And so Microsoft ends up being Linux's, and Unix's best advocate. Their marketing muscle can't shift the truth that people have inflated expectations of NT, and NT routinely disappoints them. They could've retained rights to Xenix at considerably less cost to their credibility. Another aspect that I feel should be considered, is the matter of 'anecdotal evidence' of Linux's superiority that Microsoft trots out with diarrhoearric frequency. I have a few suggestions to make.
Some industries are more computer-intensive than others and in different ways as well.
Ripping out an experienced Unix administrator and replacing him with a new MCSE without much practical experience, eg, trained in NT and runs Win98 at home, would be a disaster. Of course, it is possible to run everything on one computer, and the smaller the company, the more likely that is to occur. And please note, 'weekly scheduled maintenance downtimes' is a personal computer trait. A mission-critical server should be made of sterner stuff. Microsoft definitely doesn't talk about the equal and opposite action, of people buying licenses to use NT, becoming dissatisfied with it, and discarding it for Linux, or FreeBSD, or some other Microsoft competitor.