Bonum Certa Men Certa

Openwashing Report: The Linux Foundation Champions Openwashing of IBM

Weekly openwashing report



Summary: Everything is nowadays "open"; just pay the membership/sponsorship fees to the Linux Foundation, which will 'do the rest' (outsourcing everything to Microsoft and working with its media partners on dishonest openwashing campaigns); this first part (of three) deals with IBM

DOES Jim Zemlin speak for Open Source? No, he does not. He does not even use it and he's fronting for foes of Open Source. Sadly, a lot of imposers and phonies like him are hijacking representative roles in our communities. They claim to be speaking on our behalf and politicians are listening.



Let's look at some new examples of openwashing by the Linux Foundation (of massive proprietary software companies).

IBM



Former IBMer and former Microsofter Jason Perlow (we wrote about him many times before) now helps the openwashing of IBM's overpriced hardware (former employer) by the Linux Foundation at the CBS-owned tabloid, ZDNet. He did lots of Microsoft propaganda there while working for Microsoft (salaried by Microsoft). This is considered 'normal' at ZDNet. Lots of Microsoft boosters work there as so-called 'reporters', but they're no better than Microsoft Peter (still arrested for pedophilia).

"Former IBMer and former Microsofter Jason Perlow (we wrote about him many times before) now helps the openwashing of IBM's overpriced hardware (former employer) by the Linux Foundation at the CBS-owned tabloid, ZDNet."As we noted last month, POWER (or 'Open'POWER) isn't open source or open-source or Open Source or whatever. InfoQ has just correctly spoken of the "Instruction Set", which is what actually got 'opened' (uploaded to Microsoft, GitHub). It often seems like the main service offered by the Linux Foundation is outsourcing. Where to? Microsoft. So the Linux Foundation is as much about Linux as NSA is about "Security" (it's in the name, the second letter of the acronym). GitHub is proprietary software -- a simple fact that never seems to bother Mr. Zemlin (he blessed the takeover by Microsoft) as long as GitHub gives his foundation a bunch of cash. What on Earth is this foundation turning into? Like we said a week ago, it's more about Microsoft than about Linux. Can we suggest the following rebrand?

GitHub Foundation



Please do note that POWER has nothing to do with Red Hat; Red Hat's offerings have traditionally been fine (relatively ethical) and didn't need faking 'openness'. This post of ours is all about IBM, not Red Hat.

We have meanwhile noticed some more openwashing pieces about IBM uploading some bits of design to Microsoft (it's Open Core). Microsoft front 'Motley Fool' (yes, chain of ownership) wrote that "Big Blue offers the world a blueprint for its Power CPUs, reducing some companies' dependence on proprietary technologies."

By outsourcing some stuff to proprietary GitHub? Oh great! How open! How very gracious...

The headline said "IBM's Latest Move Could Hurt Intel and AMD..."

"By outsourcing some stuff to proprietary GitHub? Oh great! How open! How very gracious..."Like Microsoft, Intel and AMD have their own openwashing operations as well. They too are outsourcing most of this stuff to GitHub (i.e. to Microsoft); proprietary software is all "open" now.

Just remember: "There's a GitHub repo" means there's something on a Microsoft-controlled proprietary software platform.

Being on GitHub implies neither FOSS nor public access. A lot of the stuff is proprietary and Microsoft dubs that "Inner Source"... you are merely a 'guest' on Microsoft's private platform (where censorship is rife and utterly prejudiced), but you get to tell people that you 'share' and 'collaborate'...

We've also just noticed Analytics India Magazine writing about this openwashing endeavour from IBM (backed by the Linux Foundation of Mr. Zemlin for extra marketing impact).

How about "IBM’s Open Source POWER Play: A RISC-V Business?"

"As we explained last month, IBM is openwashing POWER (or 'Open'POWER) to distract from Free/libre stuff such as RISC-V."RISC-V is without a doubt a positive development. It's great, no doubt, but some are faking it and openwashing by association (as even some key members of the RISC-V Foundation did). IBM put Red Hat in it earlier this summer and now it's looking to compete by making POWER seem 'equally' open (or more open or nearly as open... just something 'open').

