Summary: More evidence of the declining impact of Microsoft Windows

IN OUR page about Vista 7 we have accumulated many reports about the variant of Vista that enjoyed a huge marketing budget. Pogson writes about the desktop monopoly sinking in relation to Vista 7, which according to this report does not received a warm welcome from businesses, still. To quote:

Computerworld’s survey reveals that only one quarter of businesses have migrated to ’7′ and most are still using XP. The reasons are many, but they all boil down to one thing. The migration to ’7′ is not a good investment.

In relation to Vista 8, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols adds that it is a “bad bet” for the following reasons:

Given my choice of desktops, I’m running Linux, but over the years Windows has gone from being a bad joke of a desktop operating systems–Windows ME and Vista–to being a reasonably good choice-Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7. But Windows 8? What the heck is Microsoft thinking?

After looking at Metro, Windows 8’s default interface, for the last month, all I see a lame, reactionary response to iPad and Android. In a broader sense, it’s Microsoft’s response to the move away from the desktop to smartphones and tablets.

This is why we choose to focus on Apple quite so increasingly. Microsoft is still chasing a form factor that is not quite growing. Within a few years it seems likely that Microsoft won’t be around to hurt Linux/Android as much as Apple does. We used to focus more on Novell as well. The goal has always been the same — to defend software freedom, whoever its greatest foes may be. █

Summary: The farcical version/derivative of Vista known as “Windows 8″ gets ridiculed even in the corporate press

YESTERDAY we quoted Dvorak on Windows 8. As we argued all along, it turns out that Microsoft does not have a new version of Windows. A DRM-laden shop is not an operating system feature and the current build lacks compelling features to actually make many sales (sales to OEMs should not count, as the end buyer makes no actual choice). “So Microsoft has demonstrated Windows 8,” wrote Will in IRC. “Sounds like it’s basically Windows Phone 7 on a PC.” Or worse than that: as Wired Magazine puts it, this is “Just Windows 7 With a New Skin”. To quote:

Microsoft has shown an early look at Windows 8. The upcoming OS is designed to run on any machine, from a tablet to a desktop PC, and while it has some genuinely clever features, it is at heart yet another skinned version of regular old Windows. Here’s a video of it in action. Skip to a minute in if you don’t care to hear about how tired the poor Windows 8 team is after so much work.

Vista, “Vista 8″ and “Vista 7″ as we call them (because Windows 8 is like Mojave and Windows 7 to Vista) sure looks like it is too little, too late in a world of mobility. Microsoft has resorted to hardware bribery — not just OEM kickbacks — in a desperate attempt to slow down the inevitable. GNU/Linux and Android are rising and overcoming Microsoft’s crimes against the industry. █

Summary: Rebuttal to security FUD from the Microsoft crowd amid attack on the US Energy Research Lab, which got cracked because of Windows

GOOGLE abandons Windows due to security reasons. It’s really quite simple. But if enough Microsoft people (e.g. former staff) manage to enter news sites, then “news” becomes just agenda-filled propaganda. That’s what happened in the BBC, which we call the MSBBC. Not too surprisingly, Microsoft's Bought Bot and MSBBC, which loves to post FUD about Android every time someone is able to do something to break it (we covered just one such example recently even though there are more), are at it again. In order to fight the perception that Windows is insecure by design (which it is, even by Microsoft’s own admission) they try to paint other platforms as “inseucre”, by improperly naming malware “virus” or something along those lines. This usually requires that the user should be actually be installing it (not drive-by), in which case the software is granted permission to do exactly what it was designed to do.

SJVN writes a rebuttal to the Bought Bot by noting that “One in fourteen Internet downloads is Windows malware” (not the same as viruses):

Yes. It’s true. For the first time, Mac users have a significant malware problem. But, hey, it could be worse. You could be running Windows. After all, Microsoft, not some third-party anti-virus company trying to drum up business, has just admitted that based on analysis gained from IE 9 use, “1 out of every 14 programs downloaded is later confirmed as malware.”

If I may quote from Matthew 7:5, the King James Bible, “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Window PCs has far, far more malware trouble than Macs, and I can’t resist mentioning that after in twenty-years of Linux, we’ve not seen a real-world example of Linux malware–not counting the Android malware mess. Ironically, these latest appalling Windows malware numbers are shared in a Microsoft blog about how well SmartScreen Application Reputation is working in IE9.

There is another new pattern of FUD at the moment, where a weakness that affects virtually all phone platforms is ascribed only to Android. Linux is winning, so it is becoming a prime target for FUD. One of our reader supplies this recent link on “Wild Android Growth”. It says that “100 million Android devices have been sold, more than Apple… 36 OEMs, 215 carriers, and 450K developers push Android/Linux, 310 different devices sold in 110 countries, 400K activations daily, 4.6 per second, 200K available applications exist, and 4.5 billion installations of applications have been done, an average of 45 per device.”

Suffice to say, there is also patent as well as copyright FUD against Android and it comes from someone whom Microsoft Florian has been repeatedly interacting with recently. He used to work for Microsoft. “I think it’s more likely not about press for himself for himself as for press on the issue,” writes Pamela Jones, “preparatory to more hijinks filing of bogo-complaints against a Microsoft competitor.” It’s like mercenaries galore.

In other news, “U.S. Energy Research Lab Still Recovering From Internet Explorer Exploit,” says this report:

The Department of Energy’s largest science and research lab in Tennessee is still recovering from a sophisticated attack from hackers intent on stealing information from the lab in early April.

The attack left the lab in a communications limbo for two days as technicians dealt with its aftermath.

“Most of the staff are back up, and the business functions are performing as usual,” said Barbara Penland, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s director of communications. “But as you can imagine, when we were trying to get everything back up in a hurry, there were some shortcuts taken, and now the IT folks are rebuilding things in the background, and building some things that will make us more secure.”

“US nuclear materials lab, Oak Ridge, and RSA done in by Windows and IE attack in April,” explains a contributor of ours. “The only common “Advanced Persistent Threat” shared by the two is Windows,” he adds, quoting:

To deal with the attack, Oak Ridge lab’s technicians had shut down access to its e-mail systems and some of its servers for more than 48 hours. They found that it was an attack that relied on a combination of social engineering and an unknown security hole in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser. … the attack is noteworthy because it was clearly an attempt to steal information from a facility that is at the heart of America’s materials, national security and energy research. …

The characteristics of the this latest attack also appear similar to those used in the widely-publicized SecurID phishing attack, which compromised the computer security company RSA’s widely-used product. In the RSA attack, a malicious Flash object in a scam Excel file was used to infect recipients’ computers with malicious computer code.

Incidentally, he add that “NSA tells people to buy Vista/Windows 7 or OSX instead of moving to free software. They probably justified the omission based on perceived OS prevalence but most of the measures recommended are useless and real security is easier to find in freedom than in jail.”

We wrote about the NSA issue quite recently [1, 2]. To the FBI, for example, malware is not a bad thing, it's just business as usual. To them, insecurity at the user level is an advantage. Security means “securing those in power from the population” when it comes to secret agencies. █

(ODF | PDF | English/original)

Resumen: El nuevo sistema operativo de Microsoft Windows recibe elogios de los organismos -opresivos- secretos, pero una tarjeta de informe negativo sobre la seguridad real.

