09.13.21
Posted in Deception, GNU/Linux, Kernel, Microsoft at 8:35 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Video download link | md5sum 7029e9635158e447f2f31d72eca1474d
Summary: The media coverage about “Linux 5.15-rc1″ says a lot about the general agenda of many publications, such as The Register with Microsoft operatives inside it
TWELVE hours after Linus Torvalds had announced the closing of the merge windows (page will be updated with more news picks as they arrive) we began to see the typical slant from Linux-hostile people. It’s not a new habit and it is done consistently, not merely as clickbait because underlying facts too get distorted (previously, after Torvalds protested the matter the headline was modified/corrected as well).
“Too much marketing, obligatory (paid-for) puff pieces, and sponsored fluff.”The above is a rant about the sort of ‘news’ coverage we nowadays find about Linux; sometimes it’s not about Linux at all and oftentimes it’s just misusing the brand to say something negative about things that aren’t Linux. If the media perishes and if “professional” (paid) journalism dies, maybe it is well deserved. We’re struggling to find anything that can be labeled journalism in today’s “tech” press. Too much marketing, obligatory (paid-for) puff pieces, and sponsored fluff. █
“Mind Control: To control mental output you have to control mental input. Take control of the channels by which developers receive information, then they can only think about the things you tell them. Thus, you control mindshare!”
–Microsoft, internal document [PDF]
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09.06.21
Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Kernel, Microsoft at 2:18 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Video download link | md5sum f9c6121d6e92ec01e0771201e4491580
Summary: Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux and Git, isn’t having it with Microsoft and its partners; 3 years ago dishonest monopolists worked to oust him over his supposedly ‘rude’ messages and the exploitative Linux Foundation sent him to therapists over it as if he was 'ill' for daring to protect his work (they still try)
THE EFFORT to impose Microsoft file systems on Linux users — with or without patent tax (see Tuxera) — goes well more than a decade back. It dates back to pre-GitHub days and we wrote many articles about it, even in recent years [1, 2, 3].
“Towards the end of the video I discuss why GitHub is also a legal threat and an attack on all of us…”Last year we cautioned about ongoing attempts to push Linux from Git to GitHub (from free-as-in-freedom software and autonomy to Microsoft proprietary software oppression) and now we see attempts to impose GitHub and at the same time Microsoft file systems on Linux users. They want to make that part of the core of the kernel’s storage-related code. In the video above I discuss the reaction from Torvalds (screenshot below with highlights added), who has long opposed GitHub, mostly for practical reasons. Towards the end of the video I discuss why GitHub is also a legal threat and an attack on all of us — putting aside these latest arguments about quality and security aspects. █
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Posted in Deception, GNU/Linux, Kernel at 12:06 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Video download link | md5sum df1eab041019ea0ef07ceb44622b728b
Summary: The ‘mission creep’ at the so-called ‘Linux’ Foundation is a threat to privacy and as long as it sells Board seats to companies like Microsoft we need to highlight some of the lesser-explored scandals (in controversial areas nobody wishes to touch)
TODAY we go through a rather difficult subject and we focus upfront on the fact that this isn't about vaccination. We go through the Linux Foundation‘s Web site and mention similar press releases, focusing on the actual scandal (not what a certain Lunduke says). To make it harder to take things out of context we’ll refrain from any further comment in text and instead cite this morning's post and Richard Stallman's stance; it is related to the war on cash and it is a reminder that laws and regulations can be passed for one stated reason while serving some other purpose. █
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Posted in Deception, KDE, Kernel at 5:20 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
This is what “Linux” stands for now?!
There are contrasting approaches. Just published (KDE):
From:
Summary: Since when does a “Code of Conduct” mean you need to be spied on all the time (this is not how it was originally marketed)? The KDE brochure was published about an hour ago, whereas the Linux Foundation started using this language in late August (in press releases and official Web pages).
The so-called ‘Linux’ Foundation means surveillance. From last night (openwashing mass espionage firms that ought not even exist, simply because Facebook paid to buy more seats inside the Board):
Also related to the so-called ‘Linux’ Foundation:
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08.29.21
Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Google, Kernel, Microsoft, Windows at 6:03 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Video download link | md5sum ea4893af387306b6eb8e46e9d2d32748
Summary: Linux is 30, Android is Linux-based, and Windows is smaller than Android in terms of market share; but the biggest challenge right now is bringing software freedom to more people
EVERYBODY has been speaking about Linux turning 30 (although the actual anniversary of importance is debatable, as Alex Oliva explained last week).
“…Android is one of the Linux-based operating systems that harm one’s privacy and freedom (even if AOSP is mostly Free software) because it comes with loads of proprietary “apps” and typically tracks locations.”No doubt Linux “has won” so to speak; but Linux is not software freedom, it is just a GPL-licensed kernel which many freedom-respecting operating systems use for practical/pragmatic reasons (Linux has very extensive hardware support that is almost impossible to match). As noted in the video above, Android is one of the Linux-based operating systems that harm one’s privacy and freedom (even if AOSP is mostly Free software) because it comes with loads of proprietary “apps” and typically tracks locations (see “Google’s Software is Malware”).
The Linux (or GNU linux-libre) work by Oliva mostly involves ‘taming’ Linux to make it more freedom-respecting, in turn allowing freedom-oriented distros to avoid the more malicious parts of Linux. Oliva’s work is invaluable!
