsoft chided for ad campaign.
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Open source software for an extra Â£20 Pssst, pass it onâ¦ Dell is selling Linux-based home PCs and laptops to its UK customers, but youâll need a very good eye and probably a magnifying glass to find the systems on the direct seller's website.â¦
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Microsoft has responded to our story yesterday about it threatening Asian governments that, if they choose Linux, they may get sued - possibly by one of the holders of the &quot;more
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Comments made by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last Thursday to an analyst conference for the most part went unnoticed until stories this morning cited excerpts from a freshly published transcript of that conference. In one such story, an excerpted partial sentence was interpreted as part of a statement that Microsoft may yet exercise its option to sue manufacturers of Linux operating systems other than Novell for infringement of patent.
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The software maker erroneously posts a note on its developer site saying a "release candidate" version of the Vista service pack was being made available. Microsoft does plan one eventually, but it's not imminent.
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The United Kingdom's advertising watchdog group, the Advertising Standards Association, has found that complaints lodged against a Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) magazine ad that stated that Linux was more expensive than Windows were valid.
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Controversy is erupting in the Linux community following news that Xandros and Linspire opted for a pact with Microsoft, while Ubuntu and Red Hat flat out rejected the advances.
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An Australian open-source industry group on Friday took exception to a Gartner report that pre-loading PCs with Linux is often a precursor to adding a pirated copy of Windows, calling the research &quot;farcical.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft has replaced its controversial anti-LinuxÂ "Get the Facts" Web siteÂ with a kinder, gentler site explaining how its Windows Server operating system compares to open-source Linux as well as other competitive OSes. The new WindowsServer/Compare Web site provides information about how Windows Server stacks up in total cost of ownership, reliability, security, manageability and interoperability with Linux, Unix, and IBM's mainframe architecture. Microsoft has posted customer information, feedback from industry experts, white papers and resources about the capabilities of Windows Server on the site. It also offers information for developers building applications on Windows Server. Microsoft said the new site is an evolution of its Get the Facts campaign, launched in mid-2003 and seen by many as a direct slam against Linux and open source. The campaign compared Windows Server favorably against Linux and other technologies in terms of some of the same factors handled on the Compare site. Get the Facts was panned by Linux proponents. Their ire in part may have been due to the outspoken swagger of then Microsoft rising star Martin Taylor who led the campaign. After 13 years at Microsoft,Â Taylor abruptly left the companyÂ in June 2006 and no explanation was given for his departure. Since Taylor's departure, Microsoft has appeared on one hand to be more friendly toward Linux and open source while on the other continuing to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt about those technologies, according to the open-source camp. Linux proponents gained fuel for their side when Microsoft executives earlier this year made bold claims thatÂ Linux and other open-source software violate more than 230 of Microsoft's patents. At the same time, Microsoft has put formerÂ IBM Linux executive Bill HilfÂ front and center stage as its open-source advocate. The vendor also recently launched a new open-source Web page that explains how the company views its relationship with the open-source community. Â
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Ziff Davis - The number of enterprises migrating from Windows to Linux is a growing concern for Microsoft. But it's not a one-way street. Some companies&#151;unhappy with their open-source experience&#151;are making the switch back to Windows.