06.16.09

Case Study: The Harms of Mono

Posted in Microsoft, Mono, Novell at 7:28 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

The following chat took place 2 hours ago. Someone who goes by the name “IsBob” shared his story. Here are the unedited logs, which are hopefully as self-explanatory as they need be. █

*IsBob () has joined #boycottnovell		Jun 16 11:01
splosion	https://www.furk.net/ here	Jun 16 11:01
IsBob	hi there	Jun 16 11:01
DaemonMDV	you know that Ubuntu has used a DMCA Take Down order once?	Jun 16 11:02
DaemonMDV	ironically it was used against the MPAA	Jun 16 11:02
DaemonMDV	so I’m all for it	Jun 16 11:02
*fewa has quit (Read error: 60 (Operation timed out))		Jun 16 11:03
DaemonMDV	the MPAA was distributing a “University anti-piracy toolkit” which used Xubuntu as its base	Jun 16 11:03
DaemonMDV	in violation of the GPL	Jun 16 11:03
DaemonMDV	so Ubuntu ordered them to remove it from their site	Jun 16 11:03
DaemonMDV	which they did	Jun 16 11:03
IsBob	I’m looking for some advice	Jun 16 11:04
IsBob	my boss asked me (not directly of course) to make some public statements about Mono	Jun 16 11:04
IsBob	we’re in a deal with Microsoft currently	Jun 16 11:04
IsBob	the idea is to help a client migrate from Mono to pure .NET	Jun 16 11:05
IsBob	and well, they found the ongoing fuss about Mono is not helping our company’s image	Jun 16 11:05
IsBob	the fact is, I’m not comfortable with doing such things	Jun 16 11:06
schestowitz	Hi, IsBob	Jun 16 11:06
schestowitz	What advice do you need?	Jun 16 11:07
schestowitz	And how do I know that you’re not pulling our leg?	Jun 16 11:07
IsBob	huh?	Jun 16 11:07
schestowitz	We’ve been trolled a lot recently	Jun 16 11:07
IsBob	My problem is, I’m in an untenable position now	Jun 16 11:07
schestowitz	So I am being cautious	Jun 16 11:07
schestowitz	A company using Mono does not have a problem	Jun 16 11:08
IsBob	I’ve made some public statements about Mono and how Microsoft intends to use it	Jun 16 11:08
schestowitz	Not in the sense of public image	Jun 16 11:08
schestowitz	The issue is with packagers who want to force people to spread it	Jun 16 11:08
schestowitz	Not with users	Jun 16 11:08
IsBob	and now, either I have to rescind them, or I risk being in a very bad position with my management	Jun 16 11:08
*mib_q79ffb has quit (“http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client”)		Jun 16 11:08
schestowitz	Microsoft spreads its API	Jun 16 11:09
schestowitz	Mono is good for Microsoft	Jun 16 11:09
schestowitz	For more than one reason	Jun 16 11:09
IsBob	I know all of that, I’ve seen it from the inside	Jun 16 11:09
schestowitz	it is preferable to use Java, Python, Perl, CGI, etc.	Jun 16 11:09
schestowitz	Depending on the area of use	Jun 16 11:09
schestowitz	Mono is about monoculture	Jun 16 11:09
schestowitz	Making all enterprise do it the One Microsoft Way	Jun 16 11:10
schestowitz	c#, AD, VS, XAML, erc.	Jun 16 11:10
schestowitz	*etc	Jun 16 11:10
*oiaohm (n=oiaohm@unaffiliated/oiaohm) has joined #boycottnovell		Jun 16 11:10
schestowitz	Hi, oiaohm	Jun 16 11:12
IsBob	schestowitz: I’ve tried to explain that to my management; we used to have our clients work on free software, and now we’re stuck in a deal where we’re making them migrate away	Jun 16 11:14
oiaohm	Hi schestowitz	Jun 16 11:15
schestowitz	IsBob: how deep is this dependency on Mono?	Jun 16 11:16
*Tallken (n=f2f93bf5@2001:690:2380:7770:21b:24ff:fed0:3f98) has joined #boycottnovell		Jun 16 11:17
schestowitz	If it’s some C# code, then you can still port to Java	Jun 16 11:17
schestowitz	Oracle is very committed to Java	Jun 16 11:17
schestowitz	It’s one of the main reasons for oracle buying SUN. I read last year that Ellison wanted to rip .NET apart	Jun 16 11:17
IsBob	there are 500 kloc already, it’s way too late to migrate to another language	Jun 16 11:18
