Bonum Certa Men Certa

Why the “New Microsoft” is the “Bully Microsoft”

"We need to slaughter Novell before they get stronger… If you’re going to kill someone, there isn’t much reason to get all worked up about it and angry. You just pull the trigger. Any discussions beforehand are a waste of time. We need to smile at Novell while we pull the trigger."

--Jim Allchin, Platform Group Vice President, Microsoft



Microsoft, much like a wife beater returning from jail or paying bail, wishes us to believe in what it repeatedly calls the "new Microsoft", a reformed company. A combination of factors, however, which include a vicious assault on ISO, make the "new" in this "new Microsoft" gimmick seem like a joke at best. Like a robber baron, the company goes to great lengths in order to hide the reality about its bad behaviour. But very few appear to be buying it, as opposed to those are are paid to pretend. We will discuss that at the end.

Total Loss of Credibility



Microsoft's past crimes were mentioned on a couple of occasions over the weekend, context being the sharp decline of the Microsoft brand. Here is another new touch on that subject.

So while microsoft continues to fight an outmoded fight with outmoded business tactics it will be washed out by the new wave of computing that is fast approaching the consumer shore. I would advise you to get your Linux water wings now and start learning to swim before you suddenly find that either your pool has run dry or you are in deeper water than you think.

[...]

As you can see in 2004 it was ranked 11th. Last year it dropped down to a low of 59th. That is a very big drop over four years and especially significant when other computer related companies have stayed relatively flat. It is also significant that Linux started really making an appearance to the mainstream public as a viable alternative and stable OS around four years ago.


The item above is focused on GNU/Linux, or more broadly on Free software. The following couple of new articles say something about Microsoft's credibility as far as collaborations with Linux and open source software go. Have a quick look:

1. Microsoft Isn't Credible About Open Source

Microsoft's promise of more interoperability is just that, interoperability and a promise, not support for creating or benefiting open source software. And Microsoft's Open Specification Promise doesn't facilitate open source software licensing, just a promise to Microsoft chosen released specs, interfaces and APIs in the clear for others to integrate with.


2. Is Microsoft really any more trustworthy?

I don't buy it. I'm certain there are some engineers at Microsoft who would have no problem working together with open-source developers. But I also believe that, so long as Steve Ballmer heads the company, Microsoft will never be a real partner for open source. Or, for that matter, that Microsoft would prove a trustworthy partner to any company not under its thumb.

Perlow compares Microsoft's relationship to open source with the Soviet Union's Glasnost period when it was opening up to the West for the first time. It's a good analogy, but I don't think it's an accurate one. Come the day when, say, Mark Shuttleworth cribs from Reagan and demands, "Mr. Ballmer, tear down these patent walls" and Microsoft does so, then I'll believe that the Evil Empire has changed its ways. Until then, I'm going to trust Microsoft about as far as I can throw Ballmer.


The Bully Within



Microsoft works with competitors only provided that they accept Microsoft's pre-imposed rules, however discriminatory they may be. It often needs to be asked who speaks for Novell and whose behalf Novell speak on. It is clear, as we have seen before with other companies (e.g. here), that the agenda of one company depends on another and it all boils down to the people who run the company. They too can be affiliated with other companies, or a former/future employer.

Novell marionette
Depiction of Microsoft 'collaborating' with Novell



Over at Microsoft's press, Novell's Miguel de Icaza is again cited to give the impression that Microsoft is all nice and cosy with Linux. It's Novell which is responsible for such deception.

Miguel de Icaza can tell you. The Novell vice president, former Gnu Project founder and lead of both the Mono and Moonlight projects says he has seen an incredibly passionate response to Microsoft's various efforts. De Icaza's association with the Microsoft-Novell pact late last year was an immediate lightning rod.


Thank you, Miguel. We may now 'believe' that Microsoft is an angel, despite remarks like these.

While we're on the subject of Microsoft's attitude towards competitors, check out this post from Dana Blankenhorn.

When Jason Perlow reported on last week’s Microsoft Technology Summit, he sought to compliment the company by giving CEO Steve Ballmer a Gorbachev-like birthmark (right).

But Gorbachev was a Communist. He wasn’t elected. He was the product of a dictatorial society which was rotting from the inside, and his final achievement was to preside over its dissolution.


