[Linux-aus] [Osia-discuss] Re: If you could ask Microsoft a question, what would it be?

[Jiri Baum]

Hello,

> > "A Microsoft partner is a victim they haven't got to yet."
...

Sridhar Dhanapalan:
> You're reading far too much into this. This is a one-off meeting. It is not
> another MS-Novell deal, and we sure as heck aren't making a human pretzel.

I hope so.

> At the very least, this is an opportunity to have them visit our turf, on
> our own terms, and force them to respond to everything we throw at them.
> Lab rats spring to mind :)

I very much doubt any "forcing" will take place. Firstly, they will be 
professional spokespeople being interrogated by random geeks, which will give 
them the upper hand. Failing that, they can simply not answer a question. 
Finally, if they feel that the questions are going to be too hot, they'll 
simply cancel the visit, possibly with a "SLUG rejected us" press release.

> > A leopard can't change its spots.

> Think: IBM. Once the Big Bad Wolf of the IT industry, and champion of
> proprietary technologies and closed thinking, they have dramatically
> altered their image within a short period of time. Who would've thunk it?

Well, their recent behaviour shows no change (last 6-12 months). As Con wrote, 
MS isn't there yet.

> If we close ourselves off to these possibilities, we will not only be
> forsaking our principles, we will also be doing ourselves a major
> disservice.

Well, what outcomes are we hoping for from this meeting? Let's list them, 
check they're desirable and achievable, and then take steps to make sure that 
they happen - tailor the questions in view of the goals and then make sure 
that those are the questions that get asked. Otherwise we're likely to end up 
with a bunch of disparate questions which are all easily deflected or 
otherwise frustrate our goals.

(Note: this applies regardless of what stance we wish to take. If we want to 
go for a cooperative feel, we need to make sure confrontational questions 
aren't asked.)

Jiri
-- 
Jiri Baum <jiri at baum.com.au>                   http://www.baum.com.au/~jiri