Bonum Certa Men Certa

Nokia and Microsoft Seem to Be Getting Even Closer

Match made in a heaven of predatory capitalists?

In our previous posts about the Nokia/Trolltech acquisition [1, 2, 3, 4] we looked at its many implications and also spotted an uneasy event that can hopefully affect Nokia's views on software patents. Nokia is a strong lobbyist for software patents in Europe, much like Microsoft which even blackmailed for it.

Despite the seemingly-malicious nature of some elements of this acquisition, Motorola claims to be unaffected. In fact, it's readying a new phone at the moment, as reported just days ago after the company had made serious organisational changes and the stock jumped over 10% in a single day.

Anything is possible we guess, but this Motorola A810 looks a bit like it might have been put together at kindergarten craft hour. Apparently this Linux-based — LiMo? — 2.4-inch touchscreen device will feature handwriting recognition, a 2 megapixel cam, memory expansion via SD card, and hopefully the bezel around the screen will end up a little more even.


The more worrisome news comes from Microsoft's direction. The company wishes to extend its existing affairs with Nokia

While Nokia phones don’t yet have a Windows OS, they do use a range of other Microsoft software. This includes ActiveSynch for connecting to Exchange Servers and the PlayReady DRM technology used to protect purchased music and video content.

Starkweather said the existing relationship between the two companies was strong and he was enthusiastic about it developing further in the future.

“We work closely with Nokia and we would love to have them go all the way,” he said. “It’s something we talk about all the time.”


Nokia's stance on Linux is far from perfect. We wrote about this extensively in the past (e.g. here), but consider the following a reminder of where Nokia stands:



“Talking about Nokia and Microsoft getting close isn't a case of making it so. Being unaware of this issue is the worst that can happen.”People still hope that Nokia will learn to love Linux because of Trolltech, but a source told us that Trolltech is indifferent and Microsoft's relationship with Nokia is nothing new. Both companies are considered monopolies in their area, so an outside observer might even add that they should be expected to think alike.

Talking about Nokia and Microsoft getting close isn't a case of making it so. Being unaware of this issue is the worst that can happen. We must understand the situation in order to respond logically. It sometimes seems like Nokia bought Trolltech only to punish its rivals, depriving them from necessary components in their stacks.

Remember Oracle?

How about Zimbra [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]? Here's a comment about some of the latest developments:

This means competition authorities will view Microsoft's potential take-over of Yahoo! in a different -- the appropriate -- light as an anti-competitive absorption of its chief e-mail competitor.

Yahoo! will do what it takes to avoid acquisition by Microsoft. Roy is working on it.


As laid out in the links digest which was posted a few hours ago, the Yahoo takeover seems less likely to materialise, which is reassuring news. At the same time, Microsoft's fear of Google become more justified. Having made a large acquisition in this area, Google is now stepping into Microsoft's lawn. Recall some of Microsoft's past (and very rude) remarks about this.

Google Inc. is adding more e-mail security and storage products for businesses, sharpening its aim on a Microsoft Corp. stronghold while the competition between the two rivals also heats up in Internet search and advertising.


it is very unlikely that Yahoo's takeover of Zimbra was a prelude to Microsoft's involvement, which is, on the other hand, exactly what happened to XenSource and is arguably happening with Nokia as well (devouring Trolltech).

Here is the old (yet recent) announcement of the Zimbra acquisition by Yahoo.

The move reflects the belief among major players that collaboration represents a massive growth market. In March this year, Cisco paid $US3.2b for WebEx, a market leader in on-demand collaboration applications.


Remember that Yahoo and Microsoft have been negotiating a takeover for a long time. This was usually done secretly, but there were leaks to the media. Yahoo's acquisition of Zimbra seemed rather absurd at the time because Yahoo was already very prolific when it came to mail. Likewise, Nokia was already using GTK in Maemo, so why buy Qt? Why did Citrix need Xen? Many questions remain largely unanswered.

