Microsoft Enlists PC Makers For Linux FUD Campaign

Netbooks were supposed to help propel Linux into the mainstream, an expectation that was fueled by the flood of early Asus Eee PC netbooks that shipped with Linux. Since then, however, Asus has aligned itself more closely with the interests of Microsoft, and a bizarre Web site touting the superiority of Windows on netbooks shows just how deep this partnership has grown.

The It's Better With Windows Web site includes a video set to mind-numbing elevator music that shows smiling Eee PC owners using Windows netbooks and Microsoft software in a variety of settings, all of which contain the implicit message that the Microsoft-Asus combination brings family and friends closer into one big fuzzy cloud of collaborative bliss.

In a clear jab at Linux, the Web site also includes the slogan, "Windows helps you quickly and easily get online and connect to your devices and services -- without dealing with an unfamiliar environment or major compatibility issues."

Microsoft often claims that high Linux netbook return rates are proof that users prefer the comforting familiarity of Windows, but this statement completely glosses over the fact that Windows Vista was a disaster of epic proportions that also fits this description.

Microsoft worked with Asus to develop It's Better With Windows, but the Web site is maintained independently by Asus and isn't a Microsoft property, a Microsoft spokesperson said in an e-mail. Microsoft has left the door open to other OEMs to create similar sites that illustrate the benefits of Windows PCs and will provide resources to support their efforts, the spokesperson added.

With a Windows netbook attach rate well north of 90 percent, Microsoft would seem to have little to fear from Linux on these low-cost machines. So why is Microsoft letting other companies rebroadcast its messaging in such a stilted manner?

It's Better With Windows makes its point clumsily, and definitely wouldn't have passed Microsoft marketing's quality bar. In addition to shoddy design, the four-minute video does several loops through the same handful of scenarios, and the viewer never hears the subjects talking about why they love Windows so much more than Linux.

The Web site also makes blanket statements that give Microsoft bashers plenty of fodder for ridicule, such as, "Windows delivers a trusted experience that Microsoft and a worldwide community of partners stand behind" and, "You can be confident that your devices and applications will work with Windows."

Anyone who used Windows Vista before Microsoft released Service Pack 1 probably will blow a gasket when they see these claims because Vista still is a smoking crater of bad memories that will take years to fade, regardless of how much better Windows 7 turns out to be.

Microsoft learned many valuable lessons from Vista, but Microsoft should ensure that it -- and not its partners -- exerts complete control over its messaging around Linux fear, uncertainty and doubt. Otherwise, these Web sites are going to attract the type of attention that injured swimmers get when venturing into piranha-infested waters.