Microsoft bribes Best Buy staff to slam Mac and Linux

I am genuinely disappointed. From my opinion, this is the sort of I would expect of Apple, not the great Vole itself. Oh well, I guess the corporations will continue to troll us into buying their products. Be sure to put your coolface on every time you go into PC World or Best Buy and troll the sales people into installing Gentoo on their Mac Pros.

Somethings rattling their cage methinks.

All the training material says, is basically true, so no wonder that fanbois are pissed!

"The Vole tells Best Buy staff to claim that World of Warcraft is incompatible with Linux, despite the fact that it works pretty well if you use WINE"

Cause that's exactly what consumers want... Their software to run "pretty well" if you run other apps in the background that might, or might not, work. Be enraged Mac and Linux users, be very enraged!

Does that mean Microsoft are actully scared of OSX and Linux now?

And yes Wine does work for a lot of Windows apps maybe not exactly how they should but it's something. Most OpenGL windows apps will work without issue it's directx thats the problem.

How many native linux & OSX apps can windows run? Although I'm not saying Windows is worse, just different.

First I am not here to offend anyone.
Since I switched to Ubuntu I have a real sense of freedom to do with my computer what I want to do and not want some company wants me to do. The problem with Os X is apples constant nagging to buy.
The problem with Microsoft is cost and never ending patches is there OS.
And there are thousands of great apps that just plain work all downloaded from one place the synaptic package manager.
Yes it takes a little time to learn anything new but it is more than worth the time for me. And in mind Ubuntu is second to none.

The fanboYs pissed since it's ALL lie.
When you need to use compatibility mode in XP, Vista or 7 it is exactly like use WINE, Cedega or Crossover. And any average teenager is able to install games with Cedega.
WoW specifically runs on Linux (with Nvidia card) with higher FPS than on XP with exactly same hardware. I don't like the game, but did the test out of pure curiosity since i found some post on this issue.
Yes Linux does not run your popular Antivirus and defragmentation tools simply because there is no need to do it.
It runs Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Skype, Nero, Picasa, Azureus, Open Office and other popular software native.
It supports if not every then at least all known to me IM protocols.
Voice,Video, Chat, File transfers for Skype, Gtalk and Yahoo.

Device compatibility is more than adequate. That means that I can't think about something POPULAR that will not work. Event better, in most cases you don't need to install anything to connect your peripherals. Just plug and use.

Actually you miss the point of this "training". It's not about Linux or Mac inferiority. M$ teaches Best Buy staff how to squeeze more money from customers (YOU).
And they say that Windows will ease on them to sell more (useless) stuff.
And they right. Linux is cheaper. It will save a lot of time and money to consumer. HW requirements are much lower. Footprint are lower (it's not important for HDD, but more than it when it comes to SSD. in my case it's 8USD per GB which makes Win 7+ Office to cost additional 200$) You don't need to reinstall your OS and even if you do, you don't need to reconfigure your desktop and applications. The only reasons to do it is. Your HDD is dead or You WANT to do it. You don't have to care about viruses. Just do what you like to do.
My family and friends were amazed after they tried Diet Linux (Ubuntu).
And guess what, they don't miss Windows.

Typical unscrupulous acts by two companies who have been convicted numerous times of consumer fraud and violation of anti-trust laws. What do you expect from scum?

@Victor Szulc, go drink some more koolaid.

@nonsense, I agree

@Scott Ditto Same here.

As for Best Buy, I like to talk to the young guys there about computers. Most of them know there stuff and many use OS X and Linux. Have not run into a MS fanboy at my local store yet but Best Buy is big and I am sure they are out there.

Seriously, couldn't them came up with a better example? They should simply tell that products build upon a M$ proprietary technology (e.g. DirectX) can only be ran by M$ proprietary OSes.

Indeed non-M$ OSes will never support 100% those products whose developers were also bribed to make use of frameworks specifically tailored to please a particular business endeavor.

The quality, well, we deal with that later.

http://www.semiaccurate.com/2009/09/09/best-buys-geek-squad-votes-union/

ROFL

hmm,
it might be technically correct to say some people can get WoW running on Linux via WINE. But frankly, it's a lot easier than the fact 'it just runs' in Windows. I've had it working on my ubuntu boot, but it was at far lower resolution and effects settings.
Rest of the article seems to be 'company talks to sales staff about how to sell a product'. Next you'll be telling us journalists goto trade shows and get freebies!

@ Nonsense

Nonsense indeed!
The old FUD and scaremongering about Windows and virusscanners might work on newbies and idiots, but personally I don't use an antivirus program, or a firewall besides the one built into Windows7. Never had a problem with a virus either.
(Same thing goes for defraging in Windows 7 btw!)
Viruses are spread by stupidity, not because an OS is inherantly insecure, like you make it out to be.

And nice to hear that Linux runs Open Office (that horror of a program!) and Nero... Now what about programs that people actually use? Such as MS Office or Photoshop?
Linux "supports" all known IM protocols? Great? Then it's up to the user to find a single good program, among the masses of utter shite that goes for freeware in Linux world: Gimp, Pidgin, and all the other POS applications with weird names that are the norm.

And device compability is "more than adequate"? LOL! Imagine the uproar there would be, if a Microsoft OS didn't support any known device on earth! Hardly enough for Joe Blow out there, now is it?
(And if you're one of those that bitched about Vista in that respect, nice doublestandard!)

It's not that Linux is a BAD operating system. Windows is just better in many respects, indluding the ones that are most important to people: Familiarity and compability.
That is why Windows 7 is going to be a huge success, and Linux will never be more than a pretty good webserver, and a tiny percentage of geeks favorite OS.

