Microsoft versus IBM

MS has put IBM as the face of open-source.

• "Most people who want Office and Windows have them," Wilcox said.
• "Microsoft has a situation where the market is saturated and fragmented.''
• In the US, there are 7.5M small businesses (less than 100 employees) and 320,000 medium-sized ones (100-999 employees).
• IBM, said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is "increasingly a services company.''
• Microsoft, countered IBM VP Ken Bisconti, is stuck "on a pre-Internet software model.''
• Microsoft launched a $500-million campaign aimed at promoting its products - and attacking IBM.
• Microsoft also is tangling with other competitors, such as targeting Google's dominance of the Internet search market.
• Google will bundle its software on Dell machines.

In summary, MS is all about marketing and attacks, not about helpful business software.