12.13.19
Linux Foundation Has Outsourced All the Licence Compliance Stuff to Microsoft, a Serial GPL Violator
No wonder the Linux Foundation also avoids copyleft/GPL (except for old projects such as Linux) and habitually slanders it
Photo credit: The Linux Foundation
Summary: OpenChain Specification/OpenChain Project and Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT) are yet more examples — the latest of many — of the Linux Foundation being outsourced to Microsoft, not only for code but also documentation and hosting
THE Linux Foundation has long outsourced just about everything except Linux itself (except temporarily; years ago due to a security incident/breach) to Microsoft. Yes, Zemlin and the non-Linux-using Corporate Linux Foundation don’t mind sending everything to Microsoft at GitHub, even new projects (they know Microsoft controls GitHub). The editor of Linux.com is meanwhile posting lots of tweets raving about Apple and Macs (several so far this week). Just so we know what kind of problem we’re dealing with…
“With former Microsoft as vice chair and a Microsoft employee as second in command (longterm Linux), how long will it be before they also rehost Linux itself (kernel) in GitHub? Even permanently?”Earlier this week we saw several press releases [1-3] and puff pieces, e.g. [4], from the Corporate Linux Foundation. The Corporate Linux Foundation is once again whitewashing and openwashing a major GPL violator, VMware (it’s paid for!) and of course the Linux Foundation is still promoting and feeding Microsoft’s GitHub (proprietary platform) and outsourcing everything to it, even documents! Putting the Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT) aside, see the OpenChain Project’s Web site.
“The Online Certification Questionnaire is available under the Apache 2.0 license on Github” and all the other documents in the page are hosted by Microsoft. Who on Earth thought this would be appropriate? Their latest press release is entitled “The OpenChain Project announces Microsoft OpenChain Conformance” and it’s full of Microsoft praises.
They’re already composing Linux.com puff pieces as well. The Corporate Linux Foundation is a lost cause. Some people have said that since taking millions of dollars from Microsoft (years ago) it has effectively been “bought” by Microsoft, just like GitHub. With former Microsoft as vice chair and a Microsoft employee as second in command (longterm Linux), how long will it be before they also rehost Linux itself (kernel) in GitHub? Even permanently? Microsoft does not love Linux; it’s just trying to devour it and it’s succeeding. It already misuses the brand “Linux” to market its proprietary spyware.
The same thing was done to ASF (Apache) when its head was a Microsoft employee; he stepped down shortly after outsourcing everything in Apache (billions of dollars in value!) to Microsoft at zero cost. Microsoft is buying the competition for slush funds. Where are the regulators? We know what Jim Zemlin would tell them. He thinks Microsoft loves Linux even though in 2019 it still blackmails Linux for money. Those who work on WSL defend this blackmail. It’s also worth adding that, as per media reports from this week, Microsoft has just done to HUAWEI MateBook what it did to OLPC and EEE PC. It’s pretending that it’s about “choice” or options, but it’s actually about Windows, replacing a GNU/Linux laptop with something that typically runs Windows, instead. That’s how much Microsoft loves Linux. █
Related/contextual items from the news:
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The OpenChain Project announces Microsoft OpenChain Conformance
Today, the OpenChain Project announced Microsoft, a Platinum Member, is the latest company to achieve OpenChain conformance. This milestone is an example of how OpenChain can be an important part of building quality open source compliance programs that meet the needs of companies and that build trust in the ecosystem.
The OpenChain Project establishes trust in the open source from which software solutions are built. It accomplishes this by making open source license compliance simpler and more consistent. The OpenChain Specification defines inflection points in business workflows where a compliance process, policy or training should exist to minimize the potential for errors and maximize the efficiency of bringing solutions to market. The companies involved in the OpenChain community number in the hundreds. The OpenChain Specification is being prepared for submission to ISO and evolution from a growing de facto standard into a formal standard.
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The Linux Foundation’s Automated Compliance Work Garners New Funding, Advances Tools Development
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The Linux Foundation’s Automated Compliance Work Garners New Funding, Advances Tools Development
The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced founding member commitments from Google, Siemens and VMware for the Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT), as well as key advancements for tools that increase ease and adoption of open source software.
Using open source code comes with a responsibility to comply with the terms of that code’s license. The goal of ACT is to consolidate investments in these efforts and to increase interoperability and usability of open source compliance tooling. Google, Siemens and VMware are among the companies helping to underwrite and lead this collaborative work.
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Google, Siemens and VMware fund The Linux Foundation to advance the Automated Compliance Tooling project
The Linux Foundation, today announced that Google, Siemens and VMware have committed funding for the Automated Compliance Tooling (ACT), as well as key advancements for tools that increase ease and adoption of open source software. the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source. The three companies are founding members of the Foundation.
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