FC: Microsoft's anti-Unix website runs, well, Unix

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

---

From: "Andrew Downey" <spam () andrewdowney com>
To: <declan () well com>
Subject: UNIX BAD, Microsoft GOOD - maybe.
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 23:23:47 -0500

Declan,

I doubt this story is part of an April fools joke - it's just too
plausible.  It's from today's Wall Street Journal (page b-2 in the dead
tree version).  I'd forward the URL, but as you know, WSJ.com is a
subscription service that's protected by high-tech anti-circumvention
technology (in this case, a cookie) and I'm trying to cut back on my
DMCA violations.

-Andrew



Microsoft-Led Campaign Against Unix
Uses Web Site Running on the Software

By LEE GOMES
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


A Web site funded by Microsoft Corp. urging businesses to avoid the Unix
operating system is itself running on Unix, the latest example of
Microsoft benefiting from the competitive software even while
criticizing it.

The site is connected with a new advertising campaign called "We Have
The Way Out" that is co-sponsored by Unisys Corp. and Microsoft. The
purpose of the campaign is to persuade corporate computing customers to
use computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system instead of
Unix, a rival operating system. Ads associated with the campaign say
Unix "makes you feel boxed in. It ties you to an inflexible system. It
requires you to pay for expensive experts."

But the Web site that is part of the campaign doesn't use Windows for
its operations. Instead, it uses a free "open source" version of Unix
called FreeBSD, along with another piece of free software called the
"Apache" Web server. Both products compete with Microsoft offerings, and
both are extremely popular on Internet sites.

...




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