10.27.10
Mobbyist Florian Müller is Advertising Microsoft Windows, Throwing FUD at Linux
Partying like it’s the Tea Party
Summary: One of the Microsoft Mobbyists, Mr. Müller, is provoking Techrights for suggesting the connection between Gemalto’s anti-Android lawsuit and Microsoft, then proceeds to promoting Vista Phone 7 [sic]
IT IS ALWAYS interesting to analyse the reaction of mobbyists to Microsoft’s attacks on Linux or just generally to attacks on Linux. They celebrate the latest lawsuit against Google, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung. It is a lawsuit from Microsoft's partner Gemalto (Gemalto also works with Linux, as we showed in [1, 2]) and there ought to be some assessment of the motives. Here is the LWN discussion, which this time for a change was not disrupted by .NET developer Florian Müller. He typically emits a lot of FUD there and it’s a problem because he is somewhat of a ‘fraud’ pretending to be a FOSS advocate while he’s actually the very opposite of that. The same goes for his stance on software patents. He seems to playing a role in Microsoft’s attack on Linux, which is why he is blocked and heavily criticised by a lot of people in the FOSS world (and ironically he puts “FOSS” in his user account, where he continues spreading FUD against FOSS).
“WP7 would be better deal then”
–Microsoft MüllerMüller is hardly fooling anyone anymore, which is why we no longer write about him (except this time because his sheep clothing got shaved and he keeps vilifying us). He is boosting Windows (Vista Phone 7 [sic]) using patent FUD against Linux right now. Where is the evidence? Well, he posted it in Twitter rather impulsively perhaps because he deleted this shortly later (maybe regrets, it was not reposted). Consider one tweet (broken link) where he said: “Microsoft reportedly collects patent royalties from Taiwanese manufacturers using Android http://bit.ly/c6Mh5P WP7 would be better deal then”
This tweet was also deleted:
IDG report on Microsoft allegedly collecting royalties on Android from Taiwanese manufacturers
We can only venture to guess that he tries not to speak too much like a Micros~1 lobbyi^H^H^Hampaigner for his clients. Here are later tweets that say:
Paying $10-15 per Android device just for Microsoft patents (not *everyone’s* patents) makes WP7 at $15 a bargain.
And this from Müller:
Google celebrates 100,000 Android apps but right now would rather have 10,000 patents in diverse fields for cross-licensing.
Google should quit patenting software (which it never used offensively). Google — unlike Microsoft — has not lobbied in favour of software patents, but the mobbyist is trying to paint Google as the problem, just like Glenn Beck would wish to portray President Obama as the cause of the financial crisis (which he merely inherited and must cope with). He never criticises Microsoft; what’s more, he is linking to his new friend Dana Blankenhorn, whom he has been feeding talking points for several months now. Blankenhorn says that “Microsoft strategy against Android comes together” and while it’s true that this is what Microsoft does against Linux and Android (nothing new), the mobbyists only promote it rather than do something about it like attempting to prevent it. That’s where sites like Groklaw, for example, are very different. Groklaw is against software patents, but Müller is attacking Groklaw. The FSF is against software patents, but Müller is insulting the FSF. The FFII is against software patents, but Müller has been attacking the FFII. And the list goes on…
“The FSF is against software patents, but Müller is insulting the FSF. The FFII is against software patents, but Müller has been attacking the FFII.”Funnily enough, the only people Müller seems to be getting along with these days are other mobbyists, corporate Microsoft ‘journalists’ like Ed Bought, and Microsoft folks like Miguel de Icaza (whom Müller admires because he is a .NET developer who uses Vista 7 exclusively). For those with decent Google-Fu, Müller seems to be blogging all about it, excusing Microsoft of course and telling fellow mobbyists something like: “Someone claims they’re a Microsoft Gold Partner or something like that. But no reason to believe they’re anything but independent”
That “Someone” is apparently yours truly and Müller is taking shots at me with silly humour like: “Maybe #boycottboy finds evidence that they buy their toilet paper from the same supplier and calls this a new form of entryism.”
Notice the use of words like “toilet paper”. Real classy mobbyists. And that’s part of an ongoing conversation with a stalker whose main existence on the Web (with this pseudonym) is attacks on Techrights. S/he is not alone and it’s possibly just another sockpuppet account of someone else, saying things which would otherwise get the real name (person) in trouble. They are like some kind of a mob and some of them try to intimidate me (e.g. threats of contacting employer again, veiled insinuations of lawsuits). These are the same old tactics.
We’ll end this post with more FUD from Müller: “I have to admit I hadn’t heard of Gemalto before its patent suit against Android. But the combination of *all* those suits is massive.”
Coming from the same person who says that the fight against software patents is lost (he wants people who fight against them to surrender), the above is to be taken as exaggeration if not sensationalism. Mobbyists love drama. That’s why people should only rarely feed them (ignore and ideally block, even when they provoke, as Müller just did with his “toilet paper” remarks for example). █
twitter said,
October 27, 2010 at 8:57 am
Ha ha, Microsoft Muller recommends Vista 7.
wallclimber said,
October 27, 2010 at 10:28 am
“…he is somewhat of a ‘fraud’ …”
Only somewhat? You give him far more credit than he deserves, but your diplomacy is commendable.
Of course, the image of Florian with the Ballmer tongue sort of kills the diplomacy, but it’s appropriate, and funny in an oddly, creepy way.
Florian actually reminds me more of Darl McBride, in that he’ll say anything, no matter how far-fetched and outlandish, just to make noise and disrupt things. It’s what he’s paid to do and, apparently, he’s fine with that.
As for Dana, he just bends with whatever wind blows page-hits his way, he’s never been any different. So no surprise that he’s become chummy with Darl…err…Florian, Müller.
Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:
October 27th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
He and I have exchanged many polite E-mails, but that was well before he was blowing dog whistles. Back then even the FFII was sympathetic towards him.
See this post about style.
Exactly. The latest dog whistle was “FRAND compatible with GPL”
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_trolls
“[T]he primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response”
He sure got that going.
Dana wrote posts admitting that he gets paid for comments/page hits, which explains the low quality of ZDNet (Google News should not syndicate it). The manager of Fox News said something similar on the record. To them, success if traffic, not accuracy.
I have spoken to Dana about his posts (on Twitter). The factual inaccuracies include basic things like describing Mr. Müller as a FOSS advocate, which he never was.