I took these series of tests that Microsoft provided via ExpertZone. Apple is more than welcome to do the same, offer a training site to the resellers of their products, and follow that up by giving these trainees incentives (discounted iPods, MacBooks, iMacs, and software such as MobileMe, and iWork). However, until they do, Apple is just an overpriced piece of crap that I can't afford and thus is not something I can sell due to lack of experience or training. Microsoft is offering a service, and I commend them for it!!!

I switched to ubuntu because the XP installation CD wouldn't recognize my hard drives. Once I got used to ubuntu, using windows for anything but gaming just makes me feel dirty. :/

Never refer to your competition by name. Doing so is an admission that you take them seriously. Which means your prospective customers are likely to take them seriously, too.

By mentioning “Linux” to people who might never have heard of it, and painting it in such lurid terms, all Microsoft is doing is making people wonder why it should be so worried all of a sudden.

As the Mahatma said: “First they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they fight you; then you win.”

We’re up to stage 3 already...

Well, no matter how many times you read a Windows vs. Linux article like this there is always a dumb, saliva spraying, angry soul like Victor Szulc
Here is why.

"Viruses are spread by stupidity, not because an OS is inherantly insecure, like you make it out to be."

First of all, viruses and worms made possible because of OS vulnerabilities and bad design. So no matter how you spin it the OS design and coding quality is at fault here. How and why people spread the worms and at what rate is a different matter. Of course the stupid ones suffer more but that does not make an OS innocent.

"And nice to hear that Linux runs Open Office (that horror of a program!) and Nero..."

Tastes differ, you know. You sound like a child :)

"Now what about programs that people actually use? Such as MS Office or Photoshop?"

Who are those people ???
How do you know what "all people" use?
And what is photoshop, anyway??? :)
And what makes you think that everyone should use it? Don't be silly.

"... among the masses of utter shite that goes for freeware in Linux world: Gimp, Pidgin, and all the other POS applications with weird names that are the norm."

So if the name of the program is weird then the program is inferior? You even dumber then I thought.

"Imagine the uproar there would be, if a Microsoft OS didn't support any known device on earth!"

An OS is not supposed to "support" a device, Windows or Linux :)
All an OS should have is generics, it can, of course, contain the drivers provided by the device maker if the device maker decides to write one.
It's up to the device manufacturer to write/provide the driver for their device or at least make the APIs known to OS manufacturer.

"It's not that Linux is a BAD operating system. Windows is just better in many respects, .."

Care to explain why Windows is better?

Maybe because it gets killed by hundreds simultaneous updates?
I was on holiday for five weeks. When I came back and switched on my Vista box it was unusable for one hour.
Every program tries to update itself separately, so you get hundreds of pop ups spawning at the same time. Then the disk spining like mad while it checks/scans/searches/detects all kind of crap/viruses/worms.

Can I fix it? Of course I can. But why should I?
Linux updates everything (including all programs and OS) in a single click and my hard drive does not fly out of the box. Oh, and Linux does not tell me what I can or can not run on my PC.

"That is why Windows 7 is going to be a huge success, and Linux will never be more than a pretty good webserver, and a tiny percentage of geeks favorite OS."

That's because you're delusional :)
To be able to compare correctly you need to know both OSs very well. Otherwise you're just being dumb.

Amen...

Windooz, linux or mac-os, it's just what you are used to work with.

And for the masses, use windows. it's easier to understand. (althoug i'm a linux fan)

Gotta love spin.

Bribe bRibe brIbe

How bout

Mac (Apple) Monopolizes Music

Linux Loses in Patent court

People will do what they want to do.

Most people just want everything to work.

100% agreed about the virus part.

This is exactly the way I think and I have no problems with this behavior either.

The antivirus usually hurt my system more than the viruses themselves.

100% agreed about the OpenOffice part.

They try to make a M$Office-wannabe but they aren't quite there. I don't know why it can't even recognize properly the margin dimensions of a very simple .DOC file.

0% agreed on Windows Linux part.

You don't know Linux.

I don't see how buying a piece of junk PC is a better value than a Mac. You are certainly getting what you pay for, a cheap commoditized toaster that is worth nothing once you take it home.

I just sold a 3 year old Mac Pro w/23" monitor on ebay for $1800 and turned around and bought a Macbook Pro with the money.... now that's what I consider value.

Try that with a piece of junk PC.

I could list 20 other reasons Mac's offer better value than PC's. So spare me your misguided generalized ideology of cheaper is better. because for many of us cheap is just that.... cheap.

"although it is one of the few things that runs on a Mac. µ"

pleeeeassee ....... you mean the complete apple stable and the complete windows stable off apps or programs.

As I see:
most windows users never tried linux
most linux user won't go back to windows
most mac users think themselfs superior

As for me these marketing strategies are only a mere amusement to read about..

cheers!

A lot of these so-called training materials are a clever means of propaganda. They take a small bit of truth and bend it out of shape into something big and ugly. They take something like the occasional printer problem and try to flip that into the norm rather than the exception. The really sad part is that they don't have to flip it around this way. That last 5% of incompatability is quite enough to scare most people away. Microsoft doesn't really have to lie. They could be honest and merely not exaggerate and successfully chase a lot of people away from MacOS or Linux.

The risk in this hyperbole is twofold. As others have said, they legitimize any competitor they call out by name. Furthermore, if they lay it on too thickly people might get wise and realize they're being lied to (assuming they don't already know).

If someone realizes that part of the sales pitch is bogus, they might conclude the same of the whole thing. Lies can backfire horribly sometimes.