Did you notice...

[Undertoad]

In the current Windows Server 2003 TV ads:

...important people in the company run into IT workers, at a party, while on a tour, etc...

...and have a little interaction, in which the IT people are considered irritating and confusing, impossible to understand, and are systematically disrespected...

...until they explain that their current work is going to save the company money...

...and in two out of the three ads, the most likely way the company would save money would be through the layoffs of IT personnel.

The theme here is that computing, in the industries of the world, is quickly becoming a commodity item which can be managed by dumber people, does not require any customization, does not require as much help desk, etc.

That's not what they meant to suggest, of course; what they meant to suggest is that because of complicated things added to Windows Server by Microsoft, things with long names we don't understand, the cost of ownership of Windows Server machines is lower than that of Linux, even though the cost of the software is much, much, much higher.

(They have to say this without mentioning Linux by name because there are a ton of people out there who don't realize that Linux is the competition, and who would consider Linux if they knew more about it.)

We already know that we IT people are the ones corporate tries to avoid at the office party. Hell, we try to avoid them too. I just thought it was not supposed to be talked about.