08.12.09

Gemini version available ♊︎

Microsoft Accused of “Sabotaging Desktop Virtualisation”

Posted in Apple, IBM, Marketing, Microsoft, Patents, Virtualisation at 3:50 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Rock textures

Summary: Another bit of insight into anti-competitive behaviour from Microsoft and Apple

Microsoft’s attempts to control virtualisation so as to suppress adoption of other platforms or cheapening of Windows were mentioned here a lot in the context of servers. It turns out that on desktops too Microsoft has been pulling similar tricks, which stifle IBM’s attempt to put GNU/Linux on more desktops. Here is an explanation of this from IDG: [via Bob Sutor]

Why Microsoft is sabotaging desktop virtualization

Analysis: Microsoft’s licensing makes VDI unaffordable, to keep its stranglehold on desktop Windows licenses intact

[...]

There’s no other way to cut this: It’s simply way more expensive to license a Windows desktop OS for a VDI environment than it is to license one for a physical environment. Even if you upgrade to a new major OS revision during those three years by taking advantage of the Software Assurance plan included in VECD, you’re still paying more than you would if you did the same thing with a desktop client.

That is the text quoted by IBM’s Vice President of Linux and Open Source. As we shall show in a moment, IBM is trouble for Free software, but for other reasons. Apple too is somewhat of a fiend, attacking Linux with deliberate lack of interoperability and with patents also. It is rather amusing to see CNN/Fortune’s Apple-oriented blog casting Apple’s behavioural problems as just a “PR issue”. How arrogant a trivialisation.

To get a feel for how serious a PR problem this has become, check out the tone of New York Times columnist David Pogue’s latest e-mail newsletter.

Apple’s problems are conceit and greed. The only “PR problem” is that Apple is unable to hide an attitudinal issue, regardless of communication about this issue. Some people would argue that Boycott Novell takes a rather divisive approach, but the reality of the matter is that tyrannical entities (by their very nature) which use PR to conceal robbery of freedoms and rights are a long-term divisive issue which leaves people isolated and less capable of organising, demanding change, and restoring vital dignity. It is only ever realised when it’s too late. This issue of morality will be explored in a later post about patents, which are part of a monopolistic system that protects the privileged from peers who are underdogs. That system too relies on an indoctrination system which sells itself to the public using buzzwords like “innovation” and practically bans competition.

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Reddit
  • email

Decor ᶃ Gemini Space

Below is a Web proxy. We recommend getting a Gemini client/browser.

Black/white/grey bullet button This post is also available in Gemini over at this address (requires a Gemini client/browser to open).

Decor ✐ Cross-references

Black/white/grey bullet button Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time.

Decor ▢ Respond and Discuss

Black/white/grey bullet button If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

4 Comments

  1. Charles Oliver said,

    August 12, 2009 at 11:23 pm

    Gravatar

    “As we shall show in a moment, IBM is trouble for Free software, but for other reasons”

    How? IBM may want to commoditise the OS because they want to sell the software layer above in a market where Microsoft is not a monopoly or even dominant player.

    It might be an IBM tactic to attack what Microsoft sees as core but this seems actually to the benefit of free software. Google could be said to be taking the same tack. With everyone giving away operating systems, it might be worth questioning how long Microsoft will even be relevant. I can see them making it to Windows 7+1 in a few years but is there much beyond that for them?

    I don’t see the tack that IBM and Google are taking as detrimental to free software. The more popular the Linux kernel, for instance, becomes the more pressure there is on hardware manufacturers to not only release drivers but to open source those drivers so that they continue to work with the next kernel. I wonder how much money nVidia would save if their drivers were open source.

    So I hope Google and IBM carry on. Then I hope people develop free versions of the layer above. Open Street Map (latest Floss weekly) might be an example of something that can remove the power that mapping monopolies (who licence to google, microsoft etc.) in time, in the way WIkipedia has with encyclopedias (and beyond). I’m not aware of a free dovetailed office centred environment like sharepoint or notes, I’m sure there is one but it hasn’t got the mindshare (to use a marketing droid term).

    Charles Oliver Reply:

    Whoops. Maybe I should read things first.

    http://boycottnovell.com/2009/08/12/ibm-promoting-software-patents/

    Roy Schestowitz Reply:

    Open Street Map (and yes, I listened to the whole show, which is my favourite) is not proprietary like IBM or Google, so the analogy is a bit deficient.

    Charles Oliver Reply:

    That’s my point. IBM and Google are all about making the OS free and selling to the layer above.

    The layer above can be made free by looking at those things that people use and making sure there are free alternatives. Googlemaps -> Openstreemaps, Sharepoint -> ?, Skype -> Ekiga (?).

    But I don’t think it’s just about looking at what people use currently. If IBM and google make the free OS a success then the chance of starting something on the desktop within free software that can become successful on it’s own bat is greater.