Microsoft and communism are actually not so different at all. Some opine that they are conjoined twins meeting again just decades after the demise of the Reds. But that's a subject for another day.

Recent Techrights' Posts

New Video Report About Microsoft Cancelling Multi-Billion Dollar Projects
direct link to the video
Microsoft is Already Laying Off Lots of Contractors
cost-cutting at Microsoft takes a new "edge"
Coming Soon: Microsoft Fake Results, Mass Layoffs, and Silence About All the People Microsoft Pressured to "Quit" (So That They Don't Get Counted as Layoffs)
there will be more mass layoffs
Speed of GNU/Linux
The media seldom speaks of the dangers of "proprietary software"
 
Google Spreading Misinformation and Lies
Google is in the propaganda business
statCounter: GNU/Linux Adoption Surging in Switzerland, Windows at All-time Low
What happened?
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: Free Speech and Perfectionism in Design
Links for the day
What Fake News Looks Like (IBM)
IBM told a lie. The media then just blindly repeated this lie.
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 28, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, April 28, 2025
China is Already Culling GAFAM (Not Just Microsoft Windows)
OS monoculture or "OS hegemony" may be coming to an end
The "Telephone Operating System in the Vatican" is 95 Years Old, Vatican Moved to GNU/Linux
Maybe Microsoft is down to zero already
If Tesla Shares (and Alleged Value) Fell 55% (From $489 to $222) in a Few Months Maybe It's Not Worth Anything At All (It's Just Gambling)
Tesla swasticars have turned from a "status symbol" into a "public embarrassment" and cause for casual humiliation
Chromebooks' Adoption in Sweden No Longer Depends on Schools
School breaks are when classrooms are shut
No, IBM is Not Investing $150 Billion in the US and It Doesn't Even Have That Kind of Money
Here we go again... media as a vehicle of lobbying and misinformation
Leak: The EPO's General Consultative Committee (GCC) Does Not Consult Staff on Crucial Matters and Bypasses the Administrative Council (AC) to Do Illegal Things
violations against the EPO's very staff
New Leaks Coming Soon, We Maintain 100% Record of Successful Resistance to Censorship
We won't be told what we can and cannot say (especially when it's true)
Central African Republic (CAR): Vista 11 is Only ~0.2% Market Share
99.8% to go!
BSD and GNU/Linux Replaced Microsoft in Secure Servers, All Microsoft Has Left is LLM Slop for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)
the FUD machine never rests
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: A Simple Task Tracking and Auto-Prioritization Tool and Other Programs
Links for the day
Links 28/04/2025: Canada's Election, Pakistan-India Conflict
Links for the day
Glue Inside Your Pizza (or Why People Will Get Fed Up With Slop)
People are given "answers" from non-intelligence word dumpsters
Proprietary Windows Versus "Linux" News (Trying to Keep People on Windows, Never Exploring GNU/Linux)
Good editors know better how to recognise threats and not give them lip service
Ensuring That Every Computer User Anywhere in the World Can Take Control of All His or Her Computers
We must fight the people who attack general-purpose computing, in particular those who push this agenda very aggressively inside Linux
Links 28/04/2025: Cyberattacks Happening, Chatbots Disappointing, and "Free Speech Under Fire"
Links for the day
Phone Adoption Very Low in Vatican, Windows Usage Fell Nonetheless
Even in places where people still use desktops/laptops most of the time (and have access to these) Windows is gradually losing ground
GNU/Linux 9% in Cuba, Vista 11 Waning, Android Dominant
Microsoft has pretty much lost Cuba
Gemini Links 28/04/2025: Autism and Structural Navigation
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 27, 2025
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: The Purge, the Cover-up, and the Witch-hunts
OSI has gone "full Microsoft"
In 24 Countries Observed by statCounter Vista 11 is Still Less Than a Quarter of Windows Users Despite All Other Versions Being 'Expired'
They ought to move to GNU/Linux
Links 27/04/2025: Pope Goodbyes, "Politics of Fear", Slop Redux and More Google Shutdowns (Google Debt Had Grown This Year)
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Serenity Dialectics, Hockey Jersey Ethics, and More
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Death of Nest Thermostats, Death of Metaverse
Links for the day
Links 27/04/2025: Projects Workflow and Discovering Technology
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 26, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 26, 2025