Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Battle to Consume -- Not Obliterate -- Open Source

"I would love to see all open source innovation happen on top of Windows."

--Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO



Summary: Latest examples -- as illustrated by news items -- of Microsoft's strategy with Open Source/Free software

THE latest batch of daily links contains some references to posts which bemoan "open core". Microsoft sometimes refers to it as "hybrid" and advocates it as the way forward; Microsoft simply envisions a future where Free software is made connected to proprietary services like SQL Server, .NET, and Windows. Pseudo-source software is a serious problem that's being dealt with (but not thoroughly addressed) in this new post which states in the headline: "'Open source' doesn't mean what it used to"



Customers using or considering a product that falls into the open-core licensing category, take note: The enterprise commercial product you purchase probably won't offer the same freedoms as the open source community edition that the developers likely used and became advocates for.


Over in Europe, we already find that Microsoft is lobbying to 'dilute' open standards and Open Source so as to make Microsoft qualify as an open standard and Open Source. We gave elaborate explanations of this point before. It is a conscious strategy from Microsoft, whose executive are spitting at the very roots of the "Open Source" movement (back when it was more commonly known as "Free Software"). Richard Stallman once said to a student outside Stanford's Bill Gates Building: "Hey, is it the tradition here to give Bill the finger when you go through these doors?"

"Hey, is it the tradition here to give Bill the finger when you go through these doors?"
      --Richard Stallman
As readers are probably aware, Microsoft's executives work behind the scenes to enable all sorts of dangerous schemes, including -- potentially -- the fingerprinting of people (after lobbying from Bill Gates in India).

Anyway, getting back to the original point, the "coup" Microsoft had going against the European Commission (David Hammerstein called it a "coup", based on inside sources) has clearly paid off because Europe's digital policy, as defined by the EIF at least, is still subverted although it did not get worse than the previous iteration. Glyn Moody reports on the differences between the two latest revisions/versions (which were leaked).

That's clearly an improvement on the previous version. For example, the whole ridiculous notion of an “openness continuum” has gone. And weak phrases like “Interoperability involves the sharing of information and knowledge between organisations, hence implies a certain degree of openness. There are varying degrees of openness.” have become the stronger “Interoperability involves the sharing of information and knowledge between interacting organisations, hence implies openness.”

On the down side, this remains worryingly vague and woolly. What exactly is this “openness”? It sets a far lower bar than the original EIF document, which was highly specific...

[...]

To summarise, the latest draft is certainly better than the previous one, which was a travesty in many respects. As such, it is to be welcomed. But we should be making absolute advances with interoperability at this stage, not relative ones. The current draft is certainly one step forward from the previous one, but that was two steps back from the original, so the net effect remains negative. Frankly, that's not acceptable, and is evidence that the European Commission is backtracking in this important area. That doesn't augur well for the imminent Digital Agenda.


More information and background about EIFv2 can be found in:

  1. European Interoperability Framework (EIF) Corrupted by Microsoft et al, Its Lobbyists
  2. Orwellian EIF, Fake Open Source, and Security Implications
  3. No Sense of Shame Left at Microsoft
  4. Lobbying Leads to Protest -- the FFII and the FSFE Rise in Opposition to Subverted EIF
  5. IBM and Open Forum Europe Address European Interoperability Framework (EIF) Fiasco
  6. EIF Scrutinised, ODF Evolves, and Microsoft's OOXML “Lies” Lead to Backlash from Danish Standards Committee
  7. Complaints About Perverted EIF Continue to Pile Up
  8. More Complaints About EIFv2 Abuse and Free Software FUD from General Electric (GE)
  9. Patents Roundup: Copyrighted SQL Queries, Microsoft Alliance with Company That Attacks F/OSS with Software Patents, Peer-to-Patent in Australia
  10. Microsoft Under Fire: Open Source Software Thematic Group Complains About EIFv2 Subversion, NHS Software Supplier Under Criminal Investigation
  11. British MEP Responds to Microsoft Lobby Against EIFv2; Microsoft's Visible Technologies Infiltrates/Derails Forums Too
  12. Patents Roundup: Escalations in Europe, SAP Pretense, CCIA Goes Wrong, and IETF Opens Up
  13. Patents Roundup: Several Defeats for Bad Types of Patents, Apple Risks Embargo, and Microsoft Lobbies Europe Intensely
  14. Europeans Asked to Stop Microsoft's Subversion of EIFv2 (European Interoperability Framework Version 2)
  15. Former Member of European Parliament Describes Microsoft “Coup in Process” in the European Commission


Basically, what Microsoft is trying to do here is fit the law to its own requirements rather than adjust its behaviour to fit the law. Microsoft wants Europe to be heavily dependent on Windows and in order to 'consume' Free software too, Microsoft has created CoApp [1, 2, 3], which receives some press coverage, still.

