04.18.09
Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Red Hat, Virtualisation, Xen at 5:24 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
What Microsoft wants Microsoft buys
Summary: It’s time to standardise on KVM, decides the Linux Foundation
For those who are new to this discussion, here is necessary background on Ignition Partners, XenSource, Citrix, and Microsoft. It’s reassuring to see that not only Canonical and Red Hat (in that order) realised what was going on. The Linux Foundation too is now urging in favour of a move towards KVM and a Windows site complains about it, which indicates that the Linux Foundation is doing the right thing (what Microsoft hates is typically good for GNU/Linux).
At the Linux Foundation’s Collaboration Summit in San Francisco last week, executive director Jim Zemlin encouraged vendors and developers to standardize their virtualization activities around KVM—not Xen. This whole Xen vs. KVM debate is getting annoying, but first off, this “news” isn’t news: there shouldn’t be any shockwaves from this late-in-coming statement.
KVM has already been acquired by Red Hat, so it cannot be hijacked by Microsoft via one of its allies/de facto subsidiaries. █
“Pamela Jones [...] has told Infoworld that Microsoft will be the next SCO Group”
–Heise
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Posted in America, Antitrust, GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft, Windows at 5:02 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
“Forty percent of servers run Windows, 60 percent run Linux…”
–Steve Ballmer (September 2008)
Summary: New indicators of new-age “banana republic”
SOME TIME AGO we warned that a Google-hostile lady (who sees no threat in Microsoft) was appointed antitrust chief. It is just one example among others which are similar and now we find this in Slashdot: [hat tip: MinceR]
Microsoft Family Safety Filter Blocks Google
I saw that part of the brand new Windows Live package is the Family Safety Filter, so I decided to give it a spin. Turned it on, set it to ‘basic filtering’ (their lowest level), and went to Google … oops, it blocks Google!
It may seem innocent, but there are questions to be begged for here. Is the filter blocking each and every search engine, including Microsoft’s?
According to this report, antitrust regulators in the United States promise to get off Microsoft’s back in the near future despite the fact that they cannot anticipate, predict, or judge Microsoft’s future actions.
Federal and state regulators have struck a deal with Microsoft Corp. that any version of Windows released after May 2011 will not be subject to the scrutiny mandated by a 2002 antitrust settlement.
Speaking of antitrust and Microsoft/Google, let’s not forget the Barnett fiasco [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].
Based on some other reports, it appears as though antitrust regulators are now collaborating with Microsoft on decisions and negotiating rather than imposing. This is a “banana republic” recipe.
Microsoft had agreed to an 18-month extension of federal court oversight of its business practices mandated by its settlement in a landmark antitrust lawsuit.
In court papers jointly filed by the US Justice Department and 17 states, Microsoft agreed to extend supervision until May 2011, rather than in November as previously scheduled. The extension will give government overseers more time to review technical information that Microsoft agreed to provide potential licensees of software that interfaces with the Windows operating system.
More here:
It’s not hard to imagine that certain Microsoft execs had started a countdown; as things stood, the Department of Justice would only be monitoring their company for about seven more months. A new development has pushed the antitrust oversight period’s end date out to May 12th, 2011, however.
There are good reasons to be concerned about Microsoft's special relationship with the new government. One concern is that, as we pointed out 2 days ago, the United States chooses Microsoft products almost blindly. We used Texas as an example and according to this new report, Texas will never learn, even when it’s hit majorly by a Windows virus.
The Texas Department of Public Safety continued repair efforts Thursday after a virus hit one of its computer systems.
The DPS said the virus that hit Wednesday affected internal communications and some external services such as the issuance of Texas drivers’ licenses.
What is wrong with this picture? █
“Our products just aren’t engineered for security.”
–Brian Valentine, Microsoft executive
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Posted in Deception, Free/Libre Software, Microsoft at 4:25 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Wikipedia on Crocodile Tears
“They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”
–Bill Gates
Summary: Microsoft relies on ignorance in its latest sympathy-seeking pitch
A MICROSOFT executive is presenting a sob story, laying out what he claims to be the company’s loss due to so-called ‘piracy’. What he neglects to say is that on several occasions the company attributed its success to this so-called ‘piracy’ (counterfeiting) and now that times are rough, reports are suggesting that crackdowns are on the rise.
