03.03.08

Microsoft and Novell Try Freebies to Lure the Naive into Patent Traps

Posted in Deception, Microsoft, Novell, Patents at 10:55 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Poor demand requires incentive programs

Novell and Microsoft, working jointly as usual, still try to devour more businesses and lock them down with software patent liabilities. They even set up a Web site to achieve this.

The demand for such sellouts appear to be very poor if the following new marketing trick is anything to go by. The companies now distribute prizes in order for people to merely register and maybe even receive some information. Here is the article from Ars Technica.

Answer 5 questions on Micro-vell, receive a 2GB USB drive”

A contender for one of the most controversial things Microsoft has done, the software giant’s pact with Novell caused many to fall of their seat when it was announced in 2006. Many were appalled or disgusted with the deal, but there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

[...]

A handful of companies is hardly enough to make the alliance worth it. Thus, the two want more information from businesses on what they need from a Windows and Linux partnership.

As you can see at the end, this whole charade is proving to be somewhat of a failure. There is some more information here.

But there is also a little something something involved for the visitors of the website. Namely, the chance to get a 2 GB free USB drive just for registering.

“REGISTER for your 2GB Moreinterop USB bracelet, pre-loaded with more information, including a video and Gartner Report (subject to availability),” is the promise from Microsoft and Novell (via Digg). Visitors also have the possibility of downloading the Creating Business Value Brochure, as well as the Building Bridges White Paper, both resources focused on the Windows-Linux interoperability.

Digg is mentioned here, but there is total lack of interest and just a couple of snide remarks. It pretty much indicates that Microsoft and Novell haven’t much to show. Mind the presence of Microsoft’s left-hand puppet, the ~~Partner~~ Gartner Group [1, 2, 3]. One has to wonder how much they get paid to promote this charade. █

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink Mail Send this to a friend

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

Links 14/7/2020: Claws Mail 3.17.6 and RSS Guard 3.7.0 Released

Links for the day
Microsoft Has Put the String “0xBIGBOOBS” Inside Linux (Kernel Driver for Microsoft's Windows-Only Proprietary Software, Formerly a GPL Violation); Reddit (Condé Nast) Bans You For Mentioning Such Things

In this increasingly crazy atmosphere of mass sanctioning and permanent banning (removing everything or everyone that's perceived to be impolite) even "Linux" forums are banning people who point out Microsoft being a rogue corporation that's attacking GNU/Linux
There's Apparently a New Boss (or Policy) at Red Hat/IBM

The Fedora project doesn’t seem to care much about free speech, no matter one’s seniority in the project; as the person who relayed it to us has just put it, “they even eat their own.” (Longtime contributors) “He’s not a troll. He’s a contributor who rubbed some people the wrong way and now the banhammer is coming out. Fedora KDE was already collapsing and now it finally will.” (Note: Rex Dieter leads or led this project)
There Cannot be Software Freedom Without Free Speech (Which is Nowadays Being Wrongly and Creatively Conflated With Racism)

The time to speak out in favour of free speech is now; because the next phase typically involves removal (to be sold as "voluntary") of people whose political views are seen as professionally inadequate (recall what they did to Richard Stallman last September)
[Humour/Meme] 'Offensive' Jokes

Even humour itself is under attack now; people who cannot take/tolerate cartoons and banter are targeting the stand-up comedians, the cartoonists and so on
The Media Does Not Like Talking About Linux (Which It Doesn't Understand Anyway). It Makes the News All About Linus.

Just like back in May (or every other week) the news about Linux itself is being ignored and the subject is getting personified to make Linux seem rude and unruly
Links 13/7/2020: Linux 5.8 RC5, Qt Creator Beta, Mexico Threatens GNU/Linux

Links for the day
[Humour/Meme] Embrace, Extend, and Curl

The Curl project, a high-profile prisoner of GitHub, is again being 'embraced' by Microsoft (which already controls the project through GitHub)
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 12, 2020

IRC logs for Sunday, July 12, 2020
[Humour/Meme] Half a Decade Has Passed and EPO Management Was Never Held Accountable for Illegal Surveillance

A lot of people may no longer remember it, but the EPO can break privacy laws — as it still routinely does — with no consequences whatsoever
Cleaning the Code