As we explained last month, IBM is openwashing POWER (or 'Open'POWER) to distract from Free/libre stuff such as RISC-V. 'Open'POWER is nothing new; they're sort of re-announcing it, this time with help from the Linux Foundation. Remember Zowe, the "Open Mainframe Project"? Also Linux Foundation. Just try to ignore all the patents and what happened with TurboHercules. IBM is as protectionist as ever.

In the next part we'll be dealing with the openwashing of Microsoft by this so-called 'Linux' Foundation. It's even uglier than whatever the Foundation does for IBM.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Richard Stallman (RMS) Announced His Talk Less Than 24 Hours Before It Took Place and Still Filled Up the Auditorium at Sapienza Università di Roma
Photos from yesterday evening [...] It looks like it was a very successful event
Investigative Journalism Protects Society From Corruption, Crimes Against Women, Assaults on Civil Society
"what is the point of men doing military practice to defend a system that is so rotten?"
Swiss pimp usurping reputation of legendary Tissot boss Francois Thiébaud from France (BaselWorld, SWATCH Group SA)
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Paris 'Love Nest' & Debian Outreachy: from Lycée Lakanal to ENS Cachan, Cr@ns, nepotism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Richard Stallman to Give Public Talk in 3 Hours, Then in the Technical University of Munich (Germany) Next Week
Richard Stallman at TUM on 21.10.2025 18:00, MW2001
Leaks and Whistleblowers: Our Plan for Today
Society simply cannot advance when too many people self-censor
 
