..::B:R:A:D::..

I have to admit that I have become a fan of Microsofts Channel9 project. In particular the video interviews they post. They cover a wide range of topics inside Microsoft development and most of them are fairly interesting. It’s kind of like a behind-the-scenes look into Microsoft.

Recently they have posted two videos from interviews with Martin Taylor, Microsoft’s General Manager of Competitive Strategy, and Bill Hilf, a Linux developer and Microsoft Technical Director of Platform Strategy. Basically their jobs are to keep an eye on Linux/OSS.

- Martin Taylor and Bill Hilf - Linux at Microsoft, Part I
- Martin Taylor and Bill Hilf - Linux at Microsoft, Part II

Here are some of the notes I took while watching these interviews:

—————————————————-
Channel9 Linux Interviews:

Learned lessons from open source development model.
-Broader testing environment or base (more people testing)
-Get products in hands of clients sooner and get feedback
-Mentioned how much DrWatson has helped MS narrow down bugs

Why corporations would choose Linux/OSS?
-TCO
-Reliablity
-Security
-Fringe niches (need highly customized OS)

Why developers/enthusiest/hobbiest choose Linux/OSS?
-It’s a lot like UNIX (also applies to corporate)
-Quick and easy access (availability)
-Academic curiosity

Question from Channel9 member: Why does MS not lower prices?
-Their answer: it’s not about price it’s about added value…

My answer: I would argue that in many cases they have lowered the price when in negotions with companies and governments. Example: Thailand, XP Starter, desperately trying to win the Munich deal…

What does Windows have that Linux/OSS does not have?
-User experience testing (they have tons of people hired just for this!)
-Integration/Management (make sure things like Small Business Server don’t just feel
like they slapped a bunch of apps together)…create value added resources.

Linux Lab @ MS.
-See what competition is doing…what can we learn from them
-How do we compare…extensive benchmarking internally between products
-See what customers expect in a similar product that they will expect in our products.
Then make our products as good or better.
-Testing, finding problems or issues in mixed environments…work towards better integration.
-Introduce failure points…see how long it takes administrators to bring system back up to full
service. (comparisons between Linux vs Windows)
-Consistent testing environment.
-Using/Testing SMS plugins to control and manage UNIX/Linux servers.
—————————————————-

I would love to see something like this done in general for Linux. Not necessarily from one company, since Linux is more than one company. “OpenChannel” — It would have video interviews and demonstrations from various people working on Linux from many companies or individuals who are not specifically employed to work on Linux so have no corporate affiliations. It could also show a behind-the-scenes look into how actual companies are using Linux.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 5th, 2005 at 5:31 am and is filed under Other OS, Linux. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.