Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Microsoft/Novell Mono Lobby

"If anybody thinks open-source alternatives are free, I guess as they say, you can see me after class. [...] I will tell you that in any comparison that you would do of Windows with Linux, which is an open-source alternative, we will prove to you that when it comes to total cost of ownership our stuff is more economical, whether it’s the other patent-licensing costs that you might have to pay to use open-source software, which is kind of a big unknown right now [...]"

--Steve Ballmer, National Retail Federation Annual Convention & EXPO



Summary: Why there is increased pressure for GNOME and for other projects to love the patents-encumbered monkey (Mono); Black Duck uses IDG for more FUD

THE GNOME Foundation Board recently added yet another Novell employee [1, 2, 3, 4], probably exceeding the number of people one company is allowed to have among the directors (there are several more). Here is confirmation of that:



It’s been two months since I was appointed to the GNOME Foundation Board of Directors to replace Behdad. (And those are some pretty big shoes to fill!)


This man is one of the developers of Tomboy, which is a well-known Mono-based project and the last remaining barrier (bar gbrainy [1, 2, 3, 4]) in Canonical's route towards a Mono-free Ubuntu (Canonical's CTO knows that there are issues with Mono). Will this Novell employee inside the Board of Directors of GNOME allow Tomboy (which he co-develops) to be abolished, given that Ubuntu is believed to be the most ubiquitous distribution of GNOME desktop? Fedora is another very popular distribution which uses GNOME by default and Fedora removed the Mono dependency only less than a year ago.

We are somewhat disappointed to find a Red Hat Web site giving a platform to one Mono booster who used to work for Microsoft and now works with people like Microsoft MVP Miguel de Icaza. We are talking about MindTouch, whose Mono agenda we wrote about in [1, 2, 3, 4]. As we would rather not draw attention to the article itself, here are just the comments from a skeptic:

That thing is not open source at all. On their site it says: "Software License: Shared Source". As far as I know, that is code name for Microsoft quasi-open source licenses which are in conflict with section 6 (and some with 10 also) of open source definition.

What else to expect from ex-Microsofties.... openwashing.

[...]

Thanks, though I found out that myself later, when I've done screaming "openwashing":-) I see you are puzzled by the term, it is pun to greenwashing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwash


Yes, they are "openwashing" .NET (giving the illusion that Free software developers should use Mono/.NET) just as Microsoft is "sevenwashing" everything these days. It's PR.

“Watch out for scaremongering that harms confidence in Free software in order to sell proprietary 'solutions'.”Watch the Mono-based creation of a Canonical employee (GNOME DO) occupying a majority of this new review (ish) of Ubuntu 10.04. There should be more to GNU/Linux than C#, but Canonical made the mistake of hiring from Microsoft and from Novell.

Speaking of Microsoft influence, Black Duck Software was created by a Microsoft employee. His company has some staff which did not come from Microsoft, but they use IDG to spread their message under an "Open Source" blog (Black Duck is purely proprietary, with software patents even). Phil Odence from Black Duck is going out there constantly with FUD about Free software licences (the latest headline says: "I could license you to use this software, but then I’d have to kill you") because that's their business model. Protecode is the same. Watch out for scaremongering that harms confidence in Free software in order to sell proprietary 'solutions'.

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Leaks Were Right: Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in May, Then Another Wave in June
Just as we've been saying for over a month
Last Article From Australia's Sam Varghese Was a Year Ago and It Covered the Release of Julian Assange, Who Will Apparently Come Back as 'Politician'
It'll soon be exactly 12 months
After Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia Android (Linux) Will Dominate Asia Completely
Windows probably peaked in "XP" or "2000"
India: Windows Falls to 50% in Desktops/Laptops and 8% Overall
laptops/desktops fell to 16% of the whole
statCounter: GNU/Linux Up to 4.7% "Market Share" This Month
30,000 Microsoft jobs may be eliminated by year's end
Microsoft is in Trouble and Microsofters Know It
"I've been happy on Win 3.11 for years."
Links 02/06/2025: Political Leftovers, DRM, and Patents
Links for the day
 
Linux is Already Dominant (Android), Let's Make GNU/Linux Dominant in Desktops/Laptops as Well
"Dr. Stallman recently warned everybody about Microsoft."
The Loyalty to Microsoft and the Salaries From Microsoft (Funding SLAPPs Against Techrights and Tux Machines)
Garrett always knows better. He knows everything best.
Windows Falls in Italy as GNU/Linux Jumps to 5%
Italy knows a thing or two about digital autonomy
Nigeria is All Android and Google
Windows down to almost nothing in Africa's largest population
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Second Wave) Not Limited to Redmond
"More layoffs at Microsoft as axe falls in Washington and California"
Gemini Links 03/06/2025: Forth System and "Common Lisp is a Dumpster"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 02, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 02, 2025
Hungary Seems Hungry for Linux
Windows down by a lot
Like in Europe, Bad News for Microsoft in US and Canada
If it loses those "regions", then what's left?
About 8 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 (in Less Than 5 Months), Now Vista 11 "Market Share" Decreases
Really bad news for shareholders of Microsoft
statCounter Sees Bing "Share" Falling Over 0.5% in One Month, Now Lower Than Before the ChatGPT/Bing Chat Hype
Bing has been part of the mass layoffs for quite some time
Microsoft's Demise is a Global Phenomenon
mass layoffs justified using mindless buzzwords
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux in EU and the UK, All-Time Lows for Microsoft
Combining ChromeOS and GNU/Linux, it adds up to and almost reaches 6%
[Video] New Introduction to Richard Stallman's Contributions Including GNU Emacs, GNU/Linux, and Software Freedom
from the channel previously bullied for supporting RMS
Links 02/06/2025: South Korea to Vote, Russia Blitzed From Within
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Microsoft Spins Layoffs as "Slop", Frontier Settles Lawsuit
Links for the day
When You Publicly Boast About Wanting to Violently Attack People (Even Colleagues) Finding a Job Will Prove Difficult
there's a lesson to be learned here
The Web We Lost, the Information Lost Due to Microsoft's Attacks on Companies Like Yahoo! (Before the LLM Slop Frenzy)
When it comes to news sites, what can we say?
Covering Corruption in Poland, Including a War on Science (Due to Bad Politicians)
What we're about to show is that skilled and experienced scientists in Poland are besieged by bureaucrats
Gemini Links 02/06/2025: "Star Wars Day" and "Security Day"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 01, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 01, 2025
The Openwashing Shills Initiative (OSI) - Part II: Lying to the IRS is a Big Issue
The OSI of today pretends to be something that it is not
Bloodlust and Love of Blades (Fascination With Murder) Nothing New Among Microsofters
Violence is not a joke and no group is magically entitled to make such "jokes"
Links 01/06/2025: Bird Flu, Food Price Inflation, and Growing US-China Hostilities
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: "Vibe Coding" Turns Out to be a Fraud and Amazon Merits Boycott, Argue Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: "Stardust" and Ideal PC Setup
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, "It's FOSS" Still Promoting Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/06/2025: Simplification and Networks Everywhere
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 31, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 31, 2025