“The Linux (or GNU linux-libre) work by Oliva mostly involves ‘taming’ Linux to make it more freedom-respecting, in turn allowing freedom-oriented distros to avoid the more malicious parts of Linux.”In the video above I’ve repeatedly alluded to how ubiquitous Android became (one might say “popular”, but that’s not the same thing). Android news is everywhere, all the time, very likely outpacing Windows ‘news’ (mostly paid-for vapourware and puff pieces) because billions of people care about their phones and tablets more than laptops and desktops. There are also tons of anniversary articles about Linux, including some from Android-focused news sites. There’s growing recognition that Linux “has won” in some sense or some senses.
At whose expense?
Mostly Windows!
Microsoft is doing so poorly that it’s buying vendors and rebranding them “Azure” (in order to fake 'growth'), pretending that Azure is somehow an “operating system” now (it is not; they also reused the brand "Surface" in this way). Things have gotten so bad for Microsoft that we caught Windows at 28% market share earlier this year (here’s the latest data in OpenDocument format) and right now it’s still hovering around 30% while Microsoft constantly makes false claims about its market power, in effect defrauding shareholders. Here’s Android/Linux versus Windows, as per the end of August; if Android is combined with ChromeOS and GNU/Linux (“proper”), we’re talking about something close to 50% market share. █
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08.25.21
Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Kernel at 11:51 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Original here
Summary: “If you were to believe the fake software freedom supporters who celebrate Linux today, you’d be celebrating a proprietary software pre-release announcement.”
Thirty years ago, on this day, a Finnish student announced his plans to the world: he wanted to develop an operating system, and he'd already ported some components of the GNU operating system to work with his kernel.
https://web.archive.org/web/1/http://lwn.net/2001/0823/a/lt-announcement.php3
He went on to release that which he referred to as a kernel under the name Linux, initially as proprietary software.
https://web.archive.org/web/1/https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/Historic/old-versions/RELNOTES-0.01
https://web.archive.org/web/1/http://www.oldlinux.org/Linus/index.html
If you were to believe the fake software freedom supporters who celebrate Linux today, you’d be celebrating a proprietary software pre-release announcement.
They pretend the GNU operating system, that he credited and relied on, and that spared him from duplicating the effort of development of most of the operating system, does not exist, or is not relevant.
By relying on GNU software and freedoms, he could focus on developing the kernel, and he eventually turned it into a major contribution to humankind when he re-released it as FLOSS, and the combination of Linux and GNU went on to achieve significant interest, adoption, and user freedom. Historical records suggest the relicensing of Linux took effect on Feb 1st, 1992.
https://web.archive.org/web/1/http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/Historic/old-versions/RELNOTES-0.12
Software freedom supporters have celebrated GNU on Sept 27. How about also celebrating the first (*) Linux liberation, the first major Free Software gift Linus Torvalds has given us all, on Feb 1st?
Thank you, Linus Torvalds!
So blong, █
_____
(*) That's not to be confused with the second liberation of Linux, in response to the integration of proprietary blobs in the kernel Linux, some of them present to this date. The second liberation efforts eventually became the GNU Linux-libre project.
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08.04.21
Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, IBM, Kernel, Microsoft at 1:50 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Don’t be fooled by the cabal of large and usually monopolistic corporations, which generally pursue back doors and government/military contracts, especially when they rear their ugly heads through their abusive operatives (social engineering with pseudo-ethical arguments)
“Userbase” or “useds” is not what we’re meant to be; Corporate overlords want us all to be their "slaves"
Summary: Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman (RMS) do not have to be idolised (“cult of personalities”) but they definitely need to be defended from a longstanding and ongoing corporate coup, which the corporations seek to justify using nicer-sounding terms like “security” (that’s how they justify added complexity such as Rust) or “safe space” (they’re collectively insulting the community as if only employees of monopolies can help combat bigotry)
Richard Stallman (RMS) has not publicly spoken since May (in his latest appearance he asked people so sign a petition in support of him being reinstated inside the FSF’s Board) and there has been no update for weeks in the pro-RMS petition. No new signatures added or at least none displayed. Is that stalled? Is the maintainer of this petition now doing that addition in larger batches (that seems to have been true before), more so after the 6,800th signature was registered and displayed? Some readers might say, “who cares!” or “why does that even matter?”
“It has now been over 40 days since an IBM employee changed the anti-RMS hate letter (removing a signature), but the defamation is still fully in tact inside of that letter.”It does not matter all that much, it might even be largely symbolic, but a similar situation happens in Linux, the kernel, where Torvalds nowadays more willingly accepts Microsoft patches that he previously blasted for their poor quality (bad coding standards, and not for the first time either; Greg K-H publicly complained about that in the distant past).
It has now been over 40 days since an IBM employee changed the anti-RMS/hate letter (removing a signature), but the defamation is still fully in tact inside of that letter. It continues to do harm by spreading false accusations. They just change the names at the bottom of of the letter. Bully de Blanc, who played a key role in it, has since been rendered unemployed. That was around the time of the last edit (21 June 2021).
“Large corporations want them out of the way because leadership vacuums give way for more corporate domination over otherwise-grassroots projects/movements.”It is very important that we defend the likes of Torvalds and Stallman, even if we do not like them or agree with them much of the time. Because they’re being targeted (they still are! It’s thinly-veiled). Large corporations want them out of the way because leadership vacuums give way for more corporate domination over otherwise-grassroots projects/movements. They want shareholders rather than a moral compass in charge. Similarly, EPO staff has been in urgent of defending the union and staff representatives, even when (or if) some of their actions were harder to support. We know what the lesser evil is; we know what the greater evil is, as we noted in passing yesterday. Interests intersect; not ours. █
Yesterday: Red Hat (IBM) happy for people to ‘buy’ Microsoft’s proprietary software (which does not even truly run on GNU/Linux) while it’s actively attacking/undercutting the FSF
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