Bonum Certa Men Certa

Whatever Microsoft Touches, Microsoft Ruins

Assimilation strategy revisited

Sheep
Ms-PL and G-PL -- which is the black sheep?



INTERNAL PRESENTATIONS which are delivered at Microsoft clearly suggest that the company not only understands that attending competitors' events/committees upsets the audience; Microsoft actively encourages its employee to exploit this and to 'crash' events by merely turning attention to itself and changing the agenda to include more of Microsoft. Recent examples include VMWare, but it's a complicated one. Better examples include the crashing of PlayStation3 launch parties and Microsoft's flirt with the OSI. This was deliberate and it was nothing to be fond of [1, 2, 3].

Over at LinuxToday, GreyGeek composed a good new post which goes under the headline "The OSI was hijacked." To highlight a couple of portions:

Linux is where it is today, despite the constant attacks from Microsoft and its sycophants, and other proprietary businesses, entirely because it is impossible for them to hijack GPL code.

So, if they can't hijack the GPL they tried the next best thing: surround the GPL with licenses which CLAIM to be similar to the GPL but were not. The uninformed, walking into the forest of OSI "approved" licenses, stands a strong chance of being deceived into believing that a license they might choose is "identical" because they heard that the GPL is Open Source and the OSI is the "Open Source" Initiative. What their guides through the forest lead them away from is the TRUE open source license, the GPL.

When you acquire an application that is GPL you are guaranteed that: 1) You have the same rights over that application as the person or company from which you got the application. 2) You have the right to obtain the source code of the binary of that application which, when compiled, produces an EXACT copy of the binary of the application you were given. 3) You can modify the source code any way you wish and 3a) If you don't share your modified application then you don't have to share your changes, 3b) If you do share your modified application you MUST give the people receiving it the same rights you were given, which includes access to the original source and the source code you added. 4) If they violate the GPL then they lose ALL rights to distribute the GPL portion of the code, but you do not. 5) You cannot sign away your GPL rights as part of an agreement to recive a GPL application. See #4.

Why do these PHONY FOSS companies want to lure you away from the GPL with PHONY FOSS LICENSES? Simple. If it is not "Bait and Switch" then it's called LOCK-IN.

[...]

SUMMARY: There is only ONE TRUE FOSS License, the GPL. Any other license gives the user less freedom and/or less security in knowing that the code can't be hijacked they way Microsoft and Apple HIJACKED the BSD and the FreeBSD.


Jose X argues that "GreyGeek's reply is missing something. I don't disagree, but besides the license, it's the licensor as well as the group that owns the copyrights to the license, e.g. an Ms-* license like the GPL will be interpreted differently by Microsoft and they would likely try to play the version x or higher trick so that later versions of the license are different in spirit, i.e. bait and switch."

“The OSI may not be the only entity to have been 'hijacked'.”"Bruce Perens couldn't get elected," writes Balzac. "He was the most reasonable guy involved, and the most visionary. The OSI is irrelevant to those whose concern is computer users' freedom."

Balzac also writes that Bruce Perens was tossed for saying [paraphrasing] "It's time to start saying free software again. Notice I didn't say open source."

The OSI may not be the only entity to have been 'hijacked'. Some months ago we mentioned Redmonk because they have Microsoft's money on their table, too. To their credit, they at least admit this upfront, as pointed out in this new post.

Their clients are posted clearly on their site. Every time they mention a client (in a blog or otherwise) they include the disclaimer. I see them as being more of a pulse on what's going on than a mouthpiece for clients (e.g. Gartner). I never feel like I have to look at their research with a microscope and wonder if any string manipulation is going on. I know that many are curious how many companies have ever been in the Gartner Magic Quadrant without paying fees but if Redmonk had their own, this too would be transparent.


An opposite example used in this case is the Gartner Group, which we already have substantial proof to show as "corrupted by Microsoft." For details:



Whether output from Gartner should be embargoed or not, well... that's just left for others to decide.

Counting money

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
 
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025