Report: Microsoft discounts against Linux
Reuters | at | by Mike
Microsoft has a strategy to discount its products heavily when the software giant competes for orders against the emerging license-free Linux operating system, the International Herald Tribune newspaper said on Thursday. The newspaper said that according to internal Microsoft emails it obtained, Microsoft's chief sales executive Orlando Ayala authorized executives to offer steep discounts.
"Under NO circumstances lose against Linux," Ayala was quoted saying by the newspaper, adding the discounts could be paid for by a special fund.
Microsoft is the dominant operating software on desktop computers around the world, while it is pushing into the market for more powerful and expensive computers. A range of Microsoft rivals are promoting Linux as a cheap alternative to Microsoft's Windows.