schestowitz	Oracle is about as big as Microsoft and its market cap is not muchly shy. In fact, Oracle just deliberately spends a lot less on marketing…	Jun 16 11:18
IsBob	but anyway, that’s not my problem right now	Jun 16 11:18
schestowitz	IsBob: what’s running it? Mono?	Jun 16 11:19
schestowitz	Mono is a ramp for VS+.NET adoption	Jun 16 11:19
schestowitz	Mono too slow?	Jun 16 11:19
schestowitz	Migrate to .NET	Jun 16 11:19
schestowitz	Like free supper	Jun 16 11:19
IsBob	currently Mono, and we’re migrating to .Net yes	Jun 16 11:19
schestowitz	Or trial versionware	Jun 16 11:19
*mib_v1wqax (i=4e965300@gateway/web/ajax/mibbit.com/x-facdafd52c83c84f) has joined #boycottnovell		Jun 16 11:19
schestowitz	Oracle might do something similar with mysql	Jun 16 11:19
IsBob	my problem is about my management wanting me to do public statements I disagree with	Jun 16 11:20
schestowitz	Why migrate to .NET? I’m curious.	Jun 16 11:20
oiaohm	IsBob: remember this year websites that can run ofline is coming.	Jun 16 11:20
IsBob	I’m not sure why, since M$ made a deal with our client they’ve been pretty elusive about that	Jun 16 11:21
oiaohm	I am looking at it for a lot of client side work internal.  OS netural and will need nothering more than a Upto date webbrowser installed.	Jun 16 11:21
IsBob	one of my co-workers suspects they paid a big trip to Hawaii for some of the managers of our client	Jun 16 11:21
schestowitz	IsBob: so you think they might come to them and say “look, you’re using our IP and all, so either you pay or move to .NET?”	Jun 16 11:21
schestowitz	IsBob: yes, Microsoft gifts people	Jun 16 11:22
schestowitz	It’s a form of bribe	Jun 16 11:22
IsBob	clearly	Jun 16 11:22
schestowitz	Common. Many examples in MS’c ase	Jun 16 11:22
schestowitz	*MS’s	Jun 16 11:22
IsBob	I don’t think they might do it, i think they already did	Jun 16 11:22
schestowitz	Mono is a ramp	Jun 16 11:22
IsBob	assorted with a nice “gift”	Jun 16 11:22
oiaohm	You are aware as of yet mono does not work on arm and mips.	Jun 16 11:22
schestowitz	had they used Java, migration would be complicated	Jun 16 11:22
schestowitz	But this is EEE – embrace, extend…	Jun 16 11:23
oiaohm	So clients are being locked out of furture more power effective client options IsBob	Jun 16 11:23
oiaohm	There are technical issues with mono.	Jun 16 11:23
oiaohm	That can be targetted avoiding the complete IP issue.	Jun 16 11:24
*mib_v1wqax has quit (Client Quit)		Jun 16 11:24
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DaemonMDV	http://www.macworld.com/article/137…	Jun 16 11:24
DaemonMDV	The guy buys 2,419 DRM’d 129k tracks	Jun 16 11:25
*mib_kcgay0 has quit (Client Quit)		Jun 16 11:25
IsBob	my N+2 ordered a complete blackout about what happened, and we’re strongly “encouraged” to publish things that will increase Mono’s acceptance	Jun 16 11:25
DaemonMDV	then complains that he was cheated when Apple wants more money to upgrade him to what he should have had in the first place	Jun 16 11:25
DaemonMDV	(256k no DRM)	Jun 16 11:25
schestowitz	IsBob: encouraged by whom?	Jun 16 11:25
schestowitz	Novell? Microsoft?	Jun 16 11:26
IsBob	by our management	Jun 16 11:26
DaemonMDV	dear god, if he has $2500 to spend on iTunes tracks, you’d think 30 cents apiece would be easy to fork over	Jun 16 11:26
DaemonMDV		Jun 16 11:26
IsBob	not sure who’s behind	Jun 16 11:26
IsBob	of course we already have a big contract with Novell	Jun 16 11:26
schestowitz	It’s the same with MS/Novell cotnracts	Jun 16 11:26
schestowitz	I know cause I was told	Jun 16 11:26
IsBob	and they probably don’t want to have to renegociate it	Jun 16 11:26
schestowitz	They go to clients…	Jun 16 11:26
splosion	be a whistleblower. this is the sort of thing wikileaks was invented for	Jun 16 11:26
schestowitz	And they tell them to put “IP” in the press releases	Jun 16 11:26
schestowitz	As in, we’ll sell you SUSE coupons at a discount is you publicly promote these	Jun 16 11:27
DaemonMDV	yeah, of course you will no doubt be fired if they figure out it was you	Jun 16 11:27
