08.27.10
Adobe Distances Itself From Dave McAllister’s Attack on Oracle and Implicit Defence of Microsoft
Summary: Adobe chooses to characterise its employee’s opinion about Oracle as a lone wolf’s voice
A COUPLE of days ago we showed a high-status Adobe employee posting in Adobe's domain a rather hypocritical attack on Oracle. He even cited Microsoft MVP de Icaza for support. His premise was that Oracle became more “evil” than Microsoft, despite the fact that Oracle has given to Free software more than Adobe and Microsoft combined. Anyway, pay attention to Adobe’s response (this is not the first time that McAllister’s rants put Adobe in an awkward position):
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Adobe doesn’t defend director’s pro-open source comments
IS DITCHING OPEN SOURCE being considered at Adobe? The company has contacted The INQUIRER after we quoted one of its senior managers criticising Oracle for its anti-open sauce attitude.
In an email to The INQUIRER Adobe corporate communication’s senior director Holly Campbell said, “Dave McAllister, Adobe’s Director of Open Source and Standards, posted a comment to the Open@Adobe blog that was critical of Oracle and its approach to open standards.
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Adobe sucks up to Oracle over FOSS boss gripes
McAllister said that “the axis of evil has shifted south about 850 miles or so” from Microsoft over to Oracle.
His comments followed the implosion of the OpenSolaris Governing Board, the members of which collectively resigned this week after Ellison canned development of the project in August.
However, McAllister’s paymaster has not welcomed his outspoken views.
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Taking turns as open source bad guys
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Redmond Doth Protest Too Much, and Wherefore the Intel-McAfee Deal?
Similarly, “Microsoft is the enemy of open source, pure and simple,” agreed MightyMartian.
Then again, “I think that used to be the case, but Microsoft seems to have a more nuanced view now,” suggested Infonaut. “That said, Microsoft has flip-flopped so many times on open source it remains to be seen whether they truly understand that they’ve lost the ideological war over open source (and more importantly, free software).”
All Linux Girl can say is, remember that little job ad earlier this year for a “Linux and Open Office Compete Lead” at Microsoft, with the mission “to win share against Linux and OpenOffice.org by designing and driving marketing programs, changing perceptions, engaging with Open Source communities and organizations, and drive internal readiness on how to compete with Commercial Linux and participate with Open Source Communities”?
The company doth protest too much, she thinks.
Keep it classy, Microsoft. You’re showing the world just what a foe of Open Source you really are. █
Recent posts:
- Claim: Microsoft Pressured Digidesign to Deny Support of GNU/Linux (and Maybe UNIX Too)
- IDG Spin: Microsoft a Victim in Patent Racketeering, Loves Open Source
- “Microsoft Hates the Term “Free Software” or “Freedom”, They Prefer to Use Open Source”
- Microsoft is ‘Openwashing’ Azure
- Microsoft: ‘We love [subverting the definition of] open source’
- Microsoft Tactic: We Love Open Source, But Those ‘Zealots’ Don’t Love Us Back
