Old FUD in a new wrapper. (Silicon.com)

Posted Sep 30, 2004 17:58 UTC (Thu) by cliffman (guest, #13144)
Parent article: Desktop Linux is Windows piracy aide (Silicon.com)

Sigh. What FUD. Data point not addressed: What percentage of the PC vendors in this report offer a PC with _no OS? ( Which would presumably be the _lowest cost option, and even more attractive to pirates )
I suspect this data is really showing us the absence of naked PC sales, and is a continuation of older FUD. Remeber from several years ago, Microsoft had an ad campaign claiming "A PC sold with no OS can _only be used to pirate software". ( buy only from those that pay the Windows Tax! )

Notice the tone in the first paragraph: "Linux PCs will be modified to run an illegal copy.." That's a straight Fear statement, implying that adding the Linux bits somehow enables a 'modification' of the PC ( what would that be?? ) making it magically easier to steal Microsoft's IP. Contrast with this substitution: "Dirt-cheap PC's will be modified to run an illegal... " How does the term 'modified' apply here? The addition of Linux to the PC package purchased in no way relates to the end use of the PC, other than cost. It would have been more honest for Gartner to have said, "Pirates are using the cheapest boxes they can find, and more cheap box-pushers are adding a Linux CD to their offerings"