FUDBusters: Steve Ballmer Warns Users Against Linux

FUDBust: Spreading FUD about Linux, in fact, is exactly what Ballmer and Microsoft are doing--and very well. Ballmer cited two studies indicating that Linux's TCO may be higher than Windows', but he didn't mention the studies that support the opposite conclusion. On security, Ballmer said Windows is attacked more frequently because it's more popular than Linux, but he neglected to mention Windows' numerous security design flaws.

Ballmer noted that Microsoft absorbs the costs and penalties of patent lawsuits against it, "but in the Linux world, nobody stands behind patent claims." His intimation is that Linux users could be held liable in the patent cases, but he didn't mention that most legal experts consider such a scenario far-fetched. No FUD, Steve? Try again.