War must go on; but it'll be more diverse and inclusive
Why We Care About (Mis)Use of Language in Technology

Software development communities are being divided over issues that would likely not tackle actual racism in any meaningful and profound way (just a symbolic way)
Links 12/7/2020: KF6 Progress Report, GNUnet 0.13.1, Nano Becomes Default Terminal Text Editor in Fedora

Links for the day
They Always Worked for Microsoft (Directly and Indirectly) and Were Financially Rewarded for That

Nat and Miguel, now put in charge of new weapons against software freedom (e.g. GitHub and NPM), have long worked for Microsoft (Nat was also an intern there); Techrights was right all along about this pair
Red Hat Betrayed the Free Software Community With Its Software Patents' Stockpiling Drive and Then a Sale to the Biggest Software Patents Lobbyist

In 2020 Red Hat is little but a shadow of IBM, whose patent policy continues to threaten software freedom and whose lobbying for software patents (under the guise of "HEY HI") persists uninterrupted; this growing problem oughtn't be unspeakable
Politically Correct Tech

This new video entitled “Politically Correct Tech” covers a topic we’ve spoken a great deal about
[Humour/Meme] High on Production, Stoned on Pseudoscience

All-time high ‘production’ levels at the European Patent Office (EPO) do not mean what they want people to think and what they try hard to hide
Missing From EPO Management: Actual Scientists

Political figures and opportunists with connections occupy top positions at top European agencies; this assures self-destructive policies that diminish progress and cushion corruption
All Software Should Come With a Cheat Mode

Cheat modes are useful for developers because they enable debugging, and are sometimes called "Debug mode"
Linus Torvalds Checks If It's Still Inclusive Enough to 'Bash' Bad Technology (of the Company Whose TPM Pusher Has Just Successfully Pushed to Remove Many Words)

In the age of endless control of language (e.g. large corporations pushing for "inclusive" language whilst earning billions from bombing of 'inferior' countries) we see that it is still possible to condemn corporations on technical grounds (at least if you’re Linus Torvalds)
Even Before Microsoft Paid ('Joined') the Linux Foundation Jim Zemlin Had a Preference for Microsofters

Even years before the Linux Foundation was receiving money from Microsoft it had a tendency to hire Microsoft’s people for key positions (a lot of people no longer remember that, but it’s still in the public record; it was Jim Zemlin who approached if not chased Mr. Ramji to offer him the job and the colleagues saw no problem with that)
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 11, 2020

IRC logs for Saturday, July 11, 2020
Links 12/7/2020: KDE Plasma 5.20 Preview and Elive 3.8.14 Beta

Links for the day
[Humour] The 'Orange One' Does Not Respect Judges Either

More than two years after taking over the European Patent Office (EPO) António Campinos has done absolutely nothing to restore judicial independence of the Boards of Appeal of the EPO
The Systemd Song

Speak out about IBM's strategy before we're all using GNU/Linux distros 'barcoded' with systemd
Monopoly (or Vendor Lock-in) is Not Modularity

IBM cannot totally control the kernel, Linux; IBM's control over GNU/Linux may be worth even more than what it paid for Red Hat as that's the key to overpriced support contracts and the general direction of development (important trends such as file systems and various low-level stacks)
The Internet Archive Doesn't Forget, Whereas the Internet and the Web Forget Very Fast

World Wide Web history is grossly undervalued and preservation of such history (e.g. by the Wayback Machine) is taken for granted by far too many people; the robber barons of today benefit the most from erosion of collective memory as they get to rewrite the past to suit their present and future interests
Environmentalism and Free Software Can be Viewed as Closely Connected and Help One Another

Modest lifestyles are an overlapping pattern in the Free software community and green activists; there's room for alliances and collaboration, bettering society by reducing consumption and discouraging voyeurism
Free (as in Freedom) Software + Social Control Media ≠ Free Speech

Speaking through middlemen and private platforms is bad enough (that gives others unjust power over speech); to claim that because the underlying platform is free/libre software it therefore becomes a non-issue is also dishonest
António Campinos: President or Quasi-Autocratic Corporate Puppet?

The culture of oppression — and censorship of evidence of oppression — is what today’s EPO is all about; the EPO learned how to better avoid (or block) negative publicity without actually changing its ways; and due to unprecedented speech restrictions you won’t hear that from SUEPO