The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK have ruled that ads featuring Microsoft Windows vs Linux are misleading. The adverts in question show how the cost of running a Linux box compares to running a Windows Server 2003 box, but various differences between the configurations of the box have caused numerous customers to complain that the comparison is not representative.

The advert claimed that running a Linux setup was up to ten times more expensive than running a Windows Operating System, but seemed to neglect to take into account the wildly different hardware that the advert was demonstrating the operating systems on. On the Linux environment there was an IBM z900 mainframe, and on the Windows environment there were dual 900Mhz Xeon CPU's.

The ASA felt that it would perhaps have been fairer to compare the two operating systems on equal ground if a cost comparison were to be made, by perhaps installing them both onto the same, or at least similar, hardware. The text of the advert lead readers to believe that the comparison being made was between the two operating systems alone, rather than including the hardware. The ASA concluded that this was misleading, and have asked Microsoft to amend their advertismemt accordingly.


Source : ITVibe

typical m$ behaviour, if only Linux was better and more organized would had many users

(in reply to WinThusiast)

Linux will eventually get extinct, unless it atracks the gaming community (which is nearly imposible...).
MS is doing itself, however, too many marketing strategy errors and thus far has postponed such an (unwishing) scenario.

(in reply to emperor)