schestowitz	I.e. promote ‘Linux tax’ (MS patents	Jun 16 11:27
IsBob	splosion: I’m pretty sure I could be identified very quickly if anything leaks	Jun 16 11:27
schestowitz	For a bribe	Jun 16 11:27
DaemonMDV	(goes without saying)	Jun 16 11:27
IsBob	I already made some statements against Mono and M$ in the past	Jun 16 11:27
oiaohm	Does not matter really IsBob.  IBM is gearing up to go after the Small business market with Linux.	Jun 16 11:27
schestowitz	splosion: +1	Jun 16 11:27
splosion	IsBob: bummer	Jun 16 11:27
DaemonMDV	Easy URPMI is still not back up	Jun 16 11:28
DaemonMDV	odd	Jun 16 11:28
oiaohm	Basically your bosses should be asking who is going to win.   IBM and Orcale or MS.	Jun 16 11:28
DaemonMDV	but shows how much people depend on less than legal stuff	Jun 16 11:28
DaemonMDV	frankly it kind of sickens me that Vorbis is free and hardly anything uses it	Jun 16 11:29
schestowitz	So basically, Microsoft lets Linux embrace .NET	Jun 16 11:29
schestowitz	Then it can start shouting “IP”  and “thieves” and offer .NET (Windows only)	Jun 16 11:29
schestowitz	It’s so predictable	Jun 16 11:29
oiaohm	Both Orcale and IBM have cards in play schestowitz.	Jun 16 11:29
oiaohm	As with all battles there are some wins and some losses.	Jun 16 11:30
DaemonMDV	I found out this Sansa thing is a PlaysForSure device	Jun 16 11:30
DaemonMDV	probably why it’s so unfriendly with non-Microsoft media players trying to sync it	Jun 16 11:30
oiaohm	In the scale of importance a few wins here and there for .net are not going to help MS long term.	Jun 16 11:30
IsBob	schestowitz: so I will probably have to make public statements about Mono soon	Jun 16 11:31
IsBob	and I wonder how many of the similar statements we’ve seen recently have been made by people in the same situation	Jun 16 11:31
oiaohm	Can you still cover emerging techs IsBob	Jun 16 11:31
oiaohm	like vala from gnome and state of samba.	Jun 16 11:31
schestowitz	IsBob: bought opinions	Jun 16 11:32
schestowitz	Microsoft does lots of it	Jun 16 11:32
schestowitz	E.g. Tesco example from last week in BN	Jun 16 11:32
schestowitz	ASUS’ fake “Windows is better”	Jun 16 11:32
schestowitz	“vendor recommends Vista” (Microsoft bribes for this too)	Jun 16 11:32
oiaohm	Creativity the say not to say anything bad against mono.   There is nothing stopping talking about the competing techs.	Jun 16 11:32
DaemonMDV	of course it is, you know just what to expect out of it	Jun 16 11:32
DaemonMDV	*cough*	Jun 16 11:32
schestowitz	“We’re interested in IP peace of mind” (not exact quote)	Jun 16 11:32
schestowitz	But I never expected better from a company of thugs	Jun 16 11:33
schestowitz	Bribing people to utters marketing lies	Jun 16 11:33
IsBob	I wonder whether similar things are happening at Canonical, given their recent moves	Jun 16 11:33
schestowitz	And later they point to it..	Jun 16 11:33
schestowitz	And say…	Jun 16 11:33
DaemonMDV	schestowitz: According to Alexa’s site rank, almost every Linux-related site is going up	Jun 16 11:33
schestowitz	“Look, Dell recommends Vista”	Jun 16 11:33
DaemonMDV	but Microsoft.com has gone down over 5%	Jun 16 11:33
schestowitz	and “HP recommends Vista”	Jun 16 11:33
DaemonMDV	in this quarter	Jun 16 11:33
schestowitz	And “everyone loves Mono”	Jun 16 11:34
DaemonMDV	despite all the Windows 7 blitz	Jun 16 11:34
schestowitz	“Lyons and Enderle and Didio say that SCO is going to win the trial”	Jun 16 11:34
schestowitz	Don’t get me started on the Vista7 slog	Jun 16 11:34
schestowitz	They bribe bloggers	Jun 16 11:34
schestowitz	They bribe journalists	Jun 16 11:34
DaemonMDV	it still dwarfs any Linux distro’s website hits	Jun 16 11:34
schestowitz	And they attack those who say the truth	Jun 16 11:34
DaemonMDV	but it is on the way down	Jun 16 11:34
oiaohm	Are those hits counting windows update DaemonMDV	Jun 16 11:35
schestowitz	It plays dirtty	Jun 16 11:35
