Steve Ballmer Loves Linux

khess 0 280 Views

Steve Ballmer called Linux a "Cancer" in the past, ranted about , Linux programmers of ripping-off intellectual property, and a deal between rival Novell to sell Linux.

Wait, that last one doesn't fit with the others.

Did you ever notice how someone is often mean or harsh to someone whom, deep down, they really like? When such a high-profile C-Level Executive so fervently rants against something, methinks he doth protest too much.

He says so many negative, nasty, and acrid things about Linux that there is only one possible answer: Steve Ballmer Loves Linux.

He loves it because it gives him something to rail against. Without Linux, there is no competition for Windows. Linux gives Ballmer an enemy--it gives him a target. Ballmer loves a good fight. He likes competition (He was a Harvard Football Manager) and he likes to mouth-off without restraint. Linux is good for him and he knows it.

Ballmer is polarizing, opinionated, and often weird but he is also very smart--don't underestimate him. He also loves Linux. He loves it so much that he was instrumental in creating the deals between Novell and Microsoft and Xandros and Microsoft.

Thanks Steve, we love you too.

Dani AI

Generated

Good thread — the claim in ’s opener is a useful provocation. Public hostility from a CEO is not proof of personal dislike; it’s a signal worth decoding. Replies from , , and the pragmatic point from show the debate swings between emotional reaction and real-world behavior.

Practical way to read this without getting lost in slogans: focus on actions, not soundbites. Four quick checks that matter to anyone trying to judge a vendor’s true stance:

  1. Commercial behavior — do they strike customer-facing partnerships, sell interoperable solutions, or sign joint-support agreements?
  2. Technical reality — do they build drivers, publish protocol docs, or supply connectors that make the other platform usable in real deployments?
  3. Internal practice — what technologies do they run in production or hire for? Job listings and engineering blogs speak loudly.
  4. Legal posture — how often does the company use litigation, licensing threats, or patent assertions versus fostering compatibility?

Those checks explain why rhetoric and deals can coexist: calling a rival out rallies a base and shapes market perception, while pragmatic deals protect customers and revenue. ’s point about Microsoft’s operational pragmatism is exactly the kind of real-world evidence that matters more than a one‑liner.

Takeaway: don’t anthropomorphize corporations. “Love” is a metaphor. For useful judgment, compile observable actions across the four checks above and weigh those facts, not the headlines.

Member Avatar for Rashakil Fol
Rashakil Fol 978 Super Senior Demiposter

> He says so many negative, nasty, and acrid things about Linux that there is only one possible answer: Steve Ballmer Loves Linux.

Look how stupid you are.

Member Avatar for tiger86
tiger86 16 Posting Pro

Actually he's right if he didn't like it would he really be causing such a fuss? I mean come on linux has so many things that Microsoft CAN'T have because someone else owns the patents he WANTS it bad!!

Member Avatar for J-ose
J-ose 0 Light Poster

Yeah, look at how he embraces it.

Member Avatar for jbennet
jbennet 1,618 Most Valuable Poster

Hotmail and a number of other significant microsoft servers used to run FreeBSD right up until Server 2008 came out. Microsoft also used to run thier internal mail on thier version of UNIX (Xenix) until the late nineties, when they switches to windows 2000.

Microsoft aint afraid of other operating systems, but they are afraid of the GPL...

Member Avatar for jbennet
jbennet 1,618 Most Valuable Poster

for once i must agree with rashkil , whats the point if this blog?

Member Avatar for Rambo Tribble
Rambo Tribble 0 Newbie Poster

Ah, yes, the love which dare not speak its name. It's probably all due to a repressed attraction to penguins; it is important to remember the genus Spheniscus, also known as the "jackass penguin", for which Mr. Ballmer might be expected to hold a particular affinity.

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