“As expected, the Microsoft crowd went on to bashing the FSF in retaliation.”The FSF's key points about Vista 7 look very effective and successful so far. The points are being parroted in the press, which was exactly the goal of this awareness campaign. There is actually a lot to be criticised in Vista 7, but the FSF was broader and more general than that, escaping the confinement of this one product.
Here is some coverage we found to be informative:
i. Free Software Foundation trashes Windows 7
Matt Lee, manager of the new FSF campaign, hopes to make businesses and computer users more aware of what he perceives as the growing dangers of proprietary software from Microsoft and companies such as Apple and Adobe.
"With the release of Microsoft's updated operating system, business leaders have the opportunity to escape to freedom and join a growing list of leaders who understand that sinking money and time into proprietary software is a dead-end inconsistent with their best interests," he said.
They include: Poisoning education, locking in users, abusing standards such as OpenDocument Format (ODF), leveraging monopolistic behavior, threatening user security, enforcing Digital Rights Management (DRM) at the request of entertainment companies concerned about movie and music piracy, and invading your privacy.
The site lists seven sins, saying that Microsoft is "poisoning education" by investing money on lobbying educational departments, "invading privacy", behaving as a monopoly, forcing updates on users to lock them in, abusing standards, enforcing Digital Rights Management (DRM, or as the FSF calls it Digital Restriction Management) and threatening user security by distributing vulnerable software.
Despite Microsoft going for the Windows 7 moniker as the official brand for its latest Windows client release, the actual version of the operating system is 6.1, while Windows Vista, the previous version of the platform, was 6.0. The build string of Windows 7 RTM is in fact 6.1.7600.16385. But it is not only Microsoft that’s insisting on the intimate connection between Windows 7 and Vista. The Free Software Foundation is also introducing its latest anti-Windows push, dubbed Windows 7 Sins, nothing more than a Bad Vista version 6.1. It was the FSF that launched the Bad Vista website in 2006, efforts that have evolved into the Windows7Sins.org.
OPEN SOURCERERS at the Free Software Foundation are staging a demo in Boston in a bid to encourage businesses to throw away Microsoft Windows in favour of free alternatives.
Comments
Jose_X
2009-08-27 21:56:56
I agree with the points presented. I wonder when Microsoft will reply and how. I hope they realize their response will be highly scrutinized. Their failure to go public (or a significant delay) will hurt their case as we grow the volume of the public conversation.
twitter
2009-08-28 01:19:10
Publishers must feel the insulted twice. The FSF is pointing out flaws in both M$ and their own business models. M$ is one of their main advertisers. Worse than that loss is that the FSF did not do as Mozilla and other software houses have. Instead of paying Business Week for a few emotional images or product placement within their hostile and mostly vapid pages, the FSF is sending well reasoned letters directly to decision makers. M$ is a kind of publisher themselves and they know how effective direct contact is. They must be irked that the FSF is able to leapfrog their perception management and "comp hot" efforts so cheaply.