Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft et al. “Embrace and Extend” That Whole “Open Thing”

Star wars Vader
Picture by SubSonica



Summary: The characterisation of patent bullies as friends of "Open Source"; more lip service to them from the Gartner Group

EVERY ONCE in a while we share with readers the latest examples of Microsoft and its allies faking and/or subverting "Open Source". Today's roundup begins with the Microsoft-backed Blackboard, which is once again playing games with "ambassadors" and other fluff that's twisting the term "open-source" (open minus source). Blackboard is trying to paint itself either as a player in "open-source" or simply a friend. It just mirrors the behaviour of Microsoft (Blackboard's financial backer), which is bullying competitors with software patents while pretending to be cuddly and tolerant. It's all PR. Blackboard is a bunch of predators in a pedobear costumes.



This brings us to the next item, which actually involves Blackboard's sugar daddy (the "biggest enemy" of "Open Source"). Microsoft boosters like Marius Oiaga still write about Microsoft's 'embrace' of projects it can exploit to sell IIS and Windows (proprietary with patents and known abuses).

phpBB 3.0.7-PL1 Available via Windows Web App Gallery and Web Platform Installer



One such example is the “SQL Server Driver for PHP 1.1, which provides key interoperability for PHP applications to use SQL Server or SQL Azure for data storage, and is released under the OSI approved MS-PL license and available on CodePlex,” Galli states.


Microsoft's press mole is at it again. They are trying to capture "Open Source" and swallow it by putting it in proprietary enclosures, Microsoft licences, and even so-called 'clouds' that give Microsoft control of the applications' data. Joomla is selling out to Microsoft in a way, or at least making an innocent mistake. Based on this short new article, there is new Joomla leadership, which might explain the change in attitude.

Then we have Microsoft's promiscuous girlfriend Novell, which is putting Microsoft code inside Linux even when it's a GPL violation [1, 2, 3]. The press is still airing the Microsoft PR angle about this code [1, 2], perhaps not realising that Microsoft has a goal of making GNU/Linux obsolete with that code. It turns GNU/Linux into a mere application (windowed) for Microsoft Windows. These are Novell/Microsoft patches for proprietary software, not for Free software.

This brings us to the next subject, which is development tools. Novell builds MonoDevelop to help train GNU/Linux users for Microsoft development in C#, ASP.NET, Visual Studio, Windows, etc. SharpDevelop 3.2 is now out with IronRuby support. For those who don't know what Microsoft is doing to Ruby with its own "IronRuby", start around [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. This is a classic "embrace and extend" maneuver.

Saving the best for last, watch how the Gartner Group is doing it again. In recent days we showed Gartner endorsement offered to companies which advance Microsoft's interests in F/OSS [1, 2]. A company which spreads more FUD against F/OSS turns out to also be a recipient of Gartner endorsement.

Protecode, creator of the world's fastest and most reliable software Intellectual Property (IP) engine, today announced that it has been selected as a Cool Vendor in the "Cool Vendors in Intellectual Property, 2010"1 report by Gartner, Inc. The report identifies vendors that are taking an innovative approach to applying IP management capabilities in their product offerings.


It is almost as though Gartner's criteria for F/OSS acceptance is that it needs to serve its very major client and investor, Microsoft Corporation (and associated ecosystem). The above company too is a proprietary software company, which is more or less draping itself in an "Open Source" gown while only spreading fear about "Open Source". Another example similar to Protecode would Black Duck (also Gartner-endorsed), whose latest press release goes something like "Black Duck spiders the Internet for open source code, collecting information about projects and code into the Black Duck KnowledgeBase, which contains information on more than 230,000 open source projects from more than 4,500 unique websites. Black Duck reported earlier this year that more than 19,000 new open source projects were started in 2009."