Slop Poisons Everything
Imagine wanting to find what Torvalds has just said or what has just been released
Taking Software Freedom 'Mainstream'
interest in Software Freedom must have grown
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 13, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 13, 2025
Gemini Links 14/10/2025: Ada Lovelace Day, Sony CLIE PEG-TG50 Review, Why to Avoid Network Solutions
Links for the day
The EPO's War on Techrights Was a Massive Mistake
The EPO started the SLAPPs after we had published a few hundreds of articles; we've since then published close to 6,000 because the attacks on us emboldened insiders to help us
General-Purpose Computers to Become Growing Area of Coverage
Without them, we have little left for controlling our lives
"They missed a great opportunity to shut up." -Jacques Chirac
Brett Wilson LLP has been trying to cheat the legal system many times
Harassment evidence: Switzerland, overcrowded fitness and yoga centers, incompetence and racism in accident response
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Vincent Danjean & Debian NXIVM collateral, blackmail risks
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
In Sweden This Past Friday Richard Stallman Explained Why Copyleft is Important
And he didn't have to 'bash' BSDs, either
Dystopian Trends in Technology Make Richard Stallman More Relevant Than Ever
It's good to see him attracting vast audiences
IBM Layoffs Due to a Lack of Money and Company Debt Rising by Almost 10 Billion Dollars in 6 Months
IBM didn't buy Red Hat for any ideological reasons; it was a fast "cash grab" for revenue
Forbes Already Stopped Being a News Sites. Now It's a Spam and Propaganda Platform for "Paying Partners" (Companies).
news from Forbes became very scarce
Is the Second-Largest Institution in Europe (EPO) Gradually Becoming More Like a Sweatshop?
Underpaid, unqualified, inexperienced and incompatible people are already recruited to replace veteran examiners
The Register MS Has No FOSS Coverage Anymore
The Editor in Chief is like a Microsoft plant
Links 13/10/2025: "Toasty Subwoofer" and WiFi Speakers "Are About To Go Dumb"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: iNaturalist and Tove Jansson’s Moominpappa at Sea
Links for the day
Microsoft Does Not Deny That Large Retailers Like Walmart, Costco and Target Are Giving Up on XBox (and Not Stocking It)
No doubt XBox is in trouble and rumours suggest that more mass layoffs are imminent
We'll Encourage Richard Stallman to Talk About Software Patents at the EPO Next Week When He Visits Munich (EPO Headquarters)
Go listen to Richard Stahlmann
Arnaud Parreaux lost case defending rogue employer
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Mathieu Elias Parreaux declared bankrupt in Switzerland
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Breakdown of the Rule of Law and Patent Law in the European Union (EU)
The EPO cannot recruit suitably qualified patent examiners this way, let alone retain them
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Good Films, Wizard of Earthsea, Upgrading the Steam Controller's Stick
Links for the day
It's Not Justice When One Side Denies the Other Side the Ability to Even Speak
At this stage, Brett Wilson LLP is in my humble opinion acting in contempt of the Court
Links 13/10/2025: Australian Catholic University Uses Slop to Libel Students, Canada Threatens to Kill Beluga Whales
Links for the day
How Not to Silence Tux Machines (It'll Only Backfire, Badly)
defending Microsoft while attacking this site
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT and Google News
It seems abundantly clear that Google News and Google in general participates in the slop epidemic
Vincent Danjean (not INTERPOL), Claire Bardel & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Christmas lynchings: Martin Krafft (madduck), Penny Leach (mjollnir) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Birthdays and "Committee Unable to Contact Nobel Prize Winner"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 12, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 12, 2025
The Same People Who Attacked Richard Stallman (RMS) Are Attacking Daniel Pocock to Discourage People From Listening to His Information
Pocock is being demonised for the same reasons and by the same people who attack RMS
Your Typical Anti-Richard Stallman (RMS) Cancellist
"About the RMS cancellation"
Richard Stallman (RMS) Has Announced His Talk in Rome Less Than 20 Hours in Advance (and on a Sunday)
Why did he wait until the night before?
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
GNU Tools Cauldron Event in Portugal: Videos Now Available via Invidious
Go have a look
The Way Things Are Going, They May Soon Stop Saying "Web Address" and Instead Say "Chrome Address"
The Web isn't built or based around open Web standards anymore. It's centered around user-agent.
Microsoft as a Golden Cage
"I was laid off by Microsoft and can't find a job. I'm weeks away from giving up my apartment and moving across the country to live with family."
Weekend Discussion About How IBM's Bluewashing of Red Hat Will Cause "Enshittification" for Users
"I worked at a software company that was acquired by IBM so I knew it was game over for RedHat the day they were acquired"
Brett Wilson LLP Getting Sued by Its Very Own Clients, a Legal Story That Has Made the Mainstream News (Law360)
Law360 or Law.com are about as mainstream as one can get in that "sector" (litigation 'industry')
Slopwatch: GNU/Linux Sites That Became Slopfarms and Spamfarms
The Web is a mess and "Linux" or "Ubuntu" sites became part of the problem
Richard Stallman's Talk 25 Hours Away, Aula Magna Palazzo del Rettorato (CU001), Sapienza Università di Roma (Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5)
The talk is 25 hours away and we see some QR code for it
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: Watches, the Depression of 2026, Gamboling with Odds
Links for the day
Links 12/10/2025: 'False' DMCA Claims and Slop Facing Perils Again (the Hype Wears Off)
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Just Lost Privacy Case in Austria and Its Latest Moves Make a Complete Ban Seem Imperative
Microsoft is not a software company, it's a spying agency that uses software to collect data
The Register MS: Microsoft is the Security Expert, Not the Prime Culprit, So Buy More Microsoft
This front page feature is devoid of any actual substance, it's just Microsoft copypasta
Stefano Zacchiroli (Zack) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Lucas Nussbaum & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: "Palm Computering", Further Exploration of Slide Rules, and Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 11, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 11, 2025
Tomorrow: Founder of the Free Software Foundation and of GNU/Linux, Richard Stallman, Speaks in Roma (Rome), Italy at 4PM
GNU/Linux is more important than ever in this dystopian world
Microsoft and Apple Are Rare Topics in Geminispace
in Geminispace it's rather safe to assume everyone is into BSD, GNU/Linux, and sometimes retro