The Gripe Line Weblog by Ed Foster
What interests me most about this particular white paper is that it contains some benchmark results comparing performance of Windows Server 2003 and the .Net development framework versus IBM Websphere running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Which brings me to that one little fact I wanted to add. The license agreement for Windows Server 2003 states:
"Benchmark Testing. The 32-bit version of the Software contains the Microsoft .NET Framework. Disclosure of the results of any benchmark test of the .NET Framework component of the Software to any third party without Microsoft's prior written approval is prohibited."
In other words, Microsoft says competitors need their permission to publish results of a study like the one Microsoft commissioned. If IBM, Red Hat, or some other open source advocate wanted to counter Microsoft's claims with a study of their own, Microsoft's license would deny them the right to publish their own set of benchmark results.
Since Microsoft's censorship clause is probably not legally enforceable, it would theoretically be possible for a competitor to do its own study and dare Microsoft to do something about it. In practice, though, a competitor would probably have a great deal of difficulty getting any of the major independent labs to conduct the test without Microsoft's approval. And, assuming that the test plan was one designed to show open source in a far more favorable light than Microsoft's did, it's highly unlikely Microsoft's approval would be forthcoming.
