Having called Linux and open source software a cancer, un-American, and bankrupt, Microsoft now plans to focus on facts instead of emotions, the company"s competitive strategist said Thursday. "There were some emotional statements made before; we"re now on a direction to talk about the facts," said Martin Taylor, who as the company"s general manager of platform strategy drives Microsoft"s thinking when it comes to Linux and other open-source products. Taylor was appointed to the job two weeks ago.
It took a few years, but Microsoft now appears to have changed its tactics in its battle with Linux. "It is not a religious discussion, it is a business model discussion," Taylor said "We kind of defaulted [to emotion] because we could not think about Linux in the right way." At a large Microsoft meeting in New Orleans a few weeks ago, Taylor and Kevin Johnson, who heads up worldwide sales and marketing at Microsoft, told the company"s sales force that Microsoft wants to have "fact-based conversations, not emotional conversations" about Linux and open source, Taylor said.