LAS ANTIFEATURES son totalmente gratuitas y vienen con todas las ediciones del sistema operativo que la NSA está recomendando[http://techrights.org/2011/05/11/windows-vs-activists_es/], por razones particulares. Sí, Vista 7 no es seguro como lo hemos demostrado en las entradas más antiguas, tales como:

1. La ciberdelincuencia Aumenta y Vista 7 ya está abierto a Criminales[http://techrights.org/2009/01/01/vista-7-not-secure/]
2. Vista 7: Roto Antes de su Llegada[http://techrights.org/2009/02/01/windows-7-banned-insecure-uac/]
3. El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional ‘envenenado’ por parte de Microsoft, Vista 7 esta abierta a Secuestradores de nuevo[http://techrights.org/2009/03/12/phil-reitinger-in-dhs-vista7-awol/]
4. La Seguridad de Vista 7 “no puede ser arreglado. Es un problema de diseño.”[http://techrights.org/2009/04/23/vista-7-cannot-be-fixed/]
5. ¿Por qué Vista 7 Podría ser el sistema operativo menos seguro que nunca[http://techrights.org/2009/04/27/vista-7-least-secure-os/]
6. Periodistas Sugieren la prohibición de Microsoft Windows. Tal vez una demanda por los ataques DDoS[http://techrights.org/2009/08/09/ddos-attacks-and-microsoft/]
7. Vista 7 vulnerables a las últimas “Defectos Críticos”[http://techrights.org/2009/08/13/vista-7-rtm-was-vulnerable/]
8. Vista 7 Al parecer, afectado por varios de las más “críticas” fallos este mes[http://techrights.org/2009/09/09/flaw-paid-for-launch-parties/]
9. Razón # 1 para evitar la Vista 7: la inseguridad[http://techrights.org/2009/08/14/vista-7-insecurity/]
10. Vista 7 Hackeable Una vez más (casi una repetición mensual)[http://techrights.org/2009/10/09/vista-7-hijack-risk/]
11. Trend Micro: Vista 7 menos seguro que Vista[http://techrights.org/2009/12/11/vista-7-insecurity-2/]
12. Vista 7 menos seguro que sus predecesores? Remoto BSOD Ahora Posible![http://techrights.org/2009/09/08/vista-and-vista-7-bsod/]
13. Vista 7 inaceptable para las grandes empresas y Windows XP no es todavía seguro[http://techrights.org/2010/03/11/intel-and-win7/]

Un sitio Web de Windows dice que en “Windows 7, la tasa de infección de malware sube, mientras que cae la de XP[http://www.winbeta.org/?q=news/windows-7s-malware-infection-rate-climbs-xps-falls]” (muchas gracias a Willie por el enlace). Para citar a:

Microsoft publicó hoy los datos mostrando que Windows 7 es la tasa de infección de malware ha aumentado en más del 30% durante el segundo semestre de 2010, mientras que la tasa de infección para Windows XP se ha reducido en más del 20%.

Como los informes de ComputerWorld, durante el segundo semestre de 2010, los datos muestran que de 32 bits de Windows 7 computadoras fueron infectadas a una tasa promedio de 4 equipos por cada 1.000, en comparación con 3 equipos por cada 1.000 que tuvieron lugar durante el primer semestre de 2010. Se trata de un aumento del 33% en la tasa de infección. Los que ejecutan Windows 7 64 bits había más posibilidades de evitar problemas con una tasa de infección de 2,5 PC por cada 1.000.

¿El sistema operativo más seguro? Que se lo digan a la NSA, que en realidad tiene razones para tratar la inseguridad como algo bueno. La propia seguridad del gobierno depende de su capacidad para mantener el ojo en los equipos de sus ciudadanos y sabemos que ese poder está siendo mal utilizado[http://techrights.org/2009/04/21/cipav-and-microsoft-windows/].

Katherine Noyes tiene este buen artículo nuevo sobre el tema[http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/The-Linux-vs-Windows-Security-Mystery-72433.html]. Cita el Sr. Robert en los lugares:

“La NSA (Agencia de Seguridad Nacional) recomienda Vista para seguridad en el hogar no es más que un reflejo de la realidad del monopolio en el espacio al por menor,” que ofrece blogger Robert Pogson. “En el probablemente tan sólo 2 a 3 por ciento de los usuarios de EE.UU. el uso de GNU/Linux, así que una recomendación es casi inútil.”

Los que son serios acerca de la seguridad “ya son conscientes de SELinux, un producto de la NSA”, agregó Pogson. “La NSA se limita a recomendar que la gente pase de XP, un sistema operativo pobre con escaso apoyo por M$. La gente que hace caso a ese consejo, probablemente ni siquiera saben GNU/Linux existe.”

Recomendar algo cuyo funcionamiento es un secreto es siempre una mala idea. Nadie puede saber lo que está realmente hay en él.

La conclusión es, Vista 7 NO ES SEGURO, pero la “seguridad” en la seguridad nacional significa casi lo contrario de lo que la gente asume que signifique. La seguridad nacional es acerca de entrometerse encubiertamente en la vida de las personas, es decir, violación de la seguridad, no reforzarla. Cualquiera que sea lo que la NSA diga, considere hacer lo contrario, si usted se preocupa por la libertad. █

“Las relaciones del Gobierno es una prueba de cómo usted maneja la frustración” ~ Anónimo

Translation produced by Eduardo Landaveri, the esteemed administrator of the Spanish portal of Techrights.

Summary: Microsoft’s back door-friendly operating system receives praise from the secret agencies but a bad report card regarding actual security

THE ANTIFEATURES are totally free of charge and they come with all editions of the operating system which the NSA is recommending for peculiar reasons. Yes, Vista 7 is not secure as we showed in older posts such as:

1. Cybercrime Rises and Vista 7 is Already Open to Hijackers
2. Vista 7: Broken Apart Before Arrival
3. Department of Homeland Security ‘Poisoned’ by Microsoft; Vista 7 is Open to Hijackers Again
4. Vista 7 Security “Cannot be Fixed. It’s a Design Problem.”
5. Why Vista 7 Could be the Least Secure Operating System Ever
6. Journalists Suggest Banning Windows, Maybe Suing Microsoft Over DDoS Attacks
7. Vista 7 Vulnerable to Latest “Critical” Flaws
8. Vista 7 Seemingly Affected by Several More “Critical” Flaws This Month
9. Reason #1 to Avoid Vista 7: Insecurity
10. Vista 7 Left Hijackable Again (Almost a Monthly Recurrence)
11. Trend Micro: Vista 7 Less Secure Than Vista
12. Vista 7 Less Secure Than Predecessors? Remote BSoD Now Possible!
13. Vista 7 Unacceptable for Large Businesses and Windows XP Still Not Secure

A Windows site says that “Windows 7′s malware infection rate climbs, XP’s falls” (many thanks to Will for the link). To quote:

Microsoft released data today showcasing that Windows 7′s malware infection rate has climbed by more than 30% during the second half of 2010, while the infection rate for Windows XP has dropped by more than 20%.

As ComputerWorld reports, during the second half of 2010, the data shows that 32bit Windows 7 computers were infected at an average rate of 4 PCs per 1,000, compared to 3 PCs per 1,000 that took place during the first half of 2010. This is a 33% increase in the infection rate. Those running Windows 7 64bit had better chances of avoiding problems with an infection rate of 2.5 PCs per 1,000.

Most secure operating system? Tell that to the NSA, which actually has reasons to treat insecurity as a good thing. The government’s own security depends on its ability to keep on eye on the citizens’ computers and we know that such power is being misused.

Katherine Noyes has this good new article on the subject. It quotes Mr. Robert in places:

“NSA recommending Vista for home security is merely a reflection of the reality of monopoly in the retail space,” blogger Robert Pogson offered. “In the USA probably as few as 2 to 3 percent of users use GNU/Linux, so a recommendation is almost useless.”

Those who are serious about security “are already aware of SELinux, a product of the NSA,” Pogson added. “The NSA is merely recommending that folks move on from XP, a poor OS poorly supported by M$. Folks who would heed that advice probably do not even know GNU/Linux exists.”

Recommending something whose workings are a secret is always a bad idea. Nobody can tell what’s actually in it.

The bottom line is, Vista 7 is not secure, but the “security” in national security means almost the opposite of what people assume it to mean. National security is about intruding people’s lives, i.e. breaching security, not blostering it. Whatever the NSA says, consider doing the opposite if you care about freedom. █

“Government relations is a test of how you manage frustration” ~Anonymous

Summary: ZDNet UK puts up Microsoft-endorsing elements in ‘news’ pages and nukes comments that expose Microsoft’s PR department, Waggener Edstrom

THE MONOPOLIST from Redmond loves injecting trademarks into people’s consciousness. We already know that Microsoft was 'incentivising' hundreds of Korean bloggers to write a lot about Vista 7 . That’s just one example among others for which there is ample evidence.

