Cool: Windows is Cheaper, Windows is Secure

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

From: Competition is good ?? (no,)
Date: 11/04/04 

Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 23:10:22 -0000

Well is official Mr. Balmer says so...
>>>>>
You may have seen a letter from Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, which was
sent to all Windows customers in an attempt to slow the flood of migration
to Linux. Novell would like to make you aware that the points made by Mr.
Ballmer in that letter include only those statements in its paid studies
that reflect most positively on Microsoft when comparing their products to
Linux.

We'd like to share some additional facts with you that will shed some light
on the bigger picture.

Total Cost of Ownership

Mr. Ballmer quotes selectively from Windows-favorable comments in a Yankee
Group report ("Linux, UNIX and Windows TCO Comparison"). However - that's
not the whole story. That same report also states the following:
  a.. "...corporate customers report Linux provides businesses with
excellent performance, reliability, ease of use and security. Yes, Linux is
a viable alternative to UNIX and Windows. In addition, Linux is the most
serious competition to Microsoft's dominance in the server operating system
market to date."
  b.. "The ability to modify and customize the Linux source code affords
customers the most intriguing possibilities for custom application
development. This ability stands in stark contrast to the closed or
proprietary nature of the Windows operating system.
  c.. "In summary, the Yankee Group's TCO survey found that Linux does offer
compelling cost savings, economies of scale and technical advantages, as
many a satisfied user will attest."
Security

Mr. Ballmer brings up the issue of security, which understandably is much on
his mind. He cites Microsoft's recent investments in security research,
process improvements, and customer education, and boasts of Microsoft's
structured software engineering process that is designed to make software
more secure.

The truth is, Open Source uses a structured process, but it is definitely
different from the one Microsoft utilizes. And to tell the truth, it seems
to be working much better.

Evans Data Corporation, in their Linux Development Survey dated Summer, 2004
shows:
  a.. Ninety two percent of survey respondents indicated that their Linux
systems have never been infected with a virus. Fewer than 7% said that
they'd been the victims of three of more hacker intrusions.
  b.. On the other hand, the process Microsoft utilizes clearly has been
inadequate at protecting its customers from costly malicious attacks.
For example, two weeks ago Microsoft released a mammoth patch pack to
address more than 20 vulnerabilities, most of them critical. Several of
them, in Excel, Internet Explorer, and Exchange, could enable mass automated
worm attacks.

In a story that appeared in Computer Business Review Online, Drew Copley,
senior research engineer at eEye Digital Security Inc, said that it took
Microsoft 71 days to patch the Zip problem after being notified, but another
vulnerability, a less-severe privilege escalation problem in Windows, took
the firm 408 days to issue a patch for, though it was "stealth-patched" in
XP SP2.

"They can do better than that in my opinion. Even when they are fast there
are often variants out by the time the patch comes out," he said. "I think
that's a very important criticism to make."

Indemnification

Mr. Ballmer claims that it is rare for open source software to provide
customers with any indemnification at all. The NovellŪ Linux Indemnification
Program has been in place for quite some time. It offers indemnification for
copyright infringement claims made by third parties against registered
Novell customers. Novell has also placed its considerable patent portfolio
squarely behind its customers, to defend against those who might assert
patents against open source products marketed, sold or supported by Novell.

For more information on the indemnification program, see
http://www.novell.com/licensing/indemnity/ Read Novell's patent policy here:
http://www.novell.com/company/policies/patent/

Bottom Line

Linux can deliver a lower TCO, it is arguably more secure than Windows, and
the combination of Novell's patent policies and the indemnification program
offers for its open source products provides protection for customers who
wish to make the leap to Linux. We invite you to read the full reports for
yourself, and see why Linux is gaining more and more fans every day.

Linux is the fastest growing operating system, used from desktops to the
most demanding data centers. According to IDC reports, Linux enjoyed
year-to-year growth of nearly 50% in 2003. By 2007, they estimate that 30%
of all servers will run Linux, and they project a 44% compound annual growth
rate in Linux desktops.

According to an Information Week survey, Linux is now the dominant
manifestation of open source. Nearly 70 percent of 420 business-technology
professionals surveyed already use the operating system. Three-quarters of
those using Linux on some of their companies' servers chose it for its
performance capabilities and reliability.

If the world were as Microsoft states, Linux would not be the world's
fastest growing operating system, ISVs would not be writing to it in ever
increasing numbers, partners would not be looking to sell it, and Microsoft
would not have put a revenue caution related to Linux in their latest SEC
filing. These, however, are the true facts.

This information and much more is available on our website at
http://www.novell.com/linux/truth. We encourage you to examine the facts in
their entirety and see if Linux is right for you and your customer's
business.

Sincerely,
Jack Messman
Ronald W. Hovsepian

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