schestowitz	[on its way down]	Jun 16 11:35
DaemonMDV	well, that’s not good for them, that their site is getting less popular despite so much advertising	Jun 16 11:35
DaemonMDV	no	Jun 16 11:35
DaemonMDV	only browsers	Jun 16 11:35
DaemonMDV	Microsoft.com is the 18th most trafficked site in the United States	Jun 16 11:36
IsBob	it pains me to see all of that because I’m exactly in the same situation, with hands tied	Jun 16 11:36
DaemonMDV	Ubuntu was like 2400-something	Jun 16 11:36
schestowitz	Windows Update is Akamai (Linux)	Jun 16 11:36
IsBob	I wonder what we can do to stop people from using that Mono crap	Jun 16 11:36
schestowitz	DaemonMDV: nope	Jun 16 11:36
schestowitz	Alexa is no gold standard	Jun 16 11:36
oiaohm	People finding out information on patches from windows update show up as hits DaemonMDV if it covering technet.	Jun 16 11:36
schestowitz	It’s stupid to even make it believable	Jun 16 11:36
schestowitz	IsBob: join the fight	Jun 16 11:36
DaemonMDV	technet is a different domain	Jun 16 11:36
schestowitz	Expose what you can	Jun 16 11:37
schestowitz	It’s possible to do both	Jun 16 11:37
schestowitz	Do the job and leaking the truth	Jun 16 11:37
schestowitz	Many things in BN are based on whistle blowers	Jun 16 11:37
oiaohm	Just had to ask some stats sites group them DaemonMDV.	Jun 16 11:37
*PetoKraus (n=pk@fsf/member/petokraus) has joined #boycottnovell		Jun 16 11:37
oiaohm	IsBob: when you are forbin to talk about something always ask what you are not forbin to talk about.	Jun 16 11:37
oiaohm	sometimes the not forbin can block what you are forbin to talk about.	Jun 16 11:38
schestowitz	Forbidden = “we are doing something bad”	Jun 16 11:38
schestowitz	Or “don’t ask”	Jun 16 11:38
schestowitz	Honest people work openly	Jun 16 11:38
schestowitz	Like here in BN	Jun 16 11:38
schestowitz	We don’t do PMs	Jun 16 11:39
schestowitz	And some people still try to trip us up this way	Jun 16 11:39
oiaohm	I have had to work under all sorts of different conditions.	Jun 16 11:39
DaemonMDV	http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/06/15/th…	Jun 16 11:40
oiaohm	Lot of times taking a positive line in a different direction is simpler than dispute and still can be long term effective.	Jun 16 11:40
DaemonMDV	Also, the comments on the Times Web site are truly disheartening: “This invention is stupid die die die.” Calm down, sirs.	Jun 16 11:40
DaemonMDV	lmao	Jun 16 11:40
oiaohm	God that knife is useless.	Jun 16 11:41
oiaohm	Slash stab method would still work perfectly with it.	Jun 16 11:41
DaemonMDV	well, it was invented in Sweden to be sold in the UK	Jun 16 11:43
DaemonMDV	can’t really go too hard on it	Jun 16 11:43
oiaohm	Besides I do use the point of knife when cooking at times.	Jun 16 11:43
DaemonMDV		Jun 16 11:43
DaemonMDV	well, if I bought the knife, why would I have bought it?	Jun 16 11:44
DaemonMDV	so *I* can’t stab anyone?	Jun 16 11:44
schestowitz	People will DIY their knives	Jun 16 11:44
schestowitz	What a stupid idea	Jun 16 11:44
DaemonMDV	Maybe I’ll just make up my own damned mind whether I want to stab someone	Jun 16 11:44
DaemonMDV	heh	Jun 16 11:44
schestowitz	Maybe they should also make hands that work only in the kitchen	Jun 16 11:44
schestowitz	And ban metal	Jun 16 11:44
schestowitz	Or…	Jun 16 11:44
schestowitz	“Honey, will you please come to the kitchen?”	Jun 16 11:45
DaemonMDV	well get this, you buy them, then get rid of your old knives	Jun 16 11:45
DaemonMDV	then someone breaks into your house	Jun 16 11:45
schestowitz	They relocate the crime	Jun 16 11:45
*Np237 (n=joss@diva.malsain.org) has joined #boycottnovell		Jun 16 11:45
DaemonMDV	and you wish you had a knife to protect yourself with	Jun 16 11:45
Np237	heya	Jun 16 11:45
schestowitz	Good luck going to people’s house confiscating all the old utensils	Jun 16 11:45
schestowitz	Np237: hey, what’s up?	Jun 16 11:45
*IsBob has quit (Remote closed the connection)		Jun 16 11:45

