Bonum Certa Men Certa

Linux Foundation, Please Stop Feeding the Shills

Pay-to-say Al Gillen, IDC exposed again

We previously mentioned Al Gillen in:



At your leisure, feel free to quickly skim through the posts above and find out just who this guy really is. It's just a cogwheel in the manufacturing process at IDC, which acts as a factory of whatever report and whatever outcome you wish to buy.

"International Data Corporation". Sounds formidable, doesn't it? Sounds universal and therefore trustworthy. As we have seen in the past, disclosures are nothing worth relying on because Microsoft executives explicitly request for funding sources to be omitted, even where IDC is involved.

Al Gillen is not be alone here and he could argue that he's merely a scapegoat. We have been identifying a variety of other former faces from IDC, such as Dennis Byron, who jumps to his defense within minutes or hours only after posting. Examples of recent posts include:



A quote that can never be recited too often is this:

"Analysts sell out - that’s their business model..."

--Microsoft, internal document



Using this as our assertion, are any analysts worth listening to at all? It looks rather grim for the industry as a whole if all information and studies are manufactured rather than conducted. With universities being privatized and sponsored by companies, it becomes incredibly hard to trust anything you come by, even if a professor signs it.

In our more critical writings about the Linux Foundation we note that it's behaving less like a programming warehouse/coordinator and more as like marketing/corporate arm that sometimes bends to the will of Novell (and Microsoft, by association). They even inherit some of the same tricks of the trade. We warned about Al Gillen's presence in the Foundation's Summit only a few weeks ago. Watch this:

First, we have this Linux Foundation-sponsored white paper from IDC, entitled “The Role of Linux Servers and Commercial Workloads”.


"Linux Foundation-sponsored"? Hold on a second. So out comes Microsoft, which is sponsoring anti-Linux and anti-ODF 'propaganda' from IDC, from which IDC makes a living and the Linux Foundation counters that by throwing even more money away at those very same shills, who now have two companies throwing money at them to buy love. This is ridiculous. Also, it makes accusations against IDC seem like a case of hypocrisy. The Foundation essentially shatters a moral shield and higher moral ground that Linux once enjoyed.

Additionally, here we see a situation where people must pay to receive a good word from 'puppets', who are, for some unknown reason, respected by the mainstream media and frequently get cited by it. Further, the above article states:

The importance of this report is not so much what it says – since most of its predictions are necessarily plucked out of the air – but that it exists. As you may recall, in the past IDC has been best-known – and much-reviled - for its Microsoft-sponsored reports that strangely find that Microsoft systems are better than GNU/Linux. Now we have the same company saying GNU/Linux is pretty wonderful, too.

What does that prove? Certainly nothing about Windows or GNU/Linux, and not much about IDC other than the fact that anybody can sponsor its research. But it does show, once again, that the Linux Foundation is getting pro-active, and fighting fire with fire. The IDC report in itself may be of limited value, but it's the kind of propaganda that needs to be put out in the market if only to nullify the propaganda from the other side.


The Foundation should just extinguish the fire and put an end to this industry of paid liars. The Foundation should take the lead and have IDC further exposed. Don't fight fire with fire by adding fuel (money) to that very same bonfire.

The Linux Foundation should have better dignity than this because while on the surface the 'study' looks good, it's truly a sore and a disservice to the ethics on Free software and you can hardly beat the Microsoft media machine which feeds on cash (the rich controls the minds). Eradicate the problem, don't become part of it.

"I don't like it to be public on the doc that we sponsored it because I don't think the outcome is as favorable as we had hoped. I just don't like competitors using it as ammo against us. It is easier if it doesn't mention that we sponsored it."

--Microsoft, internal E-mail about Windows vs Linux [PDF]

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Women in Free Software (FOSS) Need Action, Not Mere Words
the men who are loudest about women's rights are some of the very worst offenders
Embrace, Extend, Extinguish Minecraft
These folks should check out Minetest
Techrights Statement on Men Who Viciously Attack Women in Free Software
history shows women will win
Tux Machines: Third Party Impending
There will be more next week
 