CoApp is about more than just a single software app, it is really about creating a entire Windows based ecosystem for package management.


Another interesting new find is the funding of the Grameen Foundation, which is run by Microsoft people [1, 2, 3] and uses "Open Source" propositions to promote Microsoft.

In short, Microsoft is trying to wrap itself up with everything "Open Source" in order to deceive the public, which would no longer be able to tell apart the Microsoft option and the Microsoft-free option. A reader has just sent us a couple [1, 2] of new examples of "Microsoft advertising on Linux site". Here are the images he sent us.

Linux Planet ad



Linux top banner



Linux Planet and Microsoft



Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Autumn Has Come
Autumn should be exciting in all sorts of ways; it'll also mark our anniversary
IBM Has Taken Control of GNOME
Don't expect a successor to be found any time soon
 
Writing and Coding Isn't Always Enough
Last year we had to assume a role we didn't have before: litigants
Links 01/09/2025: Catching Up (Mostly via Deutsche Welle), "Windows TCO" Effect in UK
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/09/2025: Linguistic Barriers and "Web 1.0 Hosting"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 31, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, August 31, 2025
The UEFI 9/11 - Part IV - External Interference
They all seem to be playing a role in crushing Software Freedom and self-determination for users
Links 31/08/2025: Baggage Claim Scams, an Insurrectionist’s War on Culture, and a Sudden Robotics Hype
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/08/2025: Reviewing Netsurf and Slightly Less Historic Ada Design
Links for the day
Links 31/08/2025: Google Gmail Data Breach and LF Puff Pieces for Pay
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 30, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 30, 2025
This is What Google News Has Become
Moments ago
The Slopfarm WebProNews Has Turned Google News Into a Laughing Stock Full of Plagiarism by Slop
If Google News dies of neglect, that's one thing. It's starting to seem like active neglect by Google is a form of participation.
Do What is Moral, as What's Legal Isn't Always Moral
Do what's objectively moral, no matter the costs and the risks
Slopwatch: Google News Assisting Plagiarism and Anti-Linux FUD, Serial Slopper Rips Off Linux-Centric Journalists
This makes the Web a much worse place and lessens the incentive to do journalism
Links 30/08/2025: NVIDIA Fakes Results to Hide a Bubble Already in Implosion Phase, Data Breaches Galore, Important Win for Workers' Union in Canada
Links for the day
Representing and Speaking for Animals
If I ever choose to take this matter to tribunal with animals-centric NGOs on my side, it'll get some press coverage for sure
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
In Kazakhstan, Yandex Estimated to be 20 Times Bigger Than Microsoft
Bing is measured as down this month
Shutterstock Not Enough? The Register MS Uses Slop Images in Articles (Seemingly More and More Over Time)
Cost-saving trajectory amid office shutdown?
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Games, PostmarketOS, and Slop
Links for the day
Links 30/08/2025: Imgur Uproar and Many Ukraine Updates (Mediazona Reports Over 200,000 Russians Died for Putin)
Links for the day
How Not to Build Software
code forges that need a Web browser perhaps fill some 'niche' demand
GAFAM and "MATA"
The use of dark humour there hopefully helps illuminate what a lot of "modern" technology became like and how it interacts with human civilisation (to what ends and whose gain)
Birds Are Not "Pests and Vermin", Privacy is Not a Crime, and GNU/Linux is Not 'Hacking Platform'
I could not help but think of Free software analogies
The Sites Should Be Very Fast Again
That issue is now resolved
Flying in 2025
worse than ever before
Activists, Including Technical Activists, Need Not Pursue Affirmation
Techrights doesn't play or participate in a "popularity contest"
The UEFI 9/11 - Part III - Chaos is Scheduled to Happen Second Thursday of September (No Matter What the Microsofters Tell You)
The clock is ticking
Downplaying the Impact of "UEFI 9/11" is a Losing Strategy
we won't publish much whilst on holiday
Government Sites Should Run Free Software
Not proprietary bloatware with buzzwords
LLM Slopfarms Take No Breaks
When people run sites by bots they don't need to worry about "breaks"
GNOME Having a Meltdown Again
Thanks and farewell to Steven Deobald
Gemini Links 30/08/2025: Low Tech and Hunchbin 1.0.6
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 29, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 29, 2025