Recent Techrights' Posts

An Update About Soylent News, With Jan Rinok "Back in the Saddle"
Burnout or "near burnout" a possibility when having to curate abuse
Rejecting 'Snoop-Phones' and Turning "Old" Phones (or Tablets) Into Freedom-Respecting Appliances
Paul Fernhout (pdfernhout.net) wrote back to Akira Urushibatathis this past weekend
Apple is the Company of Dictators and Worse
Apple is just another greedy corporation in search of sweatshops and even pedophiles (especially the high-profile ones)
Counting Unhatched Eggs Is Not Counting Chickens
Everything here will persist as normal
The "Infinite Bread"
The biblical story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 has software parallels
In Many Cases and in Many Different Ways, Technology Became Less Durable and Less Reliable Over Time
The "modern" things are more complex. And complexity is a foe or reliability and repair-ability.
 
Insane, Deliberately Dishonest, or Just Another Bigot?
very intellectually-dishonest human being
A Lot of Techrights is Built on Perl
Perl also runs the sister site
The Register MS Selling Slop for Microsoft (Vapourware, Ponzi Scheme, False Claims)
What will be left of The Register MS if it keeps repeating falsehoods and looking to profit from Ponzi schemes?
analytics.usa.gov Says Less Than 14% of Web Requests (to Government Sites) Come From Vista 11
Vista 11 was released more than 4 years ago!
People Who Attempt to Take Down Correct Information Need a Doctor a Day
“Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.” ― George Orwell
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 20, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 20, 2025
Vista 11 is Sinking While Microsoft is PIPing (Mass Layoffs But Silent Layoffs)
We're witnessing a shift in platform dominance
Richard Stallman is Having a Good Week Already (Stallman Was Right About 'Clown Computing')
That alone is worth bringing up in his talk
When Prominent GNU/Linux Distros Are Run by Spies
What has Microsoft Canonical become?
More Publishers and Companies Nowadays Say "GNU/Linux", Not "Linux"
It's not to see InstallAware saying GNU/Linux this week
Google News is Now Promoting a Parasitic Slopfarm Called "findarticles.com", Where Plagiarism of "Linux" Articles is Rampant
Does Google even care about the slop epidemic? Google itself is a vendor of slop now (and it calls it "Gemini")
Gemini Links 20/10/2025: Pumpkin Carving, "Hey Hi", and Other Buzzwords
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Google News Promoting Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD)
What is the value of Google News if so many results in it are fake 'articles?
Our Uptime This Year Was Better Than AWS (Also a Lot Cheaper)
We never used "the cloud"
Amazon Web Shenanigans
An ongoing, experimental endeavour
Death of Elias Diem: FSFE mailing list archives hidden
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 20/10/2025: Louvre Museum Reveals Weakness, About 7 Million Protest US Turning Into Oligarchy/Monarchy
Links for the day
They Should Have Listened to Techrights Over a Month Earlier (Xubuntu Site Compromised)
we reported this issue about 40 days earlier and nobody did anything about it
Richard Stallman to Give Another Talk Today in Bavaria (Bavarian Academy of Science)
Tomorrow at 6 PM he speaks in Munich
Barry Kauler Explains That Puppy Linux and EasyOS Exclude Systemd to Keep Things Simple
Barry Kauler's Puppy Linux is in the community's hands. He now focuses on EasyOS and more.
Half a Year After Brian Fagioli Got Kicked Out of BetaNews for Slop He's Still Doing LLM Slop and Slop Images Targeting 'Linux' (Plagiarising Original Works)
If the Web gets polluted or flooded by slopfarms such as these, and Slashdot then sends traffic so these slopfarms (Slashdot probably doesn't do this intentionally), then real writers with real knowledge of GNU/Linux will lose the spark for publishing
Microsoft's LinkedIn is Losing Money, Traffic, and Hope; Now It Wants to Sell Its Users' Lifeblood (and Data)