The Software & Information Industry Association it paid nearly $90,000 in March to 10 sources who reported cases of corporate end-user software piracy to SIIA.
Microsoft’s lawsuits against its former allies are good reason to migrate to Free software right now. Say goodbye to the BSA. █
“It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not.”
–Bill Gates (2007)
Poor crocodile…
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Posted in Africa, Asia, Europe, Free/Libre Software, FUD, ISO, Microsoft, Open XML at 4:08 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Trust thy institute
Summary: A batch of stories that deserve greater attention
THIS IS A SET of new observations about Microsoft’s affairs in international establishments and governments.
Beware the Black Ducks
It is worrying to find that a purely proprietary software company created by a (former) Microsoft employee is becoming some sort of a self-appointed speaker for FOSS. A few days ago we found Black Duck Software cited in some major publications where its take on open source is embraced without question, despite the company’s sheer hypocrisy (it doesn’t even do open source) and occasional FUD, which is exactly how it makes business for itself. It’s the classic business model to offer medicine which combats perceived risk and newly-created problems.
ISO
The OOXML fiasco is far from over and there is a new scandal brewing. To summarise:
ISO SC34, now heavily controlled by Microsoft people who go to ISO meeting happening all over the planet, has published a report of defects of the pseudo ISO standard ISO29500. They do not provide a definition of what is an “existing document”.
That’s what happens when ISO gets controlled by Microsoft (at least the relevant parts of it).
India
In previous writings about the Bharatiya Janata Party (in India) [1, 2] we placed insufficient emphasis on this party’s level of posturing (potential stunt). We first witnessed it a few days ago and we have readers provide us with more evidence that includes:
The BJP’s awkward embrace of Free Software
[...]
The IT manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party has created ripples among software circles with its support for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), and its opposition to “digital standards.” While the Kerala government has a policy that makes the use of FOSS in government and education mandatory, Tamil Nadu has implemented it in a few departments. Left parties have for long backed the Free Software movement politically. It is surprising that the BJP, with its strong pro-corporate and pro-patent leanings, should back this cause.
[...]
Consider this. As late as January 2009, the BJP government in Gujarat, led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, inked a deal with the global proprietary software giant Microsoft that includes a Microsoft-developed IT curriculum for high school students, teacher training, certification programmes, and offers free Microsoft software development tools to universities.
This seems like a very easy target for Indian EDGI [1, 2].
Portugal
We’ve just learned that the exclusive benefits to Microsoft are inquired by MPs at the Portuguese Parliament, despite existing complaints about Microsoft corruption in the country. Microsoft also mocks GNU/Linux and publicly frowns upon Free software advocates over there.
South Africa
Speaking of government affairs with Microsoft, Tectonic reports that one of Microsoft’s nightmares in South African has just departed.
SA government loses key OSS advocate
[...]
Besides being the chairperson of the government’s open source workgroup Raffee was also a prime advocate of open source software and standards in government circles as well as more widely in South Africa and the world. Over the past two years he and his department played a key role in the opposition to the OOXML standards process at the International Standards Organisation, hosted the second OpenDocument Format workshop in South Africa and led the battle for South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission to open up its website to all South African citizens.
[...]
The South African government is still home to many staunch open source advocates but losing Raffee will undoubtedly leave a noticeable hole in its ranks.
We already know what Microsoft did in South Africa [1, 2, 3], which it treated in its fashionable cult-like approach. It even insulted South African people and did everything within its power to derail ODF and GNU/Linux [1, 2, 3] in this strong, stubborn nation which understands the detrimental impact of colonialism.
Knowing what Microsoft did in India and in Massachusetts, namely the overthrow of opposition [1, 2, 3], we decided to check why the man above left the government and asked the author about it. Publicly he replied: “I don’t think he was pushed. But never say never.” Who will replace the guy? That may be the key question. █
“No other large companies as far as I know use their employees as attack dogs to silen[ce] dissent. It’s time for Microsoft to stop this nonsense.”