Edward Brocklesby: hacker received advance notice of zero-day vulnerabilities in MH and NMH email software
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] Code Liberates Kids
Matthias Kirschner: I can't code, but I can write a book
In Armenia, Bing is Measured at 0.6%, About Ten Times Less Than Yandex
Bing will probably get mothballed in the coming years
[Meme] A Pack and Pact (Collusion Against Computer Users)
They never really cared about users, no more than drug dealers care about drug users...
GNU/Linux in Azerbaijan: From ~0.1% to 7%
Azerbaijan is around the same size as Portugal
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 14, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, June 14, 2024
[Meme] People Who Cannot Find Gainful Employment Because of Their Poor Behaviour Online (Not the People Who Merely Call Them Out on It)
Imagine trying to become a lecturer while talking like this in public
You Too Would Get Nervous
countries where Windows is down to 2%
[Meme] The Two Phases (and Faces) of Microsofters
Microsofters: stalk IRC, then troll IRC
The 'Nobody Reads Techrights Anyway' Crowd
Send In the Clowns
Books in the Making
I intend to spend a considerable amount of time explaining what my family and I were subjected to for the 'crime' of promoting/covering Free software
Microsoft is Still Losing Malta
And GNU/Linux is doing well on laptops and desktops
Links 14/06/2024: Microsoft Layoffs in the News Again, East-West Conflict/Tensions Update
Links for the day
Links 14/06/2024: Comments on the Death of Email and Lagrange Commentary
Links for the day
Dutch Government Appoints Microsofters to Combat "OSS Fetishism"
What corruption looks like
Microsoft's Collapse in Africa and Shutdown of Entire 'Development Centre'
Unlike what Microsoft claimed in face-saving statements
[Meme] Not Your Typical IRC Troll and Harasser
I say, let's punch nazis...
GNU/Linux's Journey in Qatar: From 0.1% to Over 3%
Windows is no longer an important contender there
Secret Contracts and Corpses
The media pretends it's just some generic "IT" issue, but it is not
Bing Has Run Out of Time and Microsoft Might Dismantle It (Save a Financial Miracle)
How much more of investors' money is Microsoft willing to throw in the trash?
Statement on Antisemitism in Our IRC Network and in Social Control Media
In an ideal world nobody would have to be banned from IRC
Gemini Links 14/06/2024: Ads vs. Content, Why Aliases Are Har
Links for the day
Vista 11 Has Fallen in Switzerland, a Country That is More Microsoft Friendly Than Most of Europe
GNU/Linux rose to its highest level there in almost half a decade
Microsoft is Dying in Africa
Based on the Central African Republic, which "is around the same size as France"
[Meme] Microsoft in Africa
Are you telling me Windows is now down to 1% 'market share' in some countries?
Management of the European Patent Office Misleads Staff on Views of the Office's Staff Committee
The EPO as a workplace very rapidly deteriorates
[Meme] Newer is Worse
"They say those are New Ways of Working (NWoW); New does not mean better, it is worse"
Microsoft Needs to be Banned From Contracts, Including Government Contracts, Not Just for Security Failings But for Criminal Negligence, Corruption, and Fatal Cover-ups
How many deaths will it take for Microsoft to face real, effective scrutiny rather than kid gloves treatment?
Links 14/06/2024: Violence, Famines, and Montana Has More Cows Than People
Links for the day
Microsoft Telecom Layoffs, Facebook Layoffs in Africa: A Month After Microsoft's Mass Layoffs in Lagos (Nigeria) Facebook/Meta Does the Same and Microsoft is Now Retreating and Quitting an Entire Sector! (Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch)
Disasters in the making for GAFAM. Money down the drain.
Papua New Guinea: GNU/Linux Growing, Windows Down Below 15%
it seems indisputable there's headway and momentum
"Planets" Cannot Replace Social Control Media, They're Very Much Akin to It (Censorship Hubs, Gatekeepers)
Don't be subjected to gaslighting; make your own OPML file
Topics That Truly Irritate and Consistently Infuriate the Microsofters (Whenever We Cover These)
Censoring uncomfortable information is a difficult activity that has its limits, even in Reddit
Honduras: Vista 11 Down, GNU/Linux Up
Valve sees GNU/Linux as bigger than Apple's MacOS
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 13, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, June 13, 2024
LibrePlanet 2024 and the Lost Video/Audio of Talks
After the event was over someone informed us that due to technical issues they had lost (or failed to acquire) recordings of the talks
Choosing Between Options to Outsource to Evades the Best Solution (Self-Hosting)
Most users don't need this sort of complexity
IBM Layoffs at Kyndryl
This can soon spill over to Red Hat
Turkmenistan: GNU/Linux Leaps Past 5% This Month?
This is how statCounter sees it
Watch This Space
what matters most is not the volume or quantity of publications but their underlying depth and quality
Short Downtimes, Planned Maintenance
Hypervisor maintenance is planned
Links 13/06/2024: Ongoing Sharp Increases in Deaths, Mediterranean Diet Linked to 23% Lower Risk of Death in Women
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/06/2024: Linuxing of the Dell Laptop and Deep Dive into the World of the OpenEarth Foundation
Links for the day
New Highs for Android in Haiti (Nearly 80%), Microsoft Windows at Only 4%
that's Android at another new high and very close to 80% (it now seems inevitable)
[Meme] How Stefano Maffulli (and Microsoft's Own OSI Insiders) Make Money
Milking what's left of the OSI by attacking its very mission - something that more people now recognise
Mobs Don't Get the Job Done (Mob Leaders Have Lost Credibility/Visibility, Job, or Both)
their demands weren't met
Montenegro: GNU/Linux "Proper" at Over 6%
Windows is down to record lows
Links 13/06/2024: Overpopulation Woes, Best Buy Lays Off More Employees
Links for the day
Nationwide Eventually Did Listen
Miles better than their original nonresponse
The Corruption of Open Source Initiative (OSI), a Front Group of Microsoft and GAFAM, Openwashing Proprietary Things and Even Plagiarism, GPL Violations
Stefano Maffulli (and Microsoft's staff that works with him) basically profits from anti-FOSS
In Malawi, Windows Down to 10%, GNU/Linux Growing
it's not a small country
[Meme] Featuritis
Newer is not always better
"AI" Tech Bubble
How much "hype quotient" does this whole "hey hi" (AI) thing have left in it?
Links 13/06/2024: Science, Politics, and Gemini
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 12, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 12, 2024