The screenshot at the top (annotated) helps show circumstantial evidence which may suggest there is a paid endorsement in the editorial part of ZDNet UK. What is “Windows 7″ doing there? It is totally out of place, sitting there among actual areas of IT. “Windows 7″ is not “Windows” or even “Microsoft”. Why is this a whole category? This seemed suspicious, so I raised this question while they tried to silence me for posting politely my opinions in ZDNet UK (they also threatened to remove my account, even though I did nothing wrong, as people can judge by comments I reproduced and see for themselves).

My question, which was not deleted by the way, sought to discover whether the site’s marketing side was affecting editorial sections without disclosures. There is no need to be inflammatory about it and I was very polite. I also pointed out that ZDNet’s Twitter account is summarised as “All the latest business technology news, covering security, mobile, Microsoft and much more” (Microsoft is the only trademark mentioned). It’s basically the same pattern as the above. Microsoft is the only trademark to be mentioned by what claims to be a technology site. Here is what I wrote to ZDNet:

Upon closer inspection, this gets even more interesting. I see that the said twitter account follows 33 people and also an account called “(http://twitter.com/)/ZDNetUK_Win7″. I notice that alongside menu items at the top of *all* pages in ZDNet UK there is an oddly out-of-place section called “Windows 7″ (and again, it’s the only brand mentioned). I clicked on and it’s purely promotional therein. It says: “ZDNet UK’s special report covers a range of content, including reviews, articles and videos, to help you discover the key features in Microsoft’s latest operating system, as well as the pitfalls you should be looking out for.”

But more interestingly, all comments that mention Microsoft’s PR department, known as Waggener Edstrom, were removed. When one wants to do paid Microsoft endorsement, it’s natural to go through Waggener Edstrom. Microsoft.com refers such queries to Waggener Edstrom.

What was conspicuous to me was that ZDNet became extremely panicky and very defensive of this firm, whose named was removed along with all comments that even mentioned it. In fact, the response from ZDNet (which came late, around the time we complained about censorship) only dealt with the Waggener Edstrom claims, not rebutting the remaining evidence but instead throwing everything away by just using Waggener Edstrom as an excuse (it was not even mentioned in all the comments).

“The claims about ZDNet UK were not removed, just the ones about Waggener Edstrom. What is this irrational fear of criticising Waggener Edstrom?”We do know that Waggener Edstrom was pressuring British publications like The Inquirer to change their coverage. The Inquirer wrote about it. Is ZDNet fearful of criticising Waggener Edstrom? And if so, why? It’s just Microsoft’s marketing department. Why is this such a sensitive subject?

We only encourage people to explore this and to take these questions further. Where there is smoke there is often fire.

Look again at the deleted comments, in particular Comment #6 and Comment #7. Both of these are the ones which mentioned Waggener Edstrom. None of the 7 comments were deleted until comments #6 and #7 got posted; it’s as though we blew a dog whistle and the E-mail response to us further validates such a theory because it only defended Waggener Edstrom and ignored all the remaining evidence. Is a sacred cow the trigger? Watch the response from ZDNet: “In addition, they make unsubstantiated harmful suggestions about companies – about ZDNet UK, for example. Some of these comments may place this site at legal risk,” said Karen Friar only after I had mentioned Waggener Edstrom (and their name got wiped off the page). I did provide links, e.g. documents from Comes vs Microsoft, to support my claims. Karen ignored this court exhibit. The claims about ZDNet UK were not removed, just the ones about Waggener Edstrom. What is this irrational fear of criticising Waggener Edstrom?

To summarise, we would like to leave an open question: what is the relationship — if any — between Waggener Edstrom and ZDNet? I sent ZDNet’s editorial team this question. Even though they did write to us before, to this question they did not reply. It has been 2 days, so we assume that “no comment” is their stance. The top of all Web page in the site (which possibly reaches a million per day) is still an endorsement of “Windows 7″. It validates the product in a strange context. █

“In honor of the event, Pam Edstrom, who had since left Microsoft to cofound her own agency, Waggener Edstrom, and handle Microsoft’s PR from the outside, sponsored a “Windows Roast.” Gathered at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas, Gates and Ballmer made fun of themselves and not so subtly apologized for the Windows delays. “To Dream the Impossible Dream” was the theme song playing in the background. With three hundred analysts and members of the press invited to these festivities where Gates and Ballmer let it all hang out, it was another coup for “Gates’s Keeper.” Gates joked that Ballmer had insisted, ” ‘We just gotta cut features.’ He came up with this idea that we could rename this thing Microsoft Window—and we would have shipped that thing a long time ago.”

–Barbarians Led by Bill Gates, a book composed
by Pam’s daughter

Summary: As Windows sales continue to decline Microsoft pulls the plug (in some sense) on Vista and advocacy of the latest phones platform comes to a halt

“Vista” is a disallowed term in Microsoft’s marketing department, probably just like the KIN (and this is why we overuse the term). These are total embarrassments and Microsoft is now promoting Vista 7 and Vista Phony 7 instead. But there are clues in this news about Windows Vista support, suggesting of course that even Microsoft gives up on the operating system: [via]

SOFTWARE FLOGGER Microsoft has let slip that Windows Vista users won’t be able to run its upcoming Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) web browser.

This is what customers get for complying with Microsoft’s requests to upgrade to Vista, the best operating system ever (if Microsoft’s marketers are to be believed). What a total embarrassment. They lied. E-mails which were unsealed later on revealed that even Microsoft managers knew Vista was a disaster, well before it was released. But they deceived the public repeatedly and harmed customers. So now they need to purchase (and pay for) the bugfix version of Vista, called Vista 7. And what about Vista Phony 7? Those who bought Windows Mobile not too long ago or even developed for it are totally screwed. Microsoft abandons them just like KIN users and Tim explains that even the Microsoft “diehards” cannot defend Vista Phony 7:

There’s no real news on the Windows Phone 7 front, however WP7 does have particular interest with me. After the Kin debacle the “successes” of the Windows Phone 7 and the strategy with which Microsoft is trying to market it make for fascinating viewing. Just like the Kin, we are seeing plenty of attempts by “advocates” to champion the device, but we all know how the Kin turned out, don’t we?

I am still trying desperately to find anyone I know in my circle of friends who actually has one of these devices, but so far the quest has been akin (no pun intended) to that of looking for the Holy Grail.

Some of Microsoft’s marketers insisted that KIN, just like Vista, was just so wonderful. They lies through their teeth. It remains to be seen just how many of the other products also turn out to be a total disaster. Windows sales, for example, keep declining, which means that Vista 7 is not exactly a success. Far from it. Maybe it was a marketing success as we pointed out in last night's show/episode of TechBytes. And speaking of which, Tim is collecting questions to help remove FUD about Techrights and yours truly. It was his idea to do this and he wrote:

I extend the offer to anyone, if you don’t want to post the questions here, then please feel free to email or use any of my contact points. I will let this offer run for about 2 weeks before putting them to him on an audiocast which will hopefully be hosted at a neutral venue.

Over the weekend and just before that, Techrights came under dozens of verbal attacks — including lies — all coming from .NET and Microsoft boosters. This helps us realise that we’re on the right topic and that we are effective. █

Summary: There is a light at the end of the tunnel for desktop GNU/Linux because a new push tackles the OEM swindle

EVERYTHING is changing so fast, and very much for the better. Discrediting GNU/Linux, for example, has become a tough task. Right now more of the Linux FUD has something to do with patents because on technical merit GNU/Linux has already proven itself and its advocates rebutted disinformation which used to repeat itself, only to be challenged over and over again. Are Linux advocates needed when those who advocate it in massive numbers are Android users showing their phones to friends (the phones have it preinstalled)? Are LUGs needed? Well, that depends.

One of the areas where GNU/Linux has not found justice is the OEMs, particularly in the area of desktops and laptops. As part of the TechChoices banner we have written on this subject before (piles of material gathered over the years). We have also amassed antitrust exhibits which we arranged in our “Hardware” wiki page (confidential OEM contracts and the likes of that).

The next push which is definitely worth pursuing was alluded to by Peter Brown from the FSF when he wrote about the Web browsers ballot. He said that the Commission was addressing the wrong problem by assuming that it was acceptable for Microsoft to continue its monoculture at the operating system level. Not so much has happened since then as not many people voiced their complaints about forced sales of Windows, usually Vista 7 (although Microsoft also counts XP sales as Vista 7, in order to produce fake numbers). We recently spotted some signs that a parliament member sought to make it a subject of active discussion because André Rebentisch from the FFII wrote about it. There is a new announcement in the FFII’s Web site and it is actually a joint AFUL/FFII press release which calls people to share their operating system bundling tales with the EU. To quote:

The FFII and The FFII and AFUL ask consumers affected by operating system bundling or businesses involved in bundling to provide their evidence to the European Competition authority.

“My choice is Debian GNU/Linux”, explains FFII Vice president René Mages. “Why have I been compelled to pay and erase Windows 7 at purchase time?”

The European Commission admits it was aware of the difficulties encountered by consumers who want to purchase a PC with a non-Microsoft operating system or without any operating system at all. But they also say they lack evidence suggesting that this is the result of practices in violation of EU competition rules.

“We want to crowd source the collection of evidence”, says AFUL’s President Laurent Séguin. “If the EU finds anticompetitive agreements that foreclose competition or abuse a dominant position on the relevant market, that would be a magic bullet.”"”AFUL ask consumers affected by operating system bundling or businesses involved in bundling to provide their evidence to the European Competition authority.

“My choice is Debian GNU/Linux”, explains FFII Vice president René Mages. “Why have I been compelled to pay and erase Windows 7 at purchase time?”

The European Commission admits it was aware of the difficulties encountered by consumers who want to purchase a PC with a non-Microsoft operating system or without any operating system at all. But they also say they lack evidence suggesting that this is the result of practices in violation of EU competition rules.

“We want to crowd source the collection of evidence”, says AFUL’s President Laurent Séguin. “If the EU finds anticompetitive agreements that foreclose competition or abuse a dominant position on the relevant market, that would be a magic bullet.”"”

There is some great analysis from Groklaw, which carries on collecting accolades while it lasts. “This looks worth doing,” says Pamela Jones. And she continues:

FFII and AFUL would like to crowd source evidence-gathering about the difficulty for customers and OEMs in Europe trying to buy a computer or sell one without having to pay for Windows..

We have been having an IRC discussion about it and for those who are interested it is copied below. We welcome comments if people can add information to it. █

Summary: The latest round of vapourware tactics from Microsoft helps show that Windows is having a crisis which is a matter of great urgency

FOR THOSE who have not noticed, as Windows numbers go down Microsoft is starting to float Vista 8, selling the illusion that it’s almost here and that it will do everything anyone has ever conceived. By doing this, Microsoft may discourage some businesses’ migration to Vista 7; people whom I know closely are having problems with Vista 7 and some regret leaving XP to move to it (this afternoon I had one person tell me this). On the other hand, Microsoft resorts to talking about products that do not yet exist in the market because, as its internal documents put it [PDF], “In the face of strong competition, Evangelism’s focus may shift immediately to the next version of the same technology, however. Indeed, Phase 1 (Evangelism Starts) for version x+1 may start as soon as this Final Release of version X.”

As usual, Microsoft sells the illusion that people should use the latest of everything and waste more money on it, even when the latest software is fragile, unproven, and prone to bricking. MSBBC writes about SQL flaws which have just targeted Microsoft software:

Early reports suggested that the attackers were hitting sites using Microsoft SQL Server 2003 and 2005 and it is thought that weaknesses in associated web application software are proving vulnerable.

Ongoing analysis of the attack reveals that the attackers managed to inject code to display links to 21 separate domains. The exact numbers of sites hit by the attack is hard to judge but a Google search for the attackers’ domains shows more than three million weblinks are displaying them.

Those who want a secure operating system are better off just leaving Microsoft altogether, not to mention cost savings and other commonly-stated advantages. My boss/collague has just bought a Mac, having used Vista 7 for a while. He is leaving Windows and that whole antiquated mindset. Windows does not seem to impress people all that much. UNIX and Linux become dominant not just in phones but on desktops too. One adoption curve drives the other and people who own an Apple or Google phone sooner or later rethink their desktop operating system (a personal observation). █

“I’d put the Linux phenomenon really as threat No. 1.”

–Steve Ballmer, 2001

(ODF | PDF | English/original)

Resumen: Las ofertas de ser vendedor-neutrales para los licitaciones que la Comisión Europea debe predicar no son incluso un principio honrado para la Comisión misma; Jan Wildeboer habla hacia contra este comportamiento inaceptable.

La última posible encarnación de Vista, llamada Vista 7[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Vista_7_Reality_Log], está apenas en las noticias actuales. No hay nada que excita sobre él. La gente no podría nombrar nunca realmente cualquier razón de peso para trasladarse desde Windows XP a Vista 7. Por que todos sabemos, basados en incidentes muy recientes[http://techrights.org/2011/03/15/dirty-tactics-and-aggression/], sobre Vista 7 es que es mucho más probable sea “bricked” (hecho unbootable) por sus actualizaciones que Windows XP.

A principios de esta semana había interés renovado en la manera que Europa maneja su forma de conseguir el software. Hay un montón de sitio para la mejora y ligando al blog de Wildeboer, Roberto Pogson acaba de decir que “Suiza [es] poseída” por Microsoft[http://mrpogson.com/2011/03/29/switzerland-owned-by-m/] (que reutiliza las palabras de Wildeboer). Para refrescarnos:

Una corte ha dictaminado que es ACEPTABLE que el gobierno compre millares de PC con ese otro OS SIN las licitaciones públicas que evitan que compitan los abastecedores de GNU/Linux. Un juez discrepó pero no era bastante para abrir el proceso de licitación. Esto era una migración de XP a Vista 7 así que era mucho trabajo de cualquier manera pero el gobierno no utilizó un proceso que hacía una licitación abierta como es usual.

Escribimos sobre este caso de la mala consecución en Suiza abajo, e.g.:

Microsoft Demandado por su Corrupción en Suiza. La Deuda de Microsoft Analizada.[http://techrights.org/2009/05/24/msft-corruption-in-switzerland/]
¿Se Pueden Demandar al Reino Unido y Hungría Todavía por Excluir el Software Free/Libre?[http://techrights.org/2009/05/25/united-kingdom-hungary-rigging/]
¿3 Nuevas Cuentas de la Violación Anticompetitiva de Microsoft?[http://techrights.org/2009/05/14/antitrust-violations-by-microsoft/]
¿Está Microsoft Infringiendo la ley en Suiza también?[http://techrights.org/2009/05/14/antitrust-violations-by-microsoft/]
Cabilderos de las Aplicaciones de Microsoft Atacar la migración de Holanda al Software Free/Libre y a los Profesores surafricanos se les Soborna para Utilizar Windows[http://techrights.org/2009/05/10/lobbyists-bribes-vs-free-sw/]
ZDNet/eWeek Arruina Artículo de Peter Judge Atacando Red Hat Cuando Microsoft Comete el Crimen[http://techrights.org/2009/05/25/zdnet-ruins-peter-judge-article/]
Semana de Asuntos de Gobierno con Microsoft: Una mirada Retrospectiva, Una Mirada al Futuro[http://techrights.org/2009/05/28/microsoft-government-affairs/]
El Pleito contra Microsoft/Suiza Tiene éxito Hasta Ahora, Más Países/Compañías deben Seguir el Ejemplo[http://techrights.org/2009/05/29/lawsuit-against-switzerland-over-ms/]
Los últimos Informes Sobre los Tratos con Microsoft que son bloqueados en Suiza, Nueva Zelandia[http://techrights.org/2009/06/01/microsoft-bulk-deals-derailed/]
Gobierno Suizo y Computadora Federal Semanal: ¿Por qué la hostilidad hacia software libre?[[http://techrights.org/2009/06/06/federal-computer-weekly-foss-fud/]
Suiza y el Reino Unido Bajo Fuego por los Contratos Perpetuos de Microsoft[http://techrights.org/2009/06/17/switzerland-and-uk-backlash/]
El Pleito sobre la Corrupción de Microsoft en Suiza se Extiende a la Corte Federal[http://techrights.org/2009/12/12/lawsuit-government-procurement/]
Cuando Microsoft-Solamente/Lock-in Se Define Como “Tecnología”[http://techrights.org/2010/07/07/lingual-loophole-for-bad-tender/]
De Microsoft Contratos Suizos Ilegales Llevan a la Corte Otra Vez[http://techrights.org/2010/10/10/blocking-competition-queezing-oems/]
La Consecución Ilegal de los E.E.U.U. de Microsoft Consigue Ser Congelada después de pleito.[http://techrights.org/2011/01/06/lawsuit-against-government/]

Considerando el estado de este caso, pudo todavía haber sitio para la revocación de los repartos de Microsoft, así que mirando este nuevo informe sobre los planes de Vista 7 en los cuerpos de la UE[http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/223224/eu_bodies_plan_upgrade_to_windows_7_without_public_tender.html], Wildeboer tiene mucho decir:

En una reunión secreta el pasado mes de diciembre, funcionarios de la Comisión acordaron en principio aumentar a más de 36.000 computadoras de escritorio en instituciones europeas a Windows 7 sin llevar a cabo una oferta pública. El movimiento propuesto podía encadenar a la Comisión a Microsoft por los cuatro a cinco años próximos, violando al propio consejo de la Comisión para evitar lock-in de la contratación pública.

Jan Wildeboer del distribuidor Red Hat de Linux dijo el miércoles que él estaba muy decepcionado con la decisión. “El reparto de la Comisión con Microsoft no está consolidando realmente su propio mensaje de evitar lock-in.” “Estamos esperanzados que la Comisión practicará lo que predica. En interés de un mercado justo y libre debemos tener ofrecimiento de vendedor-neutral”, él dijo en un acontecimiento organizado por los abogados del Código Abierta en Bruselas. Los representantes de la Comisión que atendían al acontecimiento estaban visiblemente incómodos, pero no hicieron ninguna observación respecto.

La Comisión debe ser presionada en esto. Esta situación entera daña la legitimidad de la Comisión y a menos que determine GNU/Linux en mesas de financiación pública, esto seguro validará nuestra observación que está siendo hecha descarrilar por los cabilderos y sus nuevos camaradas designados que SIRVEN SOLO A MICROSOFT[http://techrights.org/2009/11/30/european-croniession-regulators/]. Incluso habrá quizá un pleito legal, que es posible el gobierno suizo sea demandado (nadie es inmune al pleito). █

Translation produced by Eduardo Landaveri, the esteemed administrator of the Spanish portal of Techrights.

Summary: Vendor-neutral tendering processes which the Commission ought to be preaching for is not even a tenet honoured by the Commission itself; Jan Wildeboer speaks out against this unacceptable behaviour

The latest incarnation of Vista, called Vista 7, is hardly in the news anymore. There is nothing exciting about it. People could never really name any compelling reason to move from Windows XP to Vista 7. For all we know, based on very recent incidents, all that is special about Vista 7 is that it is a lot more likely to get bricked by updates (made unbootable) than Windows XP.

Earlier this week there was renewed interest in the way Europe handles software procurement. There is plenty of room for improvement and linking to Wildeboer’s blog, Robert Pogson has just said that “Switzerland [is] Owned” by Microsoft (reusing Wildeboer’s words). As a refresher:

A court has ruled that it is OK for the government to buy thousands of PCs with that other OS without public tenders preventing providers of GNU/Linux from competing. One judge disagreed but it was not enough to open the bidding process. This was a migration from XP to Vista/”7″ so it was a lot of work either way but the government did not use an open bidding process as is usual.

We wrote about this case of bad procurement in Switzerland under, e.g.:

1. Microsoft Sued Over Its Corruption in Switzerland, Microsoft Debt Revisited
2. Can the United Kingdom and Hungary Still be Sued for Excluding Free Software?
3. 3 New Counts of Antitrust Violation by Microsoft?
4. Is Microsoft Breaking the Law in Switzerland Too?
5. Microsoft Uses Lobbyists to Attack Holland’s Migration to Free Software and Sort of Bribes South African Teachers Who Use Windows
6. ZDNet/eWeek Ruins Peter Judge’s Good Article by Attacking Red Hat When Microsoft Does the Crime
7. Week of Microsoft Government Affairs: a Look Back, a Look Ahead
8. Lawsuit Against Microsoft/Switzerland Succeeds So Far, More Countries/Companies Should Follow Suit
9. Latest Reports on Microsoft Bulk Deals Being Blocked in Switzerland, New Zealand
10. Swiss Government and Federal Computer Weekly: Why the Hostility Towards Free Software?
11. Switzerland and the UK Under Fire for Perpetual Microsoft Engagements
12. Lawsuit Over Alleged Microsoft Corruption in Switzerland Escalates to Federal Court
13. When Microsoft-Only/Lock-in is Defined as “Technology”
14. Microsoft’s Allegedly Illegal Swiss Contracts to Take People to Court Again
15. Microsoft’s Allegedly Illegal US Procurement Gets Frozen After Lawsuit

Bearing in mind the status of this case, there might still be room for reversal of Microsoft deals, so regarding this new report about Vista 7 plans in EU bodies, Wildeboer has a lot to say:

At a secret meeting last December, Commission civil servants agreed in principle to upgrade more than 36,000 desktop computers in European institutions to Windows 7 without holding a public tender. The proposed move could tie the Commission to Microsoft for the next four to five years, flying in the face of the Commission’s own advice to avoid public procurement lock-in.

Jan Wildeboer of Linux distributor Red Hat said on Wednesday that he was very disappointed in the decision. “The Commission’s supposed deal with Microsoft is not really strengthening its own message of avoiding lock-in. We are hopeful that the Commission will practice what it preaches. In the interests of a fair and free market we must have vendor-neutral tendering,” he said at an event organized by open source advocates in Brussels. Commission representatives attending the event were visibly uncomfortable, but did not comment.

The Commission should be pressured on this. This whole situation damages the Commission’s legitimacy and unless it assesses GNU/Linux in publicly-funded desktops, this sure will validate our observation that it is being derailed by lobbyists and newly-appointed cronies who serve Microsoft's interests. Maybe there will even be a lawsuit, which is possible given that the Swiss government got sued (nobody is immune to litigation). █

Summary: Carlo Piana et al. take Microsoft to court for removing choice in the OEM channel, including reasonable choices such as GNU/Linux, BSD, or simply no operating system at all

THE MICROSOFT WINDOWS chokehold is being eroded in the OEM channel. Vista 7 refunds are already becoming possible in Denmark, in Brazil, and in Portugal. Back in the days we also wrote about similar actions pressing for unbundling in France.

Some of the many reports about the new lawsuit in Italy stress that there is international relevance:

The Italian consumer watchdog is suing Microsoft over the “Windows Tax” – the near impossibility of an ordinary user getting a refund if they decide to delete Microsoft’s software from a new computer or laptop.

The class action case says Microsoft makes it too difficult for people who buy a computer with Microsoft software on it to remove that software and get their money back. Most users do not realise that starting the software means you have accepted the end user licence.

Carlo Piana, a lawyer who helps defend software freedom, is personally involved in it and there’s stressing that “it’s a class action, PPL can join (later)”

“OK,” writes Piana, “now it’s public. I’ve served a class action against MSFT for bundling & refusal to reimbourse Windows, for ADUC” (he links to an article in Italian) and there is also a “blog post on ADUC class action against Microsoft #MSFT,” starting with this introduction:

Aduc, an Italian Consumers association, has served on Microsoft Italia (the local branch of Microsoft Corp) a class action complaining that the company consistently refuses to reimburse users the price of ubiquitous windows licenses, bundled with OEM (Original Equipement Manufacturers) computers. I am part of a much larger legal team that has produced it and I can briefly illustrate what it is about.

Italy has adopted a regulation (Art. 140 bis of the Italian Consumers Code) that allows consumers individually (not consumers associations, which is strange) to file class actions, through ordinary proceedings, open to be joined at a later time. A class action is a case which is arguably identical to a class of users and which is likely to protect the interest of this class. Unfortunately, the Italian version has been adopted with very odd provisions that limit the effectiveness of it, as one can read in this document by Aduc (in Italian).

Here are some more links on this matter (some are from Microsoft blogs, thus they are biased):

The case, which was filed in Milan by the Associazione per i Diritti degli Utenti e Consumatori (ADUC), and picked up by The Register earlier today, points to Microsoft’s end user license agreement (EULA)–as outlined in various copies of Windows–noting that once users turn their computer on and begin to use it, they are no longer able to return the software for a refund.

Microsoft booster Peter Bright adds this: (special thanks to Girts for some of these pointers)

This is not the first time ADUC has taken to the courts over Windows preinstalls. In 2007, the group successfully sued HP after it failed to abide by the terms of the Microsoft End User License Agreement, which explicitly permits a user to refuse to accept the terms and receive a full refund.

Meanwhile we learn about some new actions in Portugal, where Microsoft wants government policies to help stifle Free software (in France, the lawmakers recently had created Apple/Android tax, which is based on copyright). Microsoft is going down, but not without a fight. █

Summary: The Windows marketing corporate vice president (man behind Vista 7 marketing) quits Microsoft, but he joins his former colleagues in another company

Juniper Networks is already filled with many ex-Microsoft executives, including the company’s current CEO. Well, according to this report, the Windows marketing corporate vice president joins them.

Brad Brooks joins the list of many others, not just presidents/vice presidents who quit Microsoft but also those who joined Juniper Networks immediately afterwards, e.g. [1, 2, 3].

One quick thing to add about it is that the fact that people who are associated with Windows are leaving simply means that something is not working there. One may often wonder, what is it that proprietary software actually does to limit people’s freedom, by design? Here is an answer from the news:

Microsoft’s much-maligned operating system Vista has proven the third most effective PC tool available to parents to filter out inappropriate web content for children, according to tests by the European Commission.

But none of the 26 products tested by the EC achieved a perfect score [pdf] when it came to filter capabilities.

As Glyn Moody put it, “MS Vista finds its niche at last: censorship”.

The reality behind Vista 7 suggests that it’s just like Vista under the hood, in which case the above applies to it too. Vista 7 is not doing it for Microsoft because Windows profits continue to decline. Brooks’ departure therefore makes a lot of sense. █

Summary: Rants about Windows help people appreciate the ease of GNU/Linux

“I‘M installing Windows Vista Service Packs and online updates for more than 24 hours Can’t stand it no more,” wrote Razvan Sandu a few days ago, “Where’s Fedora?”

I’ve personally been very pleased with Fedora 14, which I use on my main PC at work. It impresses Windows users and it takes just minutes to install.

“Are people aware of other options at all?”Sandu is not a Windows user. He apparently installs Windows either for another person or for side reasons like the running of some stubborn, Windows-only application. Back around the time that Vista 7 was released, one reputable site said that installing it (with some basic software, no OEM as intermediate point) should take around 8 hours, which in many countries means an entire working day. Why would anyone accept this? Are people aware of other options at all? The task of installing 10 applications on Windows can take about 10 times as long as doing the same thing on GNU/Linux, assuming all the software needs to be downloaded using a Web browser, which also adds another layer of potential threat.

“Microsoft Genuine Disadvantage Strikes Again” rants our reader Wayne this week, having been lured into helping with an installation of Windows. To quote part of his story:

OK, so I got suckered into helping someone fix their computer. My son asked me, nicely, to help him. His friend had gotten virussed, and the computer wouldn’t boot. When I asked him why run Windows, it was the usual answer. World of Warcraft.

Mike’s pretty good with computers. He’s twenty-three years old. He has never lived in a house without at least one working computer. He’s installed every version of Windows from 3.0 on up to Windows 7 at least once.

But he’s not as good as the old man. So my promise to never touch another damned machine running Windows, ever again, goes out the Windows.

Actually he’d gotten everything right, which is exactly what I’d expected. There was only one problem. Microsoft uses poor quality stickers. They deteriorate because of CPU heat. They deteriorate because of sunlight. They deteriorate because of anything.

Making the move to GNU/Linux is a smart step for anyone who is not using it already. Making the move to GNU/Linux is also what people ought to propose to those who ask for help with Windows. More and more people seem to be making use of GNU/Linux a precondition for free technical support. Microsoft currently claims to have created “4,000 new UK jobs”, but jobs in this context means supporting a defective system. █

Summary: Microsoft’s own ‘choir’ is ridiculing Microsoft’s products, realising perhaps that there is a dead end

ONE REALLY knows that Microsoft is failing when even its enthusiastic cheerleaders turn into sad clowns and sometimes even boo their master. Case of point: Microsoft Windows on ARM and in tablets.

Microsoft boosters consistently express lack of confidence in it. We — like just about anyone who paid attention to the news in December — expected Microsoft news about ARM (we laughed at it around the time rumours had just trickled in). This even predates the December rumours because a deal was signed with ARM just weeks beforehand.

“Just because a product is announced does not mean it will be profitable, either.”Just because a deal gets signed does not mean much will change.

Just because a product is announced does not mean it will be profitable, either.

Case of point? KIN, Zune, Bong [sic]….

Matt Rosoff, who comes from a firm that worked along with Microsoft, has done his share of Microsoft boosting recently [1, 2, 3, 4]. He also mocks/pressures Microsoft's competitors, having wasted a lot of his time at CNET promoting the Zune in a column. But even Matt — just like very irrational boosters like Preston Gralla — is unwilling to voice confidence in what Microsoft does for mobile devices such as tablets. He blames the strategy (“See If You Can Spot The Problem With Microsoft’s Tablet Strategy”) rather than the poor product and it starts like this:

Earlier today, computer maker Asus kicked off the Consumer Electronics Show a day early by announcing four upcoming tablet computers. Three of them run Google’s Android operating system. One runs Windows 7. See if you can guess which one is the outlier:

* Eee Pad MeMO: starts at $499

* Eee Pad Slider: starts at $499

* Eee Pad Transformer: starts at $399

* Eee Slate: starts at $999

Yes, that last one runs Vista 7, which is a resource hog. The rest use Linux. Microsoft was publicising hopes of using Vista Phony 7 [sic] on tablets, but since that platform is failing (despite around half a billion dollars in marketing), everyone should forget about it.

As I put it earlier in Identi.ca, “I think that Steve Ballmer does a lot of things at this stage just to show he does *something* and thus procrastinate an inevitable ejection.”

All that Microsoft has left now (middle- and long-term) is software patents. Windows is part of the past, not the future. In the mean time, enjoy these new photos from Razvan Sandu (translation to English). They show Windows on vacation in the middle of the greatest ocean. █

SOME people are afraid of Vista 7. Some people are said to be in love with it, but they usually go under anonymous handles and some time in the near future we’ll have an investigative report linking such people to AstroTurfing. Those who listen to episodes of TechBytes (which we enjoy producing by the way) probably got a bit of a teaser because the subject was covered in TechBytes around Christmas time. OpenBytes has managed to expose a Microsoft agent cursing Linux and praising Microsoft products under multiple handles. Once the person was linked to his/her Facebook account it turned out that s/he worked for Microsoft, whereupon the Facebook page got deleted (evidence, be gone!).

I was personally amused to see just a few days ago how anonymous commenters pressure writers who are critical of Vista Phony 7 [sic] under pseudonyms. Remember that Microsoft spends about half a billion dollars just promoting this already-failed product and this money goes to peripheral agencies that use all sorts of tactics to shape the perception of Vista Phony 7. Watch what those alleged sympathisers of Vista Phony 7 (it hardly has any users) caused a Forbes writer to publish even as a headline: “Commenters Say Don’t Knock Windows Phone 7 Prematurely”

“In many ways, these people can handle GNU/Linux better than they can use Windows without a support helpline and an OEM’s preinstallation.”Who are those commenters? Can they be named? The point of it all is that what we’re seeing here is exactly what we saw when Windows Vista and Vista 7 were released. There was retaliation against writers who criticised it. In the coming days we’ll do some dedicated posts about Vista Phony 7, whereas in this post we wish to address the myth of GNU/Linux being ‘hard’, ‘incompatible’, etc.

I’ve used Fedora 14 since its release and wrote about it almost a dozen times in my personal blog. It works for me. It works better than almost anything I’ve tried and I installed it for other people too. They stick with it. They even installed it themselves, having never installed a GNU/Linux distribution before. In many ways, these people can handle GNU/Linux better than they can use Windows without a support helpline and an OEM’s preinstallation. Last night I found the post titled “Windows 7 fails to power down idle disks, Fedora 14 works”. This it the typical sort of example where Linux “just works” where Windows does not. People need to take it for granted that in certain areas GNU/Linux is far ahead of Windows (package management for instance). To quote a fragment from this new post:

After a while Windows 7 will power down my idle (Fedora 14) disk but then it will randomly power the disk back up. This process would then repeat, an endless cycle of power down, power up, power down, power up….

Why does Windows 7 feel the need to poll my idle disk and wake it up?

Not only is this behaviour irritating but it undermines the idea of spinning down idle disks to save power.

Fedora 14 on the other hand spins down my idle (Windows 7) disk perfectly and does not randomly power the drive back up again unless I intentionally access the drive.

“My morning in Microsoft hell” is another new post that I found last night. It also speaks about Vista 7:

I didn’t want to give up, so I took the plunge and called Microsoft. After a glorious 10 minutes on hold, I was told that as I had bought my copy of Windows 7 more than 90 days prior, I could not get support for less than $59. What? I could not believe it. I have to pay for when I can’t get your product to actually work? This is literally the exact opposite of a Genius Bar. Microsoft told me to go to their website and search for answers to my problem. I was blinking, so she repeated: “go to Microsoft.com.”

All I needed to know was, ‘is it possible to revert to factory like settings without reinstalling Windows 7?’ Is that so hard to divulge?

Then it hit me: I can’t reinstall Windows at all, because I don’t have a disk to reinstall from. I downloaded the OS from Microsoft, and thus have no physical media to use to restart. In short, I can’t restore, and I can’t reinstall, despite having paid for the damn OS. In other words, my main computer is for all intents and purposes dead.

It is important to see why people favour GNU/Linux here. It’s not price, it’s not the viruses in Windows, and it is not the belonging to a “side”, either. It’s technical merit and the notion of ownership/control. If one expands the scope of factors, cost can be seen as a nice bonus and as Microsoft Emil reluctantly admits, there is yet another unpatched Explorer flaw right now (we wrote about a couple more yesterday).

Details on the IE vulnerability are probably more widely known than Microsoft would like, especially given that the researcher in question, Michal Zalewski released the fuzzing tool to the public on New Years Day. It’s worth noting that a Google employee has done this before, disclosing an IE flaw that could allow attackers to steal private information from online services. Then and now, Microsoft argued that details should not be disclosed publicly until a patch is available.

How many people still remember that Google banned Windows for all internal use? That was less than a year ago. Google claims to be doing this for security reasons, but there are so many more reasons than that. Google starts pushing Linux-based Chrome OS and Android into a very large market and GNU/Linux in general is very mature at this stage. I never use Windows (neither at home or work) and this avoidance becomes ever more painless over time. Soon enough proprietary codecs and Flash won't be required, either (I have neither installed in Fedora) owing to changes on the Web, partly owing to Google.

So, in conclusion, 2011 looks like a bright year already. Mark Shuttleworth is becoming extremely active in the mailing lists this week, possibly because he too feels invigorated with enthusiasm. Here is an underwhelming short screencast I’ve just grabbed of my main desktop (just 1.4 megabytes in total size). We ought to have something better in the future. █

Summary: Bad news for Vista 7 and more new stories that resemble what happened to Windows Vista

THIS IS A SUBJECT THAT Techrights has dedicated nearly 100 posts to. The reality behind Vista 7 was never the same as perceived reality that PR had generated and spread. It was important for this Web site to present the facts rather than the advertisements/guerrilla marketing and also expose the machinations responsible for alteration of public perception.

Vista 7 was named “a year old” a small number of weeks ago. How has it done so far? It depends on who you ask. Microsoft is determined to push its latest version of anything, so to Microsoft it is extremely important that people follow the herd under the assumption that this herd is happy with the latest change. For the first time in many years Windows was advertised heavily on television and the phrase “I’m a PC” was a common one in use.

Based on this report, the Vista 7 “I’m a PC” man has quit Microsoft. Here are the details:

Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” bloke is reportedly leaving the software maker.

According to an email, seen by SeattlePI.com, Sean Siler has quit the company for personal reasons, after five years of service.

This was also covered by Microsoft blogs [1, 2] which contain departure messages. It’s quite a loss to no longer have somewhat of a mascot amid these Microsoft ads which pretend there are only two sides (Apple and Microsoft) and there’s plenty of humour about those ads, too.

What we are seeing here resembles what happened with Vista, which initially sold better than Vista 7 by the way. It took about a year for Vista’s top people — including key marketing people (the public figures who defended Vista) — to call it a day and run away from Microsoft. We covered these at the time.

“Sales of Vista 7 have been far from spectacular, but Microsoft keeps boasting some fake numbers…”What’s the deal with Vista anyway? Well, in our daily links last night we cited an example of people who got ‘burned’ by Vista and therefore are moving to GNU/Linux, rather than pay Microsoft again for a fix of Vista. The operating system known as Vista is a key factor in migrations to Vista 7. Many Vista users are migrating to Vista 7, whereas XP refuses to die because Vista 7 hardly has anything superior that’s of practical value. Ask any Microsoft booster what new features will be made available for Vista 7 and struggle to get a good answer. Not much has changed. As for Vista, we’ve looked at heaps of Microsoft news going back to October and amongst about 7,000 headlines from the past 2.5 months only one contained substring “Vista” and it’s about “enVista”. In other words, Vista is no longer in the news. It’s gone, it’s finished. But some people bought it at the time, foolishly thinking it would stay relevant and supported.

Sales of Vista 7 have been far from spectacular, but Microsoft keeps boasting some fake numbers (fake for reasons we explained before, including fake numbers at the SEC) and this one analyst says that GNU/Linux in the form of Chrome OS “will bury Windows”, to use the headline from The Inquirer which says: “He predicts that the free Chrome OS will displace the Vole’s Windows OS on netbooks. This implies that Microsoft will be forced to give away its flagship desktop operating system for free in order to support sales of its other products, like Office.”

Microsoft is reportedly engaging in patent racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] against Chrome OS. It uses threats of litigation against Taiwanese companies that plan to sell it. Hail the ‘free’ market, eh? The “invisible hand” is invisible because it does not exist. Here is one report about it — one that we have not referenced before:

Microsoft is apparently planning on using royalty fees on smartphone technologies in an attempt to persuade Acer, ASUS and other netbook manufacturers to stick with Windows and bypass Android and Google Chrome OS on netbooks and tablets, according to sources in Taipei. DigiTimes claims that Microsoft is threatening to charge manufacturers for using its patented tech – including email and multimedia systems – as with their agreement with HTC, with fees amounting to around $10-15 per handset.

“Microsoft accused of doing evil in Taiwan” says the headline from a British news site:

The first target for the Imperium is Acer and Asustek and the big idea is to stop them from adopting Android and Chrome OS for their netbook and tablet PCs, Digitimes claims.

So far only HTC has signed for licensed use of Microsoft patents, leaving Acer and Asustek the targets for the royalty charge.

In Korea itself (a neighbour of Taiwan, but much further south) it’s a mess for anybody who does not use Windows because of Microsoft ActiveX lock-in which we covered here before. “Microsoft monoculture hurts tablet users” says this headline from the Korea Times. The Inquirer alleges that Microsoft will charge royalty fees in Taiwan while trying to legitimise software patents in Korea, destabilising the region’s independence (Samsung and LG, which are based in Korea, already pay Microsoft for Linux, since 2007 in fact. In Japan, software patents are legal). The reports are being denied by ASUS, but there is no word from Acer.

Rumors continue to swirl about behind-the-scenes royalty agreements in the netbook and tablet PC industries that could have adverse effects on future product lineups. The latest: a new DigiTimes article says that Microsoft is planning to charge Taiwan-based vendors Acer and AsusTek royalty fees for devices that don’t run a Microsoft-based operating system. So far, AsusTek has already denied the charges.

