http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5331307%5e15317%5e%5enbv%5e1
5306,00.html
I REALLY like this bit
"Linux is very, very, very expensive for customers to take care of," he
said. "Linux is a cloned operating system - it cloned Unix and now it wants
to clone Windows. "It would be nice to get some innovation."
Guards on alert for Ballmer
Simon Hayes
OCTOBER 22, 2002
AN all-black motorcade - three limousines escorted by two four-wheel drives
full of bulky men in dark suits and sunglasses - marked the beginning of
Steve Ballmer's Australian charm offensive.
The Microsoft boss was all smiles as he entertained the media with an upbeat
story of a company he predicted would continue on its winning streak.
In a press conference heavily controlled by Microsoft public relations
staff, Ballmer delivered a mea culpa of sorts to users annoyed by the
software giant's clumsily handled licensing scheme.
"We could have done it better," he said. "We set out to simplify things, but
there were collateral issues."
Ballmer said 60 per cent of Australian corporate users of Microsoft products
had adopted Licensing 6.0, admitting: "Some people don't like the licensing
issue, and we have to do some work on them".
Ballmer later hosted an invitation-only dinner for 25 of Microsoft's top
corporate customers, as well as holding one-on-one meetings with major
users.
The Microsoft chief executive also met Communications Minister Richard
Alston.
But at his press conference, Ballmer found time to deliver a broadside at
Linux, an operating system that compared unfavourably with Windows, he said.
"Linux is very, very, very expensive for customers to take care of," he
said. "Linux is a cloned operating system - it cloned Unix and now it wants
to clone Windows. "It would be nice to get some innovation."
The most recent previous hi-tech VIP to visit Australia was Intel chief
executive Craig Barrett, who did a tour of the country in September.
Barrett - who also toured Asia - was surrounded by a retinue of aides, all
wearing rockstar-style "CB TOUR 2002" accreditation tags.
The last time Sydney played host to such a plethora of high-profile IT
bosses was during the 2000 Olympics, when both Microsoft's Bill Gates and
then IBM boss Lou Gerstner made the trip Down Under.
The Games also attracted Siemens chief Heinrich von Pierer and NTT executive
vice-president Katsiya Okimi, who also attended the 2000 World Economic
Forum in Melbourne.
IT executives generally travel in luxury. Gerstner, for example, entertained
guests aboard the cruise liner Crystal Harmony, moored in Sydney Harbour.
Oracle boss Larry Ellison has also visited Australia, to participate in the
Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race.
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