Disinformation system of Microsoft

Summary: Infosys, which is best known for its promotion of Microsoft in India, is distorting the meaning of 'Open Source' and joins a non-profit that is supposed to promote programming, not binary blobs

Open Source software, which is basically another label for Free/libre software (but with a different agenda), is essential for distinguishing not between brands but between development and distribution philosophies. Attacking the meaning of "Open Source" is means for confusing and impeding rational judgment. It is quickly becoming essential for proprietary software players in India. The government is increasingly stubborn on issues like software freedom and this government sometimes makes it imperative to share code.

Infosys is generally loathed here for all the dirty work it did for Microsoft in India over the years. It's like Accenture in the UK. They may both seem like independent and local companies, but they are de facto salespeople or distributors of Microsoft. They are like channel partners. They are middlemen.

Yesterday we saw that "Infosys partners with Microsoft to offer Finacle on Azure". Well, Infosys does not need to "partner with Microsoft", it is already an integral part of Microsoft in many ways (Microsoft even outsources some of its jobs to Infosys). Finacle is therefore a horrible trap that not only makes people dependent on proprietary software but also spies on the users all across in India (Microsoft works with the NSA, so it is foreign surveillance via Microsoft/PRISM). In the midst of many articles about it -- basically a load of promotional rubbish with minimal variation in wording [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] -- we found ourselves distracted by a non-Indian news site going with the headline "Infosys turns to open source to drive data innovation". So many buzzwords must mean it's more like promotional rubbish and it most likely is. To quote the opening: "Infosys has released details of its Infosys Information Platform (IIP), which includes new pre-packaged solutions from Infosys Finacle and Infosys BPO."

"Infosys is about code and non-profit to the same degree that BP is about ecology and charity."Why does the headline say "open source"? It's nothing of that kind. There is nothing at all that is Open Source about it. Infosys is doing something disgusting by even trying to exploit that angle. Claiming to make an "Open Source" platform when in fact using proprietary software with spying is beyond shameless, it is not just false marketing. Alas, being a Microsoft proxy in India, Infosys' openwashing of proprietary software is only to be expected, especially because of new government policies in India (favouring Free/Open Source software, as we noted here before and above).

Watch another appalling move from Infosys, mimicking the likes of Facebook. Yet another Microsoft pusher, Infosys (also see what its Web site runs), makes code.org (Computer Science education push) a proprietary software plot. Infosys is about code and non-profit to the same degree that BP is about ecology and charity.

In order for Microsoft to fail in India it is probably very important that activists take action against Infosys. It's a parasite and a leech. It harms India's interests, not just the interests of Free/Open Source communities. ⬆