02.24.10
Gemini version available ♊︎Hugging Free Software to Death and Novell’s Embrace of Proprietary Platforms
Summary: Former Microsoft employees and existing employees of Novell are promoting proprietary software and Mono from entities masquerading as “FOSS”
MICROSOFT AND its ecosystem are still trying to take control of their competition. A few days ago we mentioned the term "charm offensive", which is Microsoft’s strategy of pretending to be a friend while actually stabbing the 'friends' in their backs. In the next post we will show how Microsoft is doing this to ODF, but this post mostly focuses on Novell and Mono.
“It ought to be mentioned that Apple too is harassing GNU/Linux with software patents.”Here is Microsoft’s (former) chief infiltrator into FOSS, Sam Ramji [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12] being described as “Open Source Industry Luminary” by another group of former Microsoft employees, namely MindTouch [1, 2, 3, 4]. They add him to their Advisory Board. The description of him is very funny because he was rejected by almost everyone who was really in FOSS. MindTouch also sucked up to Matt Asay in more of less the same way.
Anyway, for those who do not know yet, MindTouch is former Microsoft employees and they are Microsoft and Mono boosters. This makes them friends of one element of Novell, which got distracted by Windows, Apple, and mostly .NET stuff (there is also Moonlight). Novell still promotes Apple products with .NET and it takes MonoDevelop over to Microsoft Windows (where it is designed to work better [1, 2]). What about GNU/Linux?
It ought to be mentioned that Apple too is harassing GNU/Linux with software patents. Apple does not defend users’ control, nor does it promote free expression based on the following two items from the news:
i. Swimwear seller hit by Apple’s removal of ‘sexual’ apps
As Apple has officially clarified its new ban on “overtly sexual content” in the App Store, one application featuring pictures of women in bikinis — to sell beachwear — was removed.
ii. iPhone developers angry as Apple purges adult apps
Developers have expressed anger at Apple’s decision to ban some adult-themed applications from its iPhone.
Is Novell paying attention? Why dos it promote such a company? Developers favour GNU/Linux because it actually gives them control. Supporting development for Microsoft and Apple in no way helps the ultimate goal of developer freedom and user freedom.
Novell in general is messed up as a company. Here are some interesting new comments that include:
Novell shafted their VAR’s and shot themselves in the foot time and time again.
Novell wanted their VAR’s to pick up the table scrapes, and wanted their in-house sales force to get the cherry (i.e. read “big”) accounts, even if that meant stealing those big accounts directly from their VARs.
After the third or fourth time of doing that, and then backpedaling saying it was all just a big misunderstanding and it wouldn’t happen again, any VAR with a brain jumped ship faster then Lindsay Lohan fills up barf bags.
Novell is absolutely clueless on how to market their product or run their company. They had the de facto BEST networking software ever – and pissed that away and let Microsoft completely steal that market away from them, by fumble finger handling their marketing strategy and screwing over their VARs.
Ironic that the nickname for their best product was called “red box” – it’s certainly been mostly “red” on their P&L page.
And no one is “ganging up” on Judy. Her product/site makes some pretty big claims with no real details to back them up. The tech world is dog eat dog (or perhaps “put up or shut up” is a better saying in this case). Judy’s doing ok – she hasn’t wilted from this thread, so there’s some steel behind those rah rah’s.
Novell cannot beat Red Hat, so it turned to Microsoft for help.
Are Novell and Oracle really meeting with any success? It’s hard to believe they are. After all, Red Hat is going from strength to strength, while Microsoft money continues to be prop up Novell, and Oracle’s Linux support offering is hardly the talk of the town.
Novell is "going downhill", but the problem is that it still harms Free software while it’s going down as a company (SUSE news is very scarce these days). █
“[The Novell/Microsoft package] provides IP peace of mind for organizations operating in mixed source environments.”
–Ian Bruce, Novell’s PR Director
ᶃ Gemini Space
This post is also available in 
Content is available under CC-BY-SA
Jose_X said,
February 24, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Apple wants to promote a certain image. Perhaps they are taking the Disney approach: provide warm and fuzzies exclusively (however great) and preserve their brand and then use this leverage to get lock-down/monopoly laws passed (or preserved) that protect their business from competitors.
I can’t imagine all of Novell’s apparent missteps being solely their fault among a fair playing field (specifically wrt to their network software losing to Microsoft’s). In any case, missteps are a part of life.