The Halloween Documents

Introduction

In the last week of October 1998, a confidential Microsoft memorandum on Redmond's strategy against Linux and Open Source software was leaked to me by a source who shall remain nameless. I annotated this memorandum with explanation and commentary over Halloween Weekend and released it to the national press. Microsoft was forced to acknowledge its authenticity. The press rightly treated it as a major story and covered it (with varying degrees of cluefulness).

The now-infamous "Halloween Document" contained references to a second memorandum specifically on Linux. Within days, copies of the second memo had been forwarded to me from two separate sources. I renamed the first annotated version "Halloween I" and set about annotating the second. While not as dramatic or sinister in its implications as its predecessor, Halloween II includes a lot of material at variance with Microsoft's public party line on Linux.

This page originally continued with an anti-Microsoft jeremiad. On reflection, however, I think I'd prefer to finish by thanking the principal authors, Vinod Valloppillil and Josh Cohen, for authoring such remarkable and effective testimonials to the excellence of Linux and open-source software in general. I suspect that historians may someday regard the Halloween memoranda as your finest hour, and the Internet community certainly owes you a vote of thanks.

Over time, these memoranda have grown into quite a series. The Halloween Documents I, II, III, VII, VIII and X are leaked Microsoft documents with annotations. IV is a satire based on an idiotic lead-with-the-chin remark by the person who was at the time Microsoft's anti-Linux point person; V is serious comment on a statement by the same fool. VI is a takedown of one of the bought-and-paid-for "independent studies" Microsoft marketing leans on so heavily, IX refutes the Amended Complaint by Microsoft's sock puppets at SCO, and XI is a field report from one of Microsoft's marketing road shows. The common theme is that the Halloween Documents reveal, from Microsoft's own words, the things Microsoft doesn't want you to know.

Table of Contents

Halloween I: Open Source Software–A (New?) Development Methodology

Halloween II: Linux OS Competitive Analysis: The Next Java VM?

Halloween III: Microsoft's reaction on the "Halloween Memorandum" (sic)

Halloween IV: When Software Things Were Rotten: Vinod Vallopillil's boss calls us "Robin Hood and his merry band." We return the compliment.

Halloween V: The FUD Begins!: The Sheriff of Nottingham rides again. In this exciting episode, the things he doesn't say are more interesting than the things he does.

Halloween VI: The Fatal Anniversary: First Mindcraft, now the Gartner Group–Microsoft leaves a trail of shattered credibility behind it.

Halloween VII: Survey Says!: Microsoft's own marketing research tells it that the FUD is backfiring.

Halloween VIII: Doing the Damage-Control Dance: Microsoft tries to develop an emergency-response team to cope with Linux conversion announcements

Halloween IX: It Ain't Necessarily SCO: A point-by-point rebuttal of the amended complaint.

Halloween X: Follow The Money: In which we learn the extent of SCO's sock-puppet relationship to its master in Redmond.

Halloween XI: Get The FUD: Microsoft's "Get The Facts" campaign is very revealing, including some revelations Microsoft would probably prefer remained concealed.

Before emailing or phoning me with a question about these documents, please read the Halloween Documents Frequently-Asked Questions.

Links to press coverage