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IRC: #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: June 15th, 2009

Posted in IRC Logs at 2:59 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Read the log

Enter the IRC channel now

To use your own IRC client, join channel #boycottnovell in FreeNode.

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06.15.09

Microsoft Gives ‘Funny Money’ (Microsoft Vouchers) to Wisconsin Schools After Committing Crimes

Posted in America, Antitrust, Microsoft at 1:41 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Microsoft’s very latest tricks with schools around the world are dissected and explained

A couple of days ago we wrote about ‘funny money’ which Microsoft would supposedly give to Mississippi. The short story is that it’s not real money and it may actually help Microsoft elevate revenue rather than suffer from fines. Now, from Mississippi we move on to Missouri, which evidently turns its students to Microsoft customers, no matter if they like it or not. We have covered many similar stories recently [1, 2, 3, 4]. It’s a form of child abuse to assign a commercial master to youngsters/adolescents so early in their lives (and leaving them no choice).

Over at Wisconsin, kids may suffer a similar fate because rather than compensate for crime using real money, Microsoft is offering vouchers whose ridiculousness we last explained some months ago.

Wisconsin schools in line for millions of dollars in Microsoft vouchers

[...]

The settlement lays out $75 million to $80 million in reimbursements for a wide range of technology products and services. The exact amount is still being determined.

Why can’t Microsoft be properly fined? Why can’t there be no real punishment to prove that markets rules are effective and thus discourage repeated offences? Those who consider it a win for Wisconsin simply don’t understand this simple old trick. Almost all journalists happily ignore the other side of the coin and instead deliver just the message which requires zero investigation. See for example:

• ECASD: Microsoft Settlement Leads to $750,000 for District
• Wis. schools to get tech vouchers from Microsoft
• Schools May Get Some Microsoft Money

Another theme of stories that require more thorough research is Microsoft's digital colonisation in Africa (and other places too for that matter). Here is the latest PR stunt from Microsoft in Nigeria. They gain more control over schools this way.

Citizenship Manager for Microsoft in Nigeria, Jummai Umar-Ajijola said the Innovative Teachers Forum, which is a part of Microsoft’s Partners in Learning (PiL) programme, is a reflection of Microsoft’s commitment to bridging the digital divide in Africa’s education.
The two-day Forum, hosted by Microsoft in association with SchoolNet was also an opportunity for participating teachers to exchange best practices and share experiences with their peers from across the various states of the country.

Microsoft brags about some other public relations stunts, which bear profound shades of Rockefeller. █

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GNU/Linux is Winning, Apple and Microsoft Entangled in Stagnation

Posted in Apple, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Vista 7, Windows at 10:12 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: A video to enjoy whilst the competition of GNU/Linux shows signs of great weakness (links for morale)

Direct link

• Apple, Microsoft make mediocre moves

I sat there shaking my head in disbelief as I realized I had just witnessed possibly the most disheartening Apple keynote in recent memory. Three years ago, Steve Jobs introduced the adoption of Intel chips in Apple machines, a move that would send its market share soaring. A year later he walked up on stage and announced the phone that would change the mobile world forever.

• Apple finalizes PowerPC divorce with OS upgrade [good for GNU/Linux, which can neatly occupy those PCs]

When the new operating system arrives in September, it’ll work only on Intel-based Macs. That means Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, will be the end of the line for those with Macs that use PowerPC processors.

• They outdid themselves

So well done, Microsoft! You’ve released a browser that deletes a system file it shouldn’t even LOOK at! That’s true creativity, that is. Who wouldn’t think that a piece of software designed for looking at web pages might be deleting boot files even before it’s told to load and run?

Morons.

Utter morons.

This has got to be the most obscure error I’ve ever had to track down, bar none. Congratulations on that score, I guess, MS.

• A question to Microsoft? Whats unique about Windows 7?

I ask again, what feature does 7 offer that cannot already be achieved either natively or via 3rd party software in XP?

