Another outrageous patent settlement that requires Microsoft bundling, but the Linux Foundation is too bribed by Microsoft to actually antagonise it any longer

"I’ve killed at least two Mac conferences. [...] by injecting Microsoft content into the conference, the conference got shut down. The guy who ran it said, why am I doing this?"

--Microsoft's chief evangelist

Summary: This morning's reminder that Nadella is just another Ballmer (with a different face); Motorola and Lenovo surrender to Microsoft's patent demands and will soon put Microsoft spyware/malware on their Linux-powered products to avert costly legal battles

MICROSOFT is not a friend. It's a predator. It just changed the logo, the PR, and the CEO. It also started paying more and more money to its critics, including Linux OEMs, to keep them quiet. "Microsoft Keynoting LinuxCon," said a headline from Phoronix yesterday. What it failed to say is that Microsoft actually pays the Linux Foundation to infiltrate it. This has gone on for a while. Earlier this month the Linux Foundation posted a Microsoft puff piece paid for by Microsoft. We mentioned it this worrisome development the other day (to their credit, the Linux Foundation did add a disclosure to this). The payment was made under the pretense of supporting a conference (i.e. interjecting Microsoft stuff into it).

Is Microsoft becoming more open? No, it's spying more and more. All the core products are proprietary. What is PowerShell all about? Openwashing. "Embrace and extend" of wget and curl (soon to have Mono as well) while claiming to be "opening up" a part of Windows, which is proprietary spyware that defies law (and had Microsoft lose cases in court).

But never mind all the above. Has Microsoft actually made peace with GNU/Linux? Hardly. Au contraire. Microsoft is still attacking GNU/Linux. If "Microsoft loves Linux," then it sure shows it like an abusive spouse that beats up the wife (to borrow the analogy from Simon Phipps). Microsoft extorts Linux again, but it has bamboozled the media like it first did when it attacked Acer. It did this several times more thereafter and we covered it earlier this year, e.g. in:

• Microsoft Has Just Blackmailed Linux Twice in One Single Week and the Media Didn't Notice or Just Ignored It Because of Microsoft's Charm Offensives
• Microsoft Extortion Against Android OEMs (Even Chinese Companies) Continues in Spite of Departure of Horacio Gutierrez
• Microsoft Says It Will Continue to Extort Companies That Distribute Linux, Using Software Patents As Usual

Remember what happened to Samsung when it said "No!"

Microsoft took it to court and Samsung later settled with bundling (early 2015). That's like racketeering, but Microsoft is far too politically-connected to face charges under the RICO Act.

In the past, Microsoft was offering payments for bundling; right now, instead, it's a patent settlement. A patent settlement over what? Linux. The media is calling it all sorts of things other than patent settlement (after threats), which is what it really is. Here is the coverage we see right now (misleading):

• Lenovo bloats up Android with Microsoft Office and Skype
• Lenovo will Microsoft services on “millions” of Android devices
• Lenovo to load Microsoft apps on select Android devices, reaches cross platform license agreements
• Microsoft, Lenovo forge deal over smartphone technology
• patent settlement
• Microsoft and Lenovo sign patent and software deal
• Lenovo will pre-load Microsoft apps like Office, Skype and OneDrive on select Android devices
• Lenovo, Microsoft agree on cross-licensing pact; deal includes use of Microsoft apps
• Microsoft signs patent cross-licensing agreement with Lenovo that covers Android devices
• Lenovo will preload Microsoft Office, Skype, and OneDrive on its Android devices
• Microsoft software to be preloaded on Lenovo Android devices
• Lenovo & Microsoft Announce Device App And Patent Deal
• Microsoft and Lenovo deepen strategic ties
• Deal puts Microsoft apps on Lenovo smartphones

The following two articles suggest that Motorola too (already sued by Microsoft over patents) is a victim of this strategy:

• Microsoft apps will be pre-loaded on Lenovo and Motorola Android devices
• Lenovo & Motorola Smartphones to be Preloaded with Microsoft Office, Skype, and OneDrive

All that Microsoft is trying to achieve here is control over Linux-powered mobile (or Android) users, e.g. using Skype malware. People who actually think that Microsoft has changed need to reassess their trust in corporate media (much of the above is Microsoft-connected media and Microsoft advocacy sites that help mislead other media). ⬆