Linux insurrection has got giant Microsoft's attention
SeattlePI | at | by Mike
It's perhaps the last place a Linux enthusiast would expect to find all the software needed to run a Linux office for 1,000 people -- the Redmond headquarters of Microsoft.
The software giant, which considers Linux one of the biggest threats to its business, recently finished installing all the hardware and software needed to do just that in its Enterprise Engineering Center, where Microsoft recreates business customers' systems to test and demonstrate Microsoft software deployed on their networks.
Understanding Linux's strengths and weaknesses is key to competing with it, says Microsoft strategist Martin Taylor. The stack of servers is solely for research into the open-source software, in which the underlying code can be downloaded, shared and modified freely.