Ballmer's Remarks Inspire A TCO Trip Down Memory LaneBallmer's Remarks Inspire A TCO Trip Down Memory Lane

Earlier this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had a few things to say about the never-ending Windows vs. Linux total cost of ownership debate. It's an interesting interview -- but not quite as interesting as some internal Microsoft email on the same subject that turned up last year, as a result of the company's involvement in yet another antitrust lawsuit.The email in question dealt with Microsoft's sponsorship of a 2002 IDC "research report" that compared the TCO of Windows 2000 and Linux for business users. At the time, Microsoft officials debated whether to admit up front that the company sponsored the report, which figured prominently in its notorious "Get The Facts" campaign against Linux.

The email surfaced in early 2007, while Microsoft was embroiled in an Iowa class-action lawsuit over alleged monopoly-pricing practices. (The company settled the lawsuit in February, 2007 for $179 million.) According to the email -- part of a slew of subpoenaed documents Microsoft would have preferred to keep to itself -- at least one company official argued that it would be "easier" not to own up to sponsoring the IDC study.

The Microsoft exec, Kevin Johnson, now the head of Microsoft's Windows product team, wrote that he was concerned about competitors turning Microsoft's sponsorship of the study to their own advantage. Oddly enough, however, Johnson focused on the fact that the IDC study picked Windows as the TCO champ in only four out of five outlined business scenarios.

If Johnson lost any sleep over the prospect that Microsoft's competitors might -- and in fact, did -- dismiss the study as a ham-fisted PR stunt, he kept it to himself.

Other Microsoft execs argued that trying to conceal the company' sponsorship of the IDC study would have truly ugly consequences. In the end, of course, Microsoft didn't try to hide its financial support for the study, nor did it push IDC to make Windows 2000 a perfect five-for-five in its TCO scenarios. That's just as well, since according to another internal Microsoft email, the company had already annoyed IDC with its efforts to toss Linux under the TCO bus -- and other research firms, including Gartner, wanted nothing to do with the project.

In this week's interview with information, Steve Ballmer argues that the TCO battle is still the key to winning the server market-share war against Linux and that Windows can truthfully claim a significant TCO advantage over Linux. As Microsoft's court-ordered trip down memory lane shows, however, when it comes to getting the facts about Windows vs. Linux TCO, one embarrassing email is worth a thousand on-the-record CEO interviews.

A final note: The Iowa Web site devoted to the lawsuit, which included copies of the email mentioned here as well as other material subpoenaed from Microsoft, vanished shortly after the company settled the case. Fortunately, a number of other Web sites, including Groklaw, archived the material and continue to mirror it today.