–The Prickly Prince From Microsoft Strikes Again
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Posted in Free/Libre Software, FUD, Law, Microsoft at 2:45 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Badmouthing of open source, of its flag carriers, and the Microsoft connection
JUST OVER a week ago we wrote about White & Case, which had Microsoft as its client. Having disseminated outright lies about the GPL, there was a bit of a stir and Matt Asay offered a possible factual explanation.
White & Case, a leading international law firm, has been struggling in the face of the recession, laying off 70 associates in late 2008.
Watch what he wrote later on: “White & Case wrote CNET to complain about my post on their FUD-mongering. Their argument? We didn’t mean what our words said!”
This would not be the first time such an incident occurs; we’ve already seen Microsoft employees harassing Matt Asay, trying to get him in trouble or even fired. There are many similar examples where other writers were involved. Having engaged in FUD-mongering against FOSS they proceed to engaging in FUD-mongering against messengers.
So why do Microsoft’s paid troops attack the GPL in particular while mocking no other software licence? Well, Microsoft has its own CodePlex nonsense, which is mostly a shrine to Microsoft Windows. A couple of days ago Microsoft pulled another publicity stunt when it added some stuff to it:
This is hardly about collaboration.
Anyway, the bottom line is that Microsoft and its people will be mocking Free software and promote their own confusing vision to simply dilute the meaning and reduce the power of the term “open source”. Many people, Mark Shuttleworth included, are already switching to the term “Free software”, which they realise does not include foes like Microsoft (it's suing Linux by the way) under its umbrella.
Other nastiest to watch out for are this intellectual monopoly charade, which is actually a Jonathan Zuck event (Microsoft fingerprints on it) and Bill Snyder’s latest open source FUD (cited by Slashdot). What they don’t show is that he is an Apple and Microsoft shareholder (he disclosed it last year). █
“Open source is an intellectual-property destroyer [...] I can’t imagine something that could be worse than this for the software business and the intellectual-property business. I’m an American; I believe in the American way, I worry if the government encourages open source, and I don’t think we’ve done enough education of policymakers to understand the threat.”
–Jim Allchin, President of Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft
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Posted in Debian, GNU/Linux, Novell, OpenSUSE, SLES/SLED, Ubuntu at 2:09 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Mark Shuttleworth speaks to Novell about coordination, but it does not work out
CONSIDERING this incident from over two years ago, it was surprising to find that Mark Shuttleworth had negotiated with Novell, but according to his latest blog post, it fell through.
Six-month cycles are great. Now let’s talk about meta-cycles: broader release cycles for major work. I’m very interested in a cross-community conversation about this, so will sketch out some ideas and then encourage people from as many different free software communities as possible to comment here.
[...]
I’ve spoken with folks at Novell, and it doesn’t look like there’s an opportunity to coordinate for the moment.
Novell might not be the most suitable company to coordinate this with; not only is it collaborating with and promoting Microsoft, but it also sends SUSE workforce overseas to compensate for layoffs. Richard Hillesley has just taken a look at the OpenSUSE project, which is essentially very similar (even overlapping) to SUSE. It does not look particularly encouraging and the author captures the key signs.
openSUSE has made efforts to reconcile its difficulties with the wider community and to demonstrate its authenticity as a community distribution. The latest release of openSUSE coincided with the first annual community elections to the board of openSUSE. The board is composed of the chair and two members who must all be Novell SUSE employees, and two community members, of and selected by the community. openSUSE 11.1 contains a new license agreement. No longer a EULA which requires acceptance, the license can now be seen as an open source license agreement, of which the openSUSE community manager, Joe “Zonker” Brockmeier, has said: “We now have a licence that presents no obstacle to redistribution, and no obstacle for modification.”
openSUSE wants to be of and for the community, and doesn’t believe it ever “went away”. But the fate of the SuSE of old would appear to have been in the hands of others, the victim, you could say, of circumstances beyond its control and of corporate incomprehension and fidelity to the bottom line. Novell has a long history of excellent products and failed marketing, and the view from outside is that, once again, Novell is not succeeding in bridging the gap between its commercial potential and the intrusion of darker realities.
Going back to Shuttleworth’s post, it appears as though he found room for collaboration with Debian. It seems like a very smart move. █
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