Bonum Certa Men Certa

Wishy-Washy 'Open Source' Microsoft

Laundry room



Summary: A look at reputation laundering from Microsoft and how easily it can be refuted, by showing that Microsoft still attacks software freedom, abuses US/international law, and harms programmers in general

IT has become either comical or upsetting to see the number of articles from authors gullible enough to be blinded by PR. One type of articles would say that Microsoft changed its behaviour and the other type would say that Microsoft is leaning towards Open Source. As we will show in another post (probably later today), Microsoft's CEO has just equated "Open Source" to "Linux" and he is fighting both as competitors of his.



Our reader Satipera has found this short post which falls under both categories/types. It's one of the many white-washy articles and the disclosure says: "Although we work closely with many mega software vendors, we want you to trust us more. Microsoft is currently a retainer client of Altimeter Group but not a client of Insider Associates, LLC."

“Microsoft says it has changed, competing companies would beg to differ.”
      --Satipera
The post/article is basically one of those typical opinions that conveniently leave out Microsoft racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] and other very aggressive behavioural patterns that continue to evoke antitrust complaints filed against Microsoft (we gave the latest example just hours ago).

"Microsoft says it has changed," writes Satipera, "competing companies would beg to differ." To quote Mark Shuttleworth regarding Microsoft's patent racket: “That’s extortion and we should call it what it is. To say, as Ballmer did, that there is undisclosed balance sheet liability, that’s just extortion and we should refuse to get drawn into that game.”

How can Microsoft call itself a friend of Open Source?

It's easy for Microsoft to make such indefensible claims when .NET dependants are described as "open-source", such as in this new example from ZDNet:

An open-source Anti-XSS Web Protection Library, from Microsoft



The WPL, which is a set of .NET assemblies, is being offered as part of a defense in depth strategy to add an extra layer to any validation or secure coding practices.


It is rather laughable to call this "open-source" and also a bit of a stretch.

As for Microsoft's behaviour in general, recently we revisited corruption when dealing with the Pequot case [1, 2]. Here is another new article on the subject:

The S.E.C. only began looking at trading by Pequot in 2005, including some well-timed investments in Microsoft in April 2001. When it takes that long to start reviewing trades, evidence of how information may have been passed might not be available and the memories of witnesses can fade, making it difficult to put together a case.

[...]

Pequot and its chief executive, Arthur J. Samberg, settled with the S.E.C. by agreeing to pay nearly $28 million as disgorgement and a penalty, without admitting or denying liability, for trading in advance of a favorable earnings announcement from Microsoft. A former Microsoft employee hired by Pequot right around the time of the trading, David E. Zilkha, was named in an administrative complaint filed by the S.E.C. as being the source of the information.


Fortunately, Microsoft has been declining over the past 10 years (more evidence of that in a later post). A shift in computing slowly began to occur with the advent of the post-MSIE Internet (returning to the days of innovation on the Web, circa Netscape) and Free software that supported it and thrived in it (collaboration and sharing of code depended on the Internet). The Microsoft fan press has this story about a former Microsoft employee who left in 1999. Here is the cause:

When the Microsoft team dwindled, he moved to Colton's club based in Wallingford. In 1999, he left his job, in search of a new career.


Microsoft's neglect of US workforce is another subject we regularly cover. Let's not forget Microsoft's legalisation of its own tax evasion. How is that an example of Microsoft improving its behaviour?

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