Microsoft PR threw down the gauntlet; “see how Windows Server 2008 stacks up versus Linux,” they say. There’s a “Get the Facts” URL being promoted with claims of direct comparisons between the two operating systems. Anyone reading the headlines alone could be fooled into thinking there’s substance to be found.

The URL is www.Microsoft.com/getthefacts which in turn redirects to the Windows Server 2008 subsite. I went into detail on one case study found on this site last week which promised the exciting tale where a major Australian entertainment company – Video Ezy – pitched Windows vs Linux head to head and Windows came out trumps.

However, reading the case study revealed no such comparison took place. The organisation were interested in evaluating the open source route but – and the case study is explicit, this is not just fanciful imagination on my part – one of the team members steered the company away because they spoke of bad experiences with Linux in a previous job.

Mind you, the bad experience was dubious.

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