[Fsf-friends] Halloween VII

[Rajkumar S]

ESR has reviewed the latest Microsoft leaked Linux strategy document. A
very interesting read. Some interesting points wrt FSF
<quote>
>From ESR's comments:

The term ‘free software’ isn't mentioned once, not even as an exploitable
weakness. This contrasts strongly with the original Halloween Memoranda.
I'm not sure what this means, but one strong possibility is that the term
has simply fallen out of use both at Microsoft and in their survey
population.
The messages and tactics the open-source community has developed over the
last five years are working well. Our memes about security, TCO, and
competitive impact have achieved deep penetration in Microsoft's survey
population. Abstract arguments about intellectual property rights, on the
other hand, have served Microsoft just as poorly as they have served us.
>From the MS document:

While respondents cited OSS's 'low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)' as one
of the best reasons to support OSS, an 'alternative to Microsoft' did not
lag far behind. A plurality (40%) of all respondents felt that a low TCO
was the best reason to support OSS. One-third of all respondents cited 'an
alternative to Microsoft' as one of the best reasons to support OSS.</quote>

The url is http://opensource.org/halloween/halloween7.php

raj