FUDBusters: Microsoft Unleashes Incentive Program for NetWare Switchers

FUDBust: Those wacky kids in Redmond are at it again. This time, instead of badmouthing Linux with some highly suspect ROI numbers, Microsoft is taking the high road with an Apple-esque "switch" program. The company is attempting to lure NetWare users away with a 20 percent discount on Quest's NDS Migrator, some online training, up to $600 per server in integration vouchers, online discussion forums and a free download of Windows Services for Netware (SFN).

Forget for a moment that SFN is already free, that Quest's NDS Migrator can't be purchased without a "quote," and that only registrants who buy 50 client licenses qualify for the program. The real problem is that Microsoft's incentives are available only to the first 1,000 qualified registrants before June 2005. If Microsoft were serious about this, it would offer direct discounts--not just installation subsidies--to all NetWare users. Maybe Microsoft's money is tied up in settling lawsuits with Novell.