What Black Duck does not say is that it adds a lot of addons to Microsoft's proprietary software (with Microsoft's own licences) to its database and calls these "Open Source", even though all they achieve is complement or encourage the deployment of proprietary software, along with software patent altercations and licences that Microsoft controls. If you are new to Black Duck, see this new Wiki page.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Fresh IBM Layoffs Reported in Europe and North America, Jobs Allegedly Moved to South Asia (Low Salaries)
As usual, IBM does not talk about this
 
Links 12/03/2025: Big Cuts to US Education and Science (e.g. NOAA)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 11, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Crossbow murders: prevention, missed opportunities
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
This yt-dlp Bug Report Shows Us That the Future of YouTube is DRM and It's Time to Leave (yt-dlp Should Also Leave Microsoft GitHub, Which Censors YouTube Downloaders)
GAFAM traps aren't "free hosting"; they herd us all into a world of tollbooths and locks, surveillance and planned obsolescence (you own nothing, you only rent)
Ukraine Didn't Take Twitter/X Down, Microsoft or Windows Likely Did
There are many debunkings (to likely false accusations), but won't that just be another example of Windows TCO, exacerbated externally in the form of Windows botnets?
The Fall of the Open Source Initiative (OSI): Worse Than What the Media Has Focused on, Losing Sight of Who Owns and Runs the OSI
Members' dues are less than 3% of the income; where does the 97+ percent come from other than Microsoft?
Apple Seems to Have Run Out of Things to Boast About After Apple Vision Pro Failed Spectacularly
With "Apple Intelligence", Apple has finally named a product after what target customers lack
Slopwatch: Reckless FUD and Machine-Generated Spam from LinuxSecurity.com, cybersecuritynews.com, and gbhackers.com (Google Boosts LLM Slop About "Linux")
Google and so-called 'Google News' continue to yield anti-Linux misinformation
Gemini Links 11/03/2025: 'Chainsaw Politicians' and Proprietary Software Hell
Links for the day
Links 11/03/2025: Covid-19 5 Years On and Violence in Syria
Links for the day
Links 11/03/2025: NASA Besieged and "DOGE Has Become What It Claimed To Destroy"
Links for the day
Illuminating Injustice is Critical When Reckless Microsofters and Law Firms Try to Silence Reporters of Violence Against Women
I want to clarify that I'm well within my right (and not running afoul of any rules) by explaining what goes on here
EPO Central Staff Committee: "The Strategy of the Office Lacks Transparency and Cannot be Understood"
Microsoft and the EPO violate data protection laws
Microsoft Has Not Much Left to Show Investors, Shares Fall Almost 20%
It's not even clear how Microsoft makes money anymore
Links 11/03/2025: Spring and Misfin Server
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 10, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 10, 2025
Latvia (and Lithuania) Stepping Away From GAFAM, Microsoft
Windows becomes unessential as Android and GNU/Linux rise
Microsoft Layoffs Are Infectious (Don't Get Acquired or Become a Partner)
It seems like companies choosing to become "buddies" with Microsoft are dooming themselves and their products
The Fall of the Open Source Initiative (OSI): The OSI Election is Rigged, Biased Against People Who Oppose the Openwashing of GPL-Violating Bots Operated by Microsoft for Profit (OSI Gets Paid to Promote This)
they reckon that pretence of calm would serve them best, helped by puff pieces
A Closer Look Inside the EPO, Courtesy of Benoît Battistelli's Submissive Lapdogs Roberta Romano-Götsch and Elodie Bergot
new report comes from the Local Staff Committee Munich (LSCMN)
In Vietnam, statCounter Sees Microsoft Windows Falling Below 7% "Market Share"
Can Microsoft still demand $500 or more per Windows licence?
Links 10/03/2025: Staff Strikes, Mass Layoffs in Gaming Industry
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/03/2025: "Eat The Rich" and Two-Year Anniversary of the 'Space Elevator' Orbit (Like 'Webring')
Links for the day
Links 10/03/2025: Small Web Praised, LLM Chatbots Exposed as Worse Than Useless Again
Links for the day
A Call for GNU/Linux and BSD Developers to Unite Against GAFAM and the Regime They Empower
We have long encouraged and continue to encourage people who value Software Freedom to altogether boycott GAFAM
The Ludicrous Mythology of Commonality as Signal of Value, Merit, Popularity
Devalue what's true, promote marketing?
[Video] Richard Stallman on the Four Essential Freedoms (Manuel Cuda News, 2025)
Added to a channel several days ago by Manuel Cuda News
Gemini Links 10/03/2025: Realisation About Young People, Punks, and Discord IPO
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 09, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 09, 2025