Here’s continuing in the quest to find out what exactly is the “treasure” contained within Windows 7.

Related post::

The Score: Red Hat Revenue Up 18%, Microsoft Revenue Down, Apple Fires 1,600 Full-time Employees

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‘Our Governments Just Aren’t Engineered for Security’

Posted in Finance, Microsoft, Security, Windows at 9:56 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Financially-driven and favours-motivated government unable to make reasonable decisions that are defensible

SOME MONTHS after Bill Gates had advised Obama (good cop) Steve Ballmer decided to blackmail him (bad cop). Microsoft’s influence on the new government is no secret and it shows in every way. Microsoft lobbyists fund this new government and so do William Gates (Bill Senior), Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Steve Ballmer, and his wife Connie, who used to work for Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft's current PR Department. For people who think that Microsoft families are distant from Obama, think again and witness the evidence.

More recently we saw the BSA lobbying the government to put industry in charge of national security, so its no surprising that a Microsoft person was almost immediately put at the top of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [1, 2]. The government soon recruited Microsoft’s Mundie (who hates Free(dom) software) to assist with technology policy. According to new reports, President Barack Obama may make Microsoft’s security person a cybersecurity czar. This is not a joke. Yes, Microsoft and security.

Ex-government cyber official, exec mulled for czar job

[...]

Microsoft’s security chief and a veteran of Clinton’s and Bush’s national security teams are leading candidates for cybersecurity czar, a job that needs White House access and clout to protect networks that underpin the U.S. economy.

President Barack Obama promised last month that he would personally decide who would lead the fight against an epidemic of cybercrime and organize a response to any major cyber attack.

[...]

A leading candidate for the post is Scott Charney, head of Microsoft’s cybersecurity division, who has said he won’t take the job, according to a source who had direct knowledge of the matter but was not authorized to discuss it. The source said, however, that Charney would change his mind if pressed.

There is more information here:

Two leading candidates have emerged for this job. The first is Scott Charney, head of Microsoft’s cybersecurity division.

Coming from the company which says that “[O]ur products just aren’t engineered for security,” this is black comedy.

One of our readers says: “It’s a bad joke to even consider putting an alleged cyber racketeer in charge of national security. There’s conflict of interest and he’s not qualified.

“Notice that from a business perspective, MS executives have been in constant trouble with both foreign and domestic courts for both unethical and illegal practices. These range from predatory marketing, contract violations, false advertising and They maintained that long-established reputation through lots of hard work and many decisions that could have easily gone the right direction instead. These are crooks.

“On qualifications, just look at MS security track record. Microsoft’s own “childish” executives(1) point out that their software is not designed with security in mind(2) and that some (which may very well be *all*) Microsoft code is so in secure that it endangers national security. Ongoing incidents demonstrate(3) that even Microsoft HQ can’t secure its own software from Windows worms. That conclusion is made final in their bid to enter the aftermarket anti- Windows-virus software.

“Security is also making sure that material is available when it’s needed. Microsoft-style write-only backups don’t cut it. So be sure to also look at the unmitigated disaster regarding turnover of the Bush administration’s electronic records.

“Ok, that’s the tip of the ice berg for Windows security. Then there is also a conflict of interest.

“The government post must be able to fight organized crime and it is dubitable whether an individual who has been part of the problem can suddenly, simply because he is “pressured” to do a 180 and start fighting organized crime.

“Law enforcement, including police, are one of several mechanisms to mitigate social or economic damage. Dams, powergrids, hospitals, and so on are protected because of the great social or economic damage that would come from their destruction or disabling. Unfortunately, MS products have been implicated in air traffic outages, suspected in the East Coast power grid failure, and appear responsible now for great numbers of hospital deaths due to Windows worms.

“Law enforcement in many countries is usually pretty good about community outreach and crime prevention. There are even special units that deal with organized crime. An old method has been to turn a blind eye to “lesser” crimes or criminals in return for something else. Traditionally this include the use of finks to rat on their cohorts. This makes a wide, gray area around a Faustian gamble that the returns at the end will justify the means. In some cases, the give-and-take becomes a way of life rather than a means to an end. However, add the clause “…with a computer” to any known crime and law enforcement becomes paralyzed and, at best, reluctant to help.

“It would be a bad position if law enforcement had somehow become beholden to MS, now that Windows botnets are bought, sold, trade, and fought over by other organized crime groups. These Windows worms are responsible for tens of billions of dollars of damage per Worm. With Windows entering hospitals and health care, this ideology means a real body count, just like another ideologically motivated group the Taliban. Deaths and/or major damage usually are indicators that intervention is needed.

