08.25.11
Microsoft: From Glitch to Leech
Summary: Having failed on technical merit and lost despite anti-competitive tactics, Microsoft is now adamant about destroying the winner (Linux or android) from the inside
MICROSOFT is not winning. It is definitely losing, but it sure tries hard to ensure that its competition too is losing. Several years ago Microsoft started infiltrating the Open Source community. “Shared Source” did not take (people were not gullible enough), so they tried CodePlex, but people still knew it was just s shell of Microsoft. So Microsoft renamed it a bit, using the more obscure name “Outercurve” (which many people do not associate with Microsoft because they don't know any better). Using this fake shell that promotes proprietary Microsoft software under an “open” flavour, it is still openwashing everything with PR fluff, using paid press releases that no journalist seems to even pay attention to anymore (based on what we could gather anyway).
“Microsoft is a company on the steep decline (Windows sales have declined for several consecutive quarters since 2009) and the company is now turning into a leech that feeds on GNU/Linux and FOSS for its survival.”Several years ago Microsoft also infiltrated Linux and OpenOffice.org development through Novell, putting Hyper-V and OOXML in those two products, respectively. This was part of Novell’s obligation to Microsoft, as clearly stated in their 2006 patent deal, which was sort of renewed when the Attachmate-owned SUSE signed a document without even consulting the SUSE community and then pocketed more Microsoft money (with strings attached). As we pointed out some days ago (a criminally under-covered story), Microsoft has just found itself another 'Novell' in China and its boosters are ecstatic. The point of it is to tax the use of GNU/Linux and control the way it is being used, through the hypervisor at the very least. This new mostly covered by pro-Microsoft writers (all except one that we found, namely LinuxDevices). Why are GNU/Linux sites ignoring all the reports and not rebutting the sheer spin? This is terrible news and we need to shed light on it.
Microsoft is a company on the steep decline (Windows sales have declined for several consecutive quarters since 2009) and the company is now turning into a leech that feeds on GNU/Linux and FOSS for its survival. My cohost Tim put it well last night when he argued that Microsoft has “fear of the future”, which seems to revolve around servers and mobile devices for accessing those servers. To quote:
When looking at a diverse range of technology topics, it’s very rare that I will write a rebuttal post (of sorts). Its even rarer that the post which forms the foundation of the article is from Microsoft themselves. In Redmond “The land of make-believe” it seems that Microsoft wants to tell us how things are and of course the desktop is not dead, that is of course because its vital to Microsoft that the Desktop PC stuffed with Windows continues on.
The question for today will be “What will be the future form factor of choice for the mainstream home user?”.
Think of the average users in your experience, the mainstream, the following masses. With those people it’s all Facebook, Twitter, Farmville and YouTube. Perhaps the very user Microsoft has ensnared with Windows is now to assist in the downfall because of lack of need in respect of the more “traditional” form factors.
Those who perceive themselves as belonging to the GNU/Linux community or even fair competition proponents like yours truly need to counter Microsoft’s attack on both. Apple too is participating in this attack on operating system as a commodity. It’s a class war. So Apple too has become an integral part of the problem, however it hardly infiltrates the GNU/Linux community in the same way Microsoft does (we do have few Apple agitators in our IRC channels). People need to openly talk about these serious issues. They need to name those who conspire against them or sell the community out. █
