News Brief: Windows NT Beats Turned-Off Linux Box

      Microsoft is touting the results of an independent study that compares
the networking speeds of Windows NT and a computer loaded with Linux that was
turned off.

      "We beat it fair and square," said Microsoft spokesman Hugh Sless-Flak.
"Neither system was 'tuned' in any way, they were tested in their delivered
states."

      The report shows that NT is twice as fast as a non-functioning Linux
system. But when asked about the advantage their entry had by actually being on,
Sless-Flak replied, "it's not our fault if their computer's power didn't
work.

      "They knew when the evaluation would start, they knew the deadline. If
they can't take the pressure, they should get out of the operating system arena
and let Windows continue to meet all customer needs," he said.

      A bouyant Microsoft plans to expand their tests, pitting Windows NT
against a turned-off Power Macintosh, a turned-off Compaq Alpha running Unix,
and a Sun Starfire immersed in water.