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   <TITLE>The Halloween Documents</TITLE>
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<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR=#ff0000>The Halloween Documents</FONT></H1>


<CENTER><I>Where will Microsoft try to drag you today?</I></CENTER>
<CENTER><I>Do you really want to go there?</I></CENTER><P>

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).<P>

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.<P>

Before emailing or phoning me with a question about these documents, 
please read the <a href="halloween-FAQ.html">Halloween Documents
Frequently-Asked Questions</a>.<P>

Here they are:<P>

<DL>
<DT><a href="halloween1.html">Halloween I</a>:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<DD><STRONG>Open Source Software -- A (New?) Development Methodology</STRONG><P>
<DT><a href="halloween2.html">Halloween II</a>:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<DD><STRONG>Linux OS Competitive Analysis: The Next Java VM?</STRONG><P>

<DT><a href="halloween3.html">Halloween III</a>:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<DD><STRONG>Microsoft's reaction on the 'halloween memorandum'</STRONG> (sic)<P>

<DT><a href="halloween4.html">Halloween IV: When Software Things Were Rotten</a>
<DD>
Vinod Vallopillil's boss calls us `Robin Hood and his merry band'.
We return the compliment.<P>
</DL>

This page originally continued with an 
<a href="http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/not-the-osi/halloween-rant.html">
anti-Microsoft jeremiad</a>.  On reflection, however, I think I'd
prefer to finish by thanking the principal authors, <a
href="mailto:vinodv@microsoft.com">Vinod Valloppillil</a> and <a
href="mailto:joshco@microsoft.com">Josh Cohen</a>, 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.<P>

Here are some links to press coverage:

<DL>
<DT>Halloween I:
<DD> 
The Boston Globe</A>;
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/biztech/articles/03memo.html">
The New York Times</a>;
<a href="http://www.mercurycenter.com/columnists/gillmor/docs/dg110398.htm">
San Jose Mercury</a>
<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,369430,00.html">
PC Week</a>;
<a href="http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19981102S0005">TechWeb</a>;
<a href="http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28215,00.html">C|Net</a>; 
<a href="http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28295,00.html">C|Net (again)</a>;
<a href="http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28356,00.html">C|Net (yet again)</a>
<a href="http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?98112.wcmsopen.htm">
InfoWorld</a>;
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/981103-000001.html">
The Register</a>;
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/15990.html">
Wired News</a>;
<a href="http://www.thestandard.com/articles/display/0,1449,2308,00.html">
The Industry Standard</a>;
<a href="http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1998-10/lw-10-halloween.html">
LinuxWorld</a>;
<a href="http://www.scripting.com/davenet/98/11/howMicrosoftThinks.html">
DaveNet</a>; 
<a href="http://www.salonmagazine.com/21st/rose/1998/11/04straight.html">
Salon Magazine</a>;
<a href="http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/wr/story.html?s=v/nm/19981103/wr/microsoft_7.html">Reuters</a>;
<a href="http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9811/06/linux.threat.idg/">CNN</a>.<p>
Unfortunately, the stories from the Wall Street Journal, The Washington
Post, and the Guardian seem to be no longer available.
<DT>Halloween II:
<DD>
<a href="http://detnews.com/1998/technology/9811/06/11060137.htm">
Detroit News</a>;
<a href="http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28397,00.html">C|Net</a>;
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/16084.html">
Wired News</a>;
<a href="http://www8.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,370794,00.html">
PC Week</a>;
<a href="http://www4.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2160239,00.html">
Inter@ctive Week</a>;
<a href="http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1998/44/ns-5953.html">ZDnet</a>;
<a href="http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?98115.wchalloween.htm">InfoWorld</a>;
<a href="http://news.com/News/Item/0,4,28397,00.html">C|Net</a>.
</DL>

Other followup coverage: 
<a href="http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,28490,00.html">C|Net</a>;
<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/11/19/p15s2.htm">Christian
Science Monitor</a>.
<p>

In other articles: the backgrounds of the contributors to Halloween I have been
<a href="http://linuxtoday.com/stories/638.html">investigated</a>;
Robert Brown has written a 
<a href="http://www.linuxtoday.com/stories/616.html">
witty commentary</a> on the Halloween I memorandum; and Tim O'Reilly
has responded with an <a
href="http://www.oreilly.com/oreilly/press/tim_msletter.html">open
letter</a> to Microsoft.<P>

Here are some translations:
<a href="http://labpar.fcfm.buap.mx/~jsoto/documento-halloween.html">
Halloween I in Spanish</a>;
<a href="http://labpar.fcfm.buap.mx/~jsoto/documento-halloween-2.html">
Halloween II in Spanish</a>;
<a href="http://labpar.fcfm.buap.mx/~jsoto/documento-halloween-3.html">
Halloween III in Spanish</a>;

<a href="http://www.post1.com/home/hiyori13/freeware/halloween1j.html">
Halloween I in Japanese</a>;
<a href="http://www.post1.com/home/hiyori13/freeware/halloween2j.html">
Halloween II in Japanese</a>;
<a href="http://www.post1.com/home/hiyori13/freeware/halloween3j.html">
Halloween III in Japanese</a>;

<a href="http://se.4net.com/ARCHIVIO/microsoft/halloween1-9it.html">
Halloween I in Italian</a>;
<a href="http://se.4net.com/ARCHIVIO/microsoft/halloween2it.html">
Halloween II in Italian</a>;
<a href="http://se.4net.com/ARCHIVIO/microsoft/halloween3it.htm">
Halloween III in Italian</a>;

<a href="http://linux.okstation.com/halloween/">the Halloween
Documents in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese versions.</a>

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<P><ADDRESS>Eric S. Raymond <A HREF="mailto:esr@thyrsus.com">&lt;esr@thyrsus.com&gt;</A></ADDRESS>
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