    Top to bottom free software would be a nice goal.

DecorWhat Else is New


  1. Do Not Assume Pensions Are Safe, Especially When Managed by Mr. EPOTIF Benoît Battistelli and António Campinos

    With the "hoax" that is the financial assessment by António Campinos (who is deliriously celebrating the inauguration of illegal and unconstitutional kangaroo courts) we urge EPO workers to check carefully the integrity of their pensions, seeing that pension promises have been broken for years already



  2. Links 04/06/2023: Why Flatpak and Wealth of Devices With GNU/Linux

    Links for the day



  3. Gemini Links 04/06/2023: Rosy Crow 1.1.3 and NearlyFreeSpeech.NET

    Links for the day



  4. IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 03, 2023

    IRC logs for Saturday, June 03, 2023



  5. Links 04/06/2023: Azure Outage Again (So Many!) and Tiananmen Massacre Censored

    Links for the day



  6. Links 03/06/2023: Qubes OS 4.2.0 RC1 and elementaryOS Updates for May

    Links for the day



  7. Gemini Links 03/06/2023: Hidden Communities and Exam Prep is Not Education

    Links for the day



  8. Links 03/06/2023: IBM Betraying LibreOffice Some More (After Laying off LibreOffice Developers)

    Links for the day



  9. Gemini Links 03/06/2023: Bubble Woes and Zond Updates

    Links for the day



  10. Links 03/06/2023: Apache NetBeans 18 and ArcaOS 5.0.8

    Links for the day



  11. IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 02, 2023

    IRC logs for Friday, June 02, 2023



  12. The Developing World Abandons Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux at All-Time Highs on Desktops/Laptops

    Microsoft, with 80 billion dollars in longterm debt and endless layoffs, is losing the monopolies; the media doesn’t mention this, but some publicly-accessible data helps demonstrate that



  13. Links 02/06/2023: Elive ‘Retrowave’ Stable and Microsoft's Half a Billion Dollar Fine for LinkeIn Surveillance in Europe

    Links for the day



  14. Linux Foundation 'Research' Has a New Report and Of Course It Uses Only Proprietary Software

    The Linux Foundation has a new report, promoted by Clickfraud Spamnil and others; of course they’re rejecting Free software, they’re just riding the “Linux” brand and speak of “Open Source” (which they reject themselves)



  15. Links 02/06/2023: Arti 1.1.5 and SQL:2023

    Links for the day



  16. Gemini Links 02/06/2023: Vimwiki Revisited, SGGS Revisited

    Links for the day



  17. Geminispace/GemText/Gemini Protocol Turn 4 on June 20th

    Gemini is turning 4 this month (on the 20th, according to the founder) and I thought I’d do a spontaneous video about how I use Gemini, why it's so good, and why it’s still growing (Stéphane Bortzmeyer fixed the broken cron job — or equivalent of it — a day or two after I had mentioned the issue)



  18. HMRC Does Not Care About Tax Fraud Committed by UK Government Contractor, Sirius 'Open Source'

    The tax crimes of Sirius ‘Open Source’ were reported to HMRC two weeks ago; HMRC did not bother getting back to the reporters (victims of the crime) and it’s worth noting that the reporters worked on UK government systems for many years, so maybe there’s a hidden incentive to bury this under the rug



  19. Our IRC at 15th Anniversary

    So our IRC community turns 15 today (sort of) and I’ve decided to do a video reflecting on the fact that some of the same people are still there after 15 years



  20. IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 01, 2023

    IRC logs for Thursday, June 01, 2023



  21. Links 02/06/2023: NixOS 23.05 and Rust 1.70.0

    Links for the day



  22. Gemini Links 02/06/2023: Flying High With Gemini and Gogios Released

    Links for the day



  23. Links 01/06/2023: KStars 3.6.5 and VEGA ET1031 RISC-V Microprocessor in Use

    Links for the day



  24. Gemini Links 01/06/2023: Scam Call and Flying High With Gemini

    Links for the day



  25. Links 01/06/2023: Spleen 2.0.0 Released and Team UPC Celebrates Its Own Corruption

    Links for the day



  26. IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 31, 2023

    IRC logs for Wednesday, May 31, 2023



  27. Tux Machines Closing the Door on Twitter Because Twitter is Dead (for a Lot of People)

    Tux Machines recently joined millions of others who had already quit Twitter, including passive posting (fully or partly automated)



  28. Links 31/05/2023: Inkscape’s 1.3 Plans and New ARM Cortex-A55-Based Linux Chip

    Links for the day



  29. Gemini Links 31/05/2023: Personality of Software Engineers

    Links for the day



  30. Links 31/05/2023: Armbian 23.05 Release and Illegal UPC

    Links for the day


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Home iconSite Home: Background about the site and some key features in the front page

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts