Bonum Certa Men Certa

As Yahoo Proxy War Looms, VMWare and Nokia Return to One's Mind

"Number two is move Netscape out of the win32 client area."

--Paul Maritz, Vice President, Microsoft



In a recent analysis, "Did Microsoft Hijack XenSource Like It Tries to Hijack Yahoo?", we explained the role of insiders in subverting a company's direction. Only yesterday, as already mentioned in our digest, news emerged that Yahoo got sued for declining Microsoft's offer. Another by-proxy lawsuit? Your call. Microsoft explicitly said that it was entering "proxy war" mode only days beforehand.

VMWare Gets Insider



Takeovers, takeovers, takeovers.

What's with all the takeovers anyway? Might this be the effect of a recession Soros speaks of nowadays? These are some interesting yet very confusing times that we live in. An acquisition by VMWare has just brought this somewhat alarming news.

Former Softie Maritz to head cloud computing at EMC



Former Microsoft Platforms chief Paul Maritz may be best remembered for his alleged threat to “cut off Netscape’s air supply.” (For the record, Maritz has denied he ever said those exact words.)


Paul Maritz brings many memorable quotes back to mind. Why will he be heading a company that Microsoft intends to attack from multiple directions? That's how they typically begin to affect companies like XenSource and even Google. One of our readers, who is also an active participant in OpenSUSE, called these "Microsoft inside jobs" (or insiders) and he once suggested that Novell might be a victim also.

"The major reason for this is: to combat [Netscape] we have to position the browser as “going away” and do deeper integration on Windows. The stronger way to communicate this is to have a “new release” of Windows and make a big deal out of it. We will thus position Memphis as “Windows 98. IE integration will be the most compelling feature of Memphis.

--Paul Maritz, Vice President, Microsoft



On Nokia, Microsoft and Other Arbitrary Thoughts



With the sudden departure of the long-time chief of Microsoft's Mobile Unit, it hardly seems like Microsoft's future in the cellular area is all that bright. The chief moves on to Vodafone by the way.

The Nokia-Trolltech situation [1, 2, 3, 4] gives not so many reasons to cheer. In fact, rather curious was the recent Nokia-Microsoft flirt. which fortunately ended up with no major announcement being made. But let's look a little closer at possible relationships between those two companies.

After posting this short article, a reader got in touch and below are parts of the conversation which you may or may not find interesting (the first part in particular).




Reader:

Think of adding one main link to a good article on a non-Microsoft tool in each article.

Microsoft would rather have criticism than talk about their competition. Talking about the real tools frustrates that.

BN:

Linking to Nokia, a software patent lobbyist?

Reader:

Yeah it sucks that Nokia bought Trolltech. Nokia does some good things, but their software patent lobbying and their sabotaging of Ogg in HTML5 really compensate. By the way, if you look at the HTML5 fiasco, Stephen Wenger's full resume explains a lot: he worked at Microsoft for several years. It's so much like Scientology, except dressed as a business rather than a Church.

[,,,]

Call me cynical, but when the news first hit Slashdot the first thing I did was see who the company rep was and then search for his homepage and read his CV. Voila. Mystery solved.

The recent Groklaw story goes a little into these methods:      http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071023002351958

but nothing explicit about use of fifth columnists. Microsoft apologists always counter with accusations about "conspiracy theorists"(*) Were it that simple to dismiss. Just because it's harmful does not mean it's a conspiracy.

“Ad hominem is one of their most commonly used and successful counters to just about everything. e.g. Look at Massachusetts.”All that brings me back to the question of what place in tomorrow's society can there be for today's Microsofters? They have jobs but what they do in their jobs doesn't actually benefit their own employer, but instead puts Microsoft interests ahead at the cost of their employer. That's both up front cost and lost productivity. And further it's done over time in spite of many opportunities to take a different path. So the choice to cause harm is made not once but many times. Given that level of breach of trust, where can they fit in?

And that also skips the unpleasant question of their lack of technical skills.

(*) Ad hominem is one of their most commonly used and successful counters to just about everything. e.g. Look at Massachusetts. I notice that Quinn's name has not been cleared despite all the time passed since the accusations and smear campaign.

[...]

Both points (conspiracy + ad hominem) in the first half: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/169233/open-xml-vote-has-turned-into-a-riot.html

Checkout the date-time stamps of the article (UTC) and my message. (UTC +2) :) It's like clockwork or script.

[...]

BN:

Mind you, Microsoft hires abroad, so ex-Softies are independent from total headcount at Microsoft.

Reader:

As are permatemps. It was my hypothesis that this was done so as to be able to downsize without reporting mass layoffs.

I've unfortunately been off Usenet for about 1.5 years. It's of major importance, or at least of major use, with the OLPC project because of the mesh network - async communications. It needs to get relaunched, perhaps with a redesign to deal with spam, in the US, China and Russia to counter facism.

However, Microsoft is growing into a large anti-democracy movement of its own. If enough people sell out / turn quisling, then it can trump the current world powers.




An equally interesting E-mail exchange brought up some interesting observations about staff reduction. This message was receive just a couple of hours ago from a well-regarded veteran whose name won't be mentioned here:




Anonymised, in reference to Microsoft's growing pains:

Interesting. They have a lot of mouths to feed so if they do run into income problems it won't take long to show up. There is a limit to how long accountancy can hide stuff.

BN:

Novell is the same. They admitted it (to Asay, in private).

Anonymised:

I'm not at all surprised about Novell. We used Netware back in the late 80s and I thought it was over-priced then. It was a business model waiting for someone to come in and disrupt it as networking became the norm. What happened with NT was pretty classic Christensen-style disruption. Good enough for the bulk of new users and a lot less expensive than Novell. OOo and Linux are doing the same thing. Since then I'm surprised Novell kept enough customers to stay in business at all. I'm not sure they will stay in business now. Maybe Microsoft will buy them :-) Suse Linux owned by Microsoft. I remember when Acorn was dominating the schools market here and brought out the ARM processor. All the Acorn geeks had stickers on their computers with "Intel Outside" on them. Now Intel license ARM products mainly as a result of buying Digital who produced StrongArm. At some point Microsoft is going to end up selling services around Linux, it's more a matter of when than if. And probably Microsoft Office will at some point get ported to Linux. Microsoft will probably downsize its workforce through some sort of restructuring. Maybe break the company up into several smaller companies and some of those could go out of business without bringing the lot down. Might be next year, might be 5 years off but I think the tipping point has been reached some time ago where the changes are unstoppable. It's just timing now.




Another reader asked us to revisit the role of Corel, which we shall do shortly.

"To combat NSCP we have to have [sic] position the browser as ‘going away’ and do deeper integration on Windows. The stronger way to communicate this is to have a ‘new release’ of Windows and make a big deal out of it. We will thus position Memphis as ‘Windows 98'."

--Paul Maritz, Vice President, Microsoft

Recent Techrights' Posts

Hate Mail From Anonymous Cowards
if this persists, we'll need to escalate
Informal Open Letter to the Lawyer of the Microsofters (on Who's Funding the SLAPPs Against Techrights)
Whenever I ask about the funding they try to change the subject and act all aggressive
Microsoft Lunduke is Just Provoking People for Provocation's Sake
Be forewarned and remember where this guy came from: Microsoft
 
After Shutting Down Studios, Divisions, Applications (e.g. Skype) Microsoft is Also Shutting Down 'Apps'
Cuts all around as layoffs persist this month, Microsoft tries to get many people to resign, and debt skyrockets
Most of Geminispace Can Probably Fit on a CD-ROM or a DVD (the Textual Part)
If one excludes very large capsules and ones that contain non-textual contenty
Eventually UEFI 'Secure Boot' Will be Dropped (Users Will Demand Its Removal and Boycott Its Pushers)
we expect OEMs will just listen to users
The Register MS: We Know Slop is a Bubble and Mindless Hype, But We Get Paid to Participate
Call out the culprits
There Are Probably Over a Million Pages in Geminispace
there are two many limitations which merit a mention when it comes to assessing magnitude
Besieged by Plagiarists Who Play With LLMs and Image Fusions
We really need to exercise or use our collective voice to oppose Serial Sloppers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 08, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 08, 2025
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Water Painting and Political Violence
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LLM Sloppers in Google News, LinuxSecurity, and More
they also perpetuate some falsehoods as the LLMs lack any comprehension
Links 08/08/2025: China King of Plastics and US Dictator Plans to Meet Russian Dictator
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: Cracking a Family Member's Password and Overdose of Slop
Links for the day
Red Hat's Latest Talent Hunt, Day Ahead of Mass Layoffs, is Yet Another Microsoft Executive
Red Hat will apparently commence mass layoffs early this coming Monday
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025