“Really, Charney, and his cohorts at MS, should be considered for a special place in the government: Camp X-Ray.” █

(1) US DOJ

(2) “… Microsoft code was so flawed it could not be safely disclosed.”

– eWeek

(3) ‘”Our products just aren’t engineered for security,” admitted Valentine,who since 1998 has headed Microsoft’s Windows division.’

– “Microsoft: “Our products aren’t engineered for security,” ComputerWeekly. (2002)

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Is Microsoft Trying to Inject Money into SCO Again?

Posted in Courtroom, Deception, Finance, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, SCO at 9:04 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

“On the same day that CA blasted SCO, Open Source evangelist Eric Raymond revealed a leaked email from SCO’s strategic consultant Mike Anderer to their management. The email details how, surprise surprise, Microsoft has arranged virtually all of SCO’s financing, hiding behind intermediaries like Baystar Capital.”

–Bruce Perens

“[Microsoft's] Mr. Emerson and I discussed a variety of investment structures wherein Microsoft would ‘backstop,’ or guarantee in some way, BayStar’s investment…. Microsoft assured me that it would in some way guarantee BayStar’s investment in SCO.”

–Larry Goldfarb, Baystar, key investor in SCO

The Alexis de Tocqueville Institution is not new to us. It is a sort of lobbying vehicle that Microsoft too has been using, sometimes against Linux. We are also very interested Stephen Norris and the Carlyle Group, which is connected to him. In reverse-chronological order, we wrote about the SCO-funding saga in:

• SCO is Having a Yard Sale
• SCO: Always Losing Redundant Court Cases, But Winning Mysterious Funds
• Microsoft’s Sleight of Hands
• A Hand That Feeds SCO… Intel
• Who’s Bugging Google and Apple? (Updatedx2)
• More Microsoft Patent Trolls, Extortions, and SCO
• How Novell Learned to Stop Worrying About Microsoft FUD and Started Embracing It
• Microsoft Shills Index: Under Construction
• SCO Roundup: Novell Litigation, Money from Me Inc Software
• Is SCO and Its Anti-Linux Agenda Relocated to Microsoft Headquarters?
• Dishonesty Looms Over SCO’s New Cash Injection/Infusion/Investment/Whatever
• Stephen Norris: Why SCO? And Why Now?
• Has Microsoft Just Pulled Another Goldfarb (BayStar)? (Updated)

Now that SCO is on the verge of going out of existence, some of the usual suspects make their move. Groklaw has the derails:

Gulf Capital Partners, LLC wants to be heard in the SCO bankruptcy, I gather. There is a pro hac vice Motion to Appear [PDF] filed by Gulf Capital Partners, LLC.

There’s more than one entity with that or a similar name, but I suspect that this one may be the Stephen Norris Gulf Capital Partners. Incidentally, or maybe not so incidentally, listed as a senior advisor on the principals page is Robert Kasten, who is also a consultant for the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, which you will recall attacked Linux — here’s the infamous “report” [PDF] — albeit unsuccessfully. Not that AdTI ever admitted defeat, as you can see on this incredible AdTI page, where they call Open Source software “open sores software” and reference both Maureen O’Gara and Paul Murphy — small world, isn’t it?

The think tank report on Linux was reportedly funded at least indirectly, by Microsoft. Microsoft admits funding AdTI, but not specific projects. And it called the report unhelpful. Of course, there are coincidences in life of the three degrees variety. So, just saying.

Max calls the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution “axis of evil”, adding that, based on Wikipedia, they are a “Washington, D.C.–based right-wing think tank that produces reports and policy research. [...] These detail how, after the Environmental Protection Agency moved in 1993 to have second-hand tobacco smoke declared a carcinogen, Philip Morris hired the AdTI to campaign against the move [...] AdTI is a member organization of the Cooler Heads Coalition which asserts that “the science of global warming is uncertain”…” █

“Microsoft hardly needs an SCO source license. Its license payment to SCO is simply a good-looking way to pass along a bribe…”

–Bruce Perens

“…Microsoft wished to promote SCO and its pending lawsuit against IBM and the Linux operating system. But Microsoft did not want to be seen as attacking IBM or Linux.”

–Larry Goldfarb, Baystar, key investor in SCO

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Microsoft Sued for Contract Violation in Asia

Posted in Asia, Courtroom, Law, Microsoft at 8:32 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: More trouble for Microsoft in Asia after the head of Microsoft in the Philippines quits and China gets blackmailed

There is a bit of a mess for Microsoft in Asia these days. Apart from antitrust in Korea, Microsoft is said to be blackmailing China [1, 2] and the head of Microsoft Philippines jumped ship very suddenly, leaving an obvious void behind him based on the latest reports. Similarly-sudden departures of country heads were seen in India and in Singapore quite recently.

Adding to all these issues of crime and/or internal affairs, we now have a RMB 70 million lawsuit against Microsoft. It is accused of contract violation.

Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) has been asked to pay compensation of more than RMB 70 million by Shenzhen-based quality certification service provider Mowom for Microsoft’s failure to fulfill a 2005 contract, reports Sanxiang City Express quoting Mowom Chief Designer Matt Zhou.

When will people finally learn to stop trusting Microsoft? This is the company that sued Linux after it promised that there would be no patent issues with FAT. Daily Kos has published the article “Why I Hate Microsoft.” It’s not as loathsome as the headline makes it sound. █

“Crime is the soul of lust. What would pleasure be if it were not accompanied by crime? It is not the object of debauchery that excites us, rather the idea of evil.”

–Marquis de Sade

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Microsoft Corporation Joins Hand with the Pharmaceutical Cartel

Posted in Bill Gates, Deals, Deception, Microsoft at 8:03 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Merckosoft: Unethical minds think alike?

Summary: Weeks after the massive Elsevier/Merck blunder, Microsoft reaches a business agreement with Merck

OUR main post about Elsevier and Merck colluding to deceive the public was aptly titled “The Pharmaceutical Cartel”. A lot people are not aware of ethical issues that surround this industry, where intellectual monopolies are basically used to monetise death [1, 2, 3]. Considering the nature of what Merck has been doing, it is not entirely surprising that Microsoft shakes its hands. It’s a lovely pairing.

Microsoft is getting into genetic data management through an agreement with Merck.

What Bill Gates once said may sound like he’s part of this industry, which he is [1, 2]. He said about poor people in China: “They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.” According to Associated Press, Gates will now invade the WHO (World Health Organization) just as he did the UN and the White House, but the media will forced out as though there is something to hide.

Chaib says media will be excluded from the meeting.

It’s just like the Rockefeller scam all over again. The media glorifies the felons,, turning them into heroes in the public minds using words like “philanthropy” and similar half-truths. Here is the latest example.

Speaking of the WHO, Richard Stallman pointed to this article a couple of days ago. He summarised it as “US threats in 1995 made the World Health Organization cancel and bury a study which had found that cocaine was not very dangerous.”

In the case of cocaine there is an even more striking precedent for evidence being ignored: the World Health Organisation (WHO) conducted what is probably the largest ever study of global use. In March 1995 they released a briefing kit which summarised their conclusions, with some tantalising bullet points.

“Health problems from the use of legal substances, particularly alcohol and tobacco, are greater than health problems from cocaine use,” they said. “Cocaine-related problems are widely perceived to be more common and more severe for intensive, high-dosage users and very rare and much less severe for occasional, low-dosage users.”

[...]

At the point where mild cocaine use was described in positive tones the Americans presumably blew some kind of outrage fuse. This report was never published because the US representative to the WHO threatened to withdraw US funding for all its research projects and interventions unless the organisation “dissociated itself from the study” and cancelled publication. According to the WHO this document does not exist, (although you can read a leaked copy at www.tdpf.org.uk/WHOleaked.pdf).

It does put the WHO in a different light, does it not? And to say more about Merck, there is nothing ethical about its dodgy pharmaceutical practices, let alone the fact that it is corrupting once-respectable journals. This is a true shame… or just shame because there is no truth or honesty. For some updates on the situation see:

Elsevier Reveals More Details About Its Fake Journal Division

Remember how Elsevier and Merck were caught putting out a fake journal that had articles favoring Merck drugs, implying peer reviewed articles that weren’t? Soon afterwards, it came out that Elsevier had a whole division for such things. However, following an internal investigation, it looks like Elsevier is backtracking a bit and saying that, while the group’s practices were problematic, most weren’t as egregious as the “Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine (AJBJM)” that was created by Merck and Elsevier.

Elsevier Had A Whole Division Publishing Fake Medical Journals

Remember a week ago when we wrote about pharma giant Merck and publishing giant Elsevier working together to publish a fake journal that talked up various Merck drugs and was used by doctors to show that the drugs were safe and useful?

This ought to teach all of us to be critical of everything we read. █

“Seek simplicity, and distrust it.”

–Alfred North Whitehead

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