Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Group from Boston That Makes Microsoft Scared (Not Novell)

Boston



Preface: Novell's Waltham headquarters may be located near the FSF's, but their goals are polar opposites

AS WE HAVE shown before, the FSF's latest campaign has been a smashing success [1, 2, 3] because it led to positive exposure. Ignoring the Microsoft crowd which tries to portray opposition to it as "terroristic", there is plenty of educational coverage out there. Here, for instance, is the Boston press covering the issues raised by the FSF:



Holmes Wilson, Campaigns Manager for the FSF, expounded on the chilling effect of proprietary software on education. "The fundamental role of schools is to encourage a level of curiosity and inquisitiveness and exploration in students that cultivates an engagement with the world, and with ideas. When you're using computers in the classroom that are running proprietary software, there's this barrier there that prevents students from understanding the machine they're using. It is a real, in some ways, an affront, to the natural inquisitiveness of any student. If somebody gets into computers, but then they can't dig into the computer that they're actually using there in the classroom, that's stifling a level of... That's stifling a desire to learn, that really, schools should be encouraging."


Regarding OLPC, which Microsoft sabotaged, Sam Varghese had this to say:

The Free Software Foundation has described the One Laptop per Child Project as one that will only help to "turn millions of children into Microsoft dependents."

[...]

It said, due to this dramatic change of policy, many FOSS volunteers quit in disgust.

"But Negroponte, desiring the financial support of Bill Gates and Microsoft, ignored them and proceeded with his decision. As a result, it is expected that the main effect of the OLPC project - if it succeeds - will be to turn millions of children into Microsoft dependents.

"That is a negative effect, to the point where the world would be better off if the OLPC project had never existed. The project tragically became yet another example of Microsoft exerting its control to ends harmful to society's freedom," the FSF said.


Longtime revisionist and basher of Freedom Dennis Byron was among those who attacked the FSF, quite unsurprisingly in fact. From the long comment that responds to inaccurate drivel:

With phrases like "Nutty", or "doesn't have much chance of succeeding", even calling them extortionists, it's clear why you wrote this and to which audience. But since this was written in a gently concealed adversarial fashion, I allow my reply to be much the same. Your blog entry is not about the activities of the FSF in Boston, but really is about your shallow opinions, spin, and little else.


We previously explained how those who had been attacking the FSF were all the usual suspects who have always bashed the FSF and/or its cause anyway. In other words, they are dyed-in-the-wool characters who were unlikely to be persuaded by any such campaign and were therefore not the target audience in the first place. Money-driven publications tend to be hostile towards ethics and correction of unethical things; it is seen as adversarial. Many people fell into the trap set up by pro-Microsoft folks (Preston Gralla for example) who tried to use Apple as a weapon against the FSF's argument. This issue has already been addressed and Bradley Kuhn from the SFLC writes: "FSF did some anti-Apple campaigns too. Personally I worry more about Apple because they have user loyalty; Microsoft doesn't"

People who say that the FSF only targets Microsoft are simply not paying any attention. The FSF is focused on behaviour, not on companies.

More FSF bashing came from Neowin which, as we've shown before, is a Microsoft-oriented site staffed by Microsoft partners. The following new post addresses these criticisms and calls Neowin "The Bubble: Microsoft Social Land."

Now the neowin news site does seem to be a bubble of Microsoft lovers. fanatics that seem to put all rational discourse to one side while they savage the “opponent”. Their main argument seems to be “Well if you can serve me with the exact this I want, then I’ll be your friend”


In conclusion, it is immensely important to know the messengers (their historical record) when assessing feedback to the FSF's campaign. The Microsoft ecosystem most certainty was not the target audience of the FSF.

"Today many people are switching to free software for purely practical reasons. That is good, as far as it goes, but that isn't all we need to do! Attracting users to free software is not the whole job, just the first step."

--Richard Stallman

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
 
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day