I just discovered that Microsoft is trying to lure people from the popular (free, secure, fast, extensible, etc...) web server Apache in favor of their own Internet Information Services web server (or "IIS"). The marketing hype is called simply Try IIS.

On the main page at tryiis.com, they list 6 reasons why you should consider IIS 6.0. I like picking on Microsoft (sometimes it's too easy to resist), so here I go...

Reason #2: "Rebuilt security from the code level up that reduces attack surface area and blocks most known types of Web attacks." -- That means you'll get more security against the massive security flaws regularly discovered in Microsoft's software. Got that? You could leave a fairly secure OS such as Linux or OSX, and switch to a Microsoft-based system. And even though you had a perfectly secure system before, you'll enjoy IIS's "rebuilt security" (whatever that is). Or you could avoid the Microsoft security disaster altogether and go with Apache instead (even if you have to run Windows, it would still be a security improvement to run Apache).

Reason #3: "Reliable support you can depend on for tested solutions, training, and more." -- This means that when (not "if") you encounter problems with your web services, possibly trying to do basic things that other products might do without problems, you can call somebody to get help. This may sound like a feature of IIS, but in reality it's a necessity. I know a lot of individuals and companies that base their entire web presence off of Apache, and they've never needed any support for it. Who needs support for something that works, and is modifiable if you discover that something's busted or not the way you like it?

Reason #4: "Powered by Windows Server 2003." -- Yikes! See Reason #2 above concerning security.

Reason #5: "A complete set of integrated application services that enable faster application development and reduce time-to-market for critically needed Web applications and services." -- I'm not sure about this, but it smells like they give you a big sack of VB or .NET widgets. One more thing to break or open up security vulnerabilities on your machine, but thank gawd you've got that "reliable support that you can depend on"!