The DigiTimes report says Microsoft is claiming the fees are for using its various e-mail and multimedia-related patents, but that the effective result would Acer and AsusTek shying away from adopting Google’s Android or Chrome OS on netbook and tablet PCs.

This is all relevant to Vista 7 because it’s notoriously ‘fat’ (resources-wise) and this is hurting it a lot in new form factors such as ultralight tablets. The Bangkok Post calls Microsoft “an unfamiliar underdog” in tablets, for example.

We both wanted to like the Windows 7 tablet, to cheer on the underdog and the little guy, even if he is from Redmond. I came away wondering. It was a case where the whole just did not add up to the sum of the parts.

Even CNN mocks/belittles Microsoft’s chances in this area. Don’t be fooled by CES hype.

Further on this subject, Microsoft’s notorious booster Rob Enderle (who is paid by Microsoft) already smears Chrome OS again, in order to advance Microsoft’s agenda. In his blog he keeps using the patent FUD, just as he used the SCO FUD for many years. And it turns out that ECT now accepts not just Enderle as a writer but also SCO booster Laura DiDio from the Yankee Group. She writes about Vista 7′s first birthday at times when Microsoft is preparing a fix for it (because it’s broken, of course).

“And it turns out that ECT now accepts not just Enderle as a writer but also SCO booster Laura DiDio from the Yankee Group.”Going back to the issue of poor Vista 7 adoption, IDG says that enterprises promise to run Windows XP even after its retirement. Yes, poor adoption of Vista 7 in business and in general is a subject that we covered here before and IE6 is part of the problem. “Companies Enslaved to IE6 in No Hurry to Upgrade to Windows 7″ says the headline of that latter article and “Microsoft’s ‘China problem’ means IE6 lives on” is the headline from IDG, which adds: “A Microsoft executive’s self-described job of driving Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) into extinction will be difficult unless he can move Chinese users off the aged browser.”

The other day we wrote about the “dipping” lawsuit which may questionably enter “class action” status. It’s a lawsuit against Vista 7, which has formally entered the courthouse and is now covered by some corporate media sites and tabloids like The Register.

A California woman whose lawsuit against Microsoft was dismissed earlier this year has again sued the company over “downgrade” rights to the nine-year-old Windows XP, according to federal court documents.

The complaint filed by Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado last week accused Microsoft of breaking California’s unfair business practice and restraint of trade laws by requiring customers to purchase a copy of Windows Vista or Windows 7 if they want to downgrade to the older Windows XP.

Mr. Pogson had this to say about the lawsuit:

Emma Alvarado sued M$ in 2009 over the silly and costly XP “downgrades” for people buying PCs that came with Vista. The court disallowed class action and eventually ruled that M$ had not been shown to profit from the practice. Perhaps the dog ate the money but M$ and its partners never do anything without raking in huge amounts of cash.

She is tenacious and is suing again on more limited grounds, California law, which may better protect the consumer.

Finally, let us not be deceived by advertising in the form of press releases. Windows in general is collapsing based on different criteria and another trick for having one sale of Vista 7 count as several reached its end of life about 4 days ago [1, 2, 3], which ought to make it harder for Microsoft to manipulate future figures (expect Microsoft not to say much about it anymore). █

Summary: Microsoft’s faking of Windows sales numbers and abuse of customers who buy a computer with an unwanted operating system lands it in hot legal waters

Microsoft has reportedly just been sued (hard to corroborate with other sources) for the Vista and Vista 7 abuse which we covered here before. To quote the short report from today:

A federal class action claims Microsoft illegally requires consumers to buy a more expensive Windows Vista or Windows 7 program, before they get “downgrade rights” to buy the Windows XP Professional operating system.

Someone from IBM has claimed that those who choose Windows XP (since around 2007) will have their purchase count as two Vista/Vista 7 sales. Not one sale of XP. Not one sale of Vista/Vista 7 but two. He called it “dipping” and it’s one of the tricks Microsoft uses to produce fake numbers, in addition to financial cheats.

Chips B. Malroy has just given us the pointer to it and he adds that he “can’t find any more information on that lawsuit” (if someone can, please alert us in comments/IRC). █

Summary: Microsoft is playing a psychological numbers game to give an illusion of progress whilst in fact just marketing a mythical re-wrapped version of Vista

ACCORDING to Microsoft, Vista 7 is actually "Windows 6.1" (6.0 is Vista) and now it turns out that Vista 8 is “Windows 6.2″, as revealed by this article. The reader who alerted us about it asked: “Windows 8 will be only Windows Vista SP4?”

Windows 8 could reportedly sport Windows 6.2 as the version number, according to a third-party source.

Of course, Microsoft has yet to share any details related to the versioning of Windows vNext with the public, but there is a precedent indicating that the version of Windows 8 might end up as 6.x rather than Windows 8.0.

Windows8italia managed to come across a new driver from NVIDIA which apparently references a new Windows kernel, version 6.2, which can only be associated with the next major iteration of Windows.

This information needs to be taken with a grain of salt as there’s no official confirmation from the software giant, an aspect that is bound not to change, at least in the immediate future.

But believe it or not, it’s highly probable to have Windows 6.x as the version for Windows vNext.

Don’t believe the hype. Microsoft is just trying to suspend migration to other platforms. Mr. Pogson has just found a Windows Vista prediction from 2006 (when Vista was finalised):

I came across a prediction from 2006 that Vista would have 40% share by 2008. Now, we are in 2010 and Vista +”7″ is still less than 40%. Granted, predicting is an uncertain art because unknown events intervene. What has made this prediction fail?

* Vista was a dog ( I don’t like dogs)
* Vista and “7″ will not run on most hardware
* Vista and “7″ still welcome malware
* The netbook showed many millions of people GNU/Linux in action
* Snart-thingies showed millions there are other ways of doing things
* Dell and other started selling GNU/Linux to consumers
* A recession put a damper on spending

Vista 7 adoption has not really been good, but Microsoft is fudging numbers to make it look differently. █

Summary: Microsoft talks about Vista 8 [sic] and mobile patents rather than existing products, which simply don’t sell so well

A FEW days ago we showed that Vista 7 adoption was actually quite poor, but Microsoft dishonestly reported false figures. The post “Cost-ineffective “7″ Deployment” helps explain why the operating system just doesn’t make sense for a business, based on economic terms:

That looks like -$1250 and you get nothing for the expenditure… How is that cost-effective? Any possible benefit is just a wash, about the same as the last system that you are chucking while still viable. One could go to Debian GNU/Linux and be free of most of these costs. Really. If you can get all your machines to boot PXE, you can slap GNU/Linux onto hard drives in 20 minutes or so and you are done. One re-boot and the system is working, free of malware and not slowing down until there is a hardware or network failure. If the machines are really old, you will be better off using LTSP, a package in many distros these days, to boot them and users run applications and sessions on a powerful new machine that can please dozens at once.

Microsoft understands that Vista 7 adoption will be slow and businesses see no reason to use it. Some might even move to another operating system. In order to “freeze the market” — as Microsoft's Nathan Myhrvold once put it — they are dropping a name as a form of vapourware. They say that the mythical Vista 8 will have an interface called “Wind” but provide no proof:

As of now, all of these are mere rumors as there is no way to confirm any of them. So take them with a pinch of salt.

According to previous leaks from Microsoft, we are two years away from knowing if any of these are true.

Based on this confidential Microsoft document [PDF], Microsoft uses vapourware (speaking about future versions or products that don’t yet exist) only when the competition is too much to bear. In the mobile arena, for example, Linux/Android beats Windows very easily and “Microsoft Doesn’t Expect Windows Phone 7 Sales To Catch Up To iOS or Android Any Time Soon,” says this one headline. Glyn Moody links to this other article where Microsoft continues to avoid answering the question about number of sales. Microsoft carries on collecting more patents because Vista Phony 7 [sic] seems as though it’s not much better than the “KIN”, just better advertised. Microsoft explained that it would use patents to monetise mobile phones and what it means by patents is racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] (demands without disclosure, backed by threats). In the coming years Microsoft will be more of a leech owing to the broken patent law. It’s already happening. █