Let this be a reminder of what social control media really is about
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 19, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 19, 2025
Campaign of FUD Against Framework Laptops and GNU/Linux (Using Microsoft's Attack on Linux, 'Secure Boot')
Ritual Defamation Cult has turned its attention over to Framework
Microsoft Lunduke: Freedom of Speech Means Spreading What I Have to Say and Banning People I Disagree With
4Chan is one he aims for and he is siccing 4Chan trolls at people he doesn't like
Liberation From 'The Feed'
They rank things based on the editor's choice/ideology (he or she knows the sponsors, hence the masters)
Microsoft's Killing of Vista 10 Seems to Have Resulted in More Articles About GNU/Linux (But Also FUD)
We not only saw a rise in traffic, we also saw a remarkable rise in the number of articles
Today (a Day Before Richard Stallman Talk at TUM) There's a Patent Propaganda Event at TUM
Perhaps an opportunity for Dr. Stallman to rebut this "invention to patent" nonsense/fantasy (conflating monopolies with innovation)
OpenSource or "Open Source" as a Brand is Dying, Let's Get Back to Talking About Software Freedom
Those of us who actually want to reform the industry and put users in control of their systems/devices will recognise that "Open Source" was selling a lie or got-co-opted by liars
19 Years in Numbers: Techrights' Anniversary Countdown and Retrospective
In 2019 we began improving our workflows and, accordingly/predictably, we became a lot more productive
Slop Turns People Off (LLMs Lack Intelligence, They're Just Plagiarism Powerhouses That Fail to Deliver Any Real, Measurable Value)
"More" (or "MOAR") isn't always better
IBM Red Hat Has Re-calibrated or Adjusted to Bubble Economics, False Promises, and Slop/Plagiarism
This won't end well
Fake Numbers, Fake Claims, Fake Economy, and Media Grifters That Prop Up Fraud
Grifters like The Register MS won't be looked upon kindly after the bubble implodes
For Some, the GNU Web Site is Not Accessible This Week
They seem to have gone into some kind of lock-down mode
Richard Stallman Back at the "Rudolf-Diesel" Hörsal "MW 2001" in About 40 Hours
He spoke there before; there's a very high seating capacity there
Symptoms of Upcoming Microsoft Layoffs in XBox
A crashing franchise
Psychiatrist confession: Germanwings crash & Debian toxic culture recognized before suicides
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: Scentjacking 101, Slop Hype Boosters, and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Slopwatch: The Serial Slopper, LinuxSecurity, and Google News
Let's hope slopfarms die as soon as possible
Links 19/10/2025: Cambodia Scam Centres, Slop Hurting Wikipedia Traffic
Links for the day
As Economies Crumble Free as in Beer Will Matter, Not Just Free as in Freedom/Libre (Libertad)
French regions choosing to embrace Software Freedom
25 Years Ago, an Explanation of How Reducing Free Software to 'Apps' Would Interfere With Freedom Goals
there's nothing unreasonable about it
A List of 63 Known Gemini Clients (Software to Browse Geminispace Content With Gemini Protocol)
Not counting browser plugins for Web browsers
Gemini Links 19/10/2025: "Firma Odin Is Transforming" and Bot Attacks While "AFK"
Links for the day
US Government: 6.1% of Site Visitors Use GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has a considerable share and it is growing
LLM Slop Could Not Rise to Prominence Without Media Complicity and Artificial Hype
Inane garbage disguised as "journalism"
Why the FSF No Longer Recommends Debian, as Explained by Richard Stallman This Month
some weeks ago
All the Latest Half Dozen Articles by Mehedi Hasan (UbuntuPIT) Only Admit at the End That He's Using LLM Slop
Disclosure is OK, but the practice of using slop is not
The 'Modern' Web of Fake Security and Easy Censorship of Whole Domains
Each year it gets worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 18, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 18, 2025