Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Analysts Mock Free Software and Praise Vista 7

Summary: New FUD from Gartner and Laura DiDio; the points are explained and addressed in turn

WHEN the Gartner Group does not praise Windows as we showed a couple of days ago, the firm is typically saying negative things about its clients' competition. Bill Gates is one of Gartner's big investors and Microsoft a major client, so F/OSS bashing from Gartner is a routine thing. A lot of the time they try to change the identity and definition of F/OSS, espcially taking the "F" out of F/OSS. It ensures their money (wages) carry on coming. As a reminder of Gartner's disdain for Free software and love of Microsoft contracts (as antitrust exhibits), see [1, 2, 3, 4].



Here is one of Gartner's software patents lobbyists (Brian Prentice) who threw mud at ODF using shameless FUD (which turned out to be utterly incorrect). He now throws mud at FOSS, having raved about software patents for a while [1, 2, 3, 4]. InfoWorld (IDG) has more to say about it.

Brian Prentice over at Gartner has posted an interesting blog article called "Open Source's Dying Narrative."


Sam Dean too has responded, but not a single word was said about the vested interests of the source. And yes, it does matter. It was only about a month ago that Gartner also used "cloud" to throw mud at F/OSS (more here), only to be told off repeatedly by people who could easily see through the FUD and rebut with logical arguments, even evidence. Integrity of analysts is generally an issue. They usually don't have credibility, they have clients. To forget this is to leave oneself vulnerable.

Another new example regards Vista 7 as a success before it's even released. Guess who's behind the claims? Laura DiDio. That's right! Those who have watched the SCO saga and the GNU/Linux world for the past half a decade will surely be familiar with her repertoire.

She is contradicting many previous surveys that show Vista 7 adoption will be very poor and the Microsoft-sponsored blog enthusiastically cites her as follows:

The report from Laura DiDio's Boston-based Information Technology Intelligence Corp., in partnership with Sunbelt Software, is the latest piece of encouraging news for Microsoft in advance of Windows 7's release next week. DiDio said this afternoon that the independent survey was conducted without any influence or funding from Microsoft, and she hasn't yet informed the company of the results.


“There is a lot of Vista 7 boosting at the moment and it is not a coincidence; it's a matter of timing.”That's an amusing thing to say. Microsoft paid her in advance -- so to speak -- for many years, so this is a lie and pure comedy. The FTC's new requirements probably encounter an unfortunate loophole here. DiDio happens to come from the Yankee Group, which is a longtime friend of Microsoft [1, 2] (and foe of GNU/Linux, obviously). The above seems like another very familiar loophole that we wrote about (with examples) before. Often we find cases where an analyst that serves Microsoft is later (or beforehand) given a contract, sometimes a whole job. So the payments are made indirect. As for the actual claims, we all know that statistics are easy to manipulate based on desire.

As another last example of what we consider to be deceptive, Microsoft Nick comes up with vapourware by mentioning Vista 8 just days before Vista 7 is released. There is a lot of Vista 7 boosting at the moment and it is not a coincidence; it's a matter of timing.

Here at Boycott Novell we prefer speaking about (and addressing) the 'Big Lies' which are most commonly spread. We consider how they should be countered, as the same issues are frequently raised in GNU/Linux advocacy groups. Issues like the market share of GNU/Linux, for example, are some of the points Boycott Novell addresses a lot. Some of the firms above occasionally help lie about it, although just over a year ago Gartner publicly said that GNU/Linux has a 4% market share on the desktop (and growing). One just needs to account for places like South America, which Microsoft-funded meters very rarely do.

Ballmer's slide on Macs and GNU/Linux
Steve Ballmer's presentation slide
from 2009 shows GNU/Linux as bigger than Apple on the desktop



Recent Techrights' Posts

Sounds Like IBM is Preparing for Mass Layoffs/Redundancies in Red Hat, Albeit in "PIP" (Performance Improvement Plan) or "Relocation" Clothing
This isn't the "old" IBM; they're applying pressure by confusion and humiliation
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Role of Language and Back to Mutt for E-mail
Links for the day
Microsoft's Attack Dogs Have Failed. Now What?
It would be utterly foolish to assume that Microsoft has any intention of changing
 
Free Software and Standards - Not Marketing Blitz - Needed Amid Growing Severity of Dependency on Hostile Suppliers (or Another Country's Sovereignty)
ZenDiS can be described as the "Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration"
When It Comes to the Web, Google is Evil and It Destroys the Web's Integrity With LLM Slop
Even academia, which is meant to keep standards high, is being lured into LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 18, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 18, 2025
Links 18/04/2025: "Fentanylware (TikTok) Exodus Continues", Chinese Weapons Allegedly in Russia Already
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Price of Games and State of Tinylog
Links for the day
"Sayonara" (さよなら), Microsoft
Windows had fallen below iOS in some countries
Links 18/04/2025: Layoffs at Microsoft Infosys and Qt Becoming Increasingly Proprietary (Plus Slop)
Links for the day
Google News is Dying
treating MElon's algorithmic/biased site as a source of verified news
All Your "Github Projects" Will be Gone One Day (Just Like Skype)
If you have code you wish to share and keep, then start learning how to do so on your own
To Understand Who's Truly Controlling You Follow the Trail of Censorship (or Self-Censorship)
Do not let media steal and steer the narrative; CoCs are not about "social justice", they're about corporate domination
Fedora Already Lost Its Soul Under IBM
Fedora used to be very strict compared to many other distros and it had attracted very bright volunteers
Microsoft is Still Attacking GNU/Linux and the Net
Microsoft bribed the government using money that did not even exist
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 17, 2025
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Pinephone Pro and Linux is too Easy
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2025: Calling Whistleblowers at Microsoft, Slop Doing More Harm Everywhere
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2025: Russian Bot Farms Infect TikTok (Which US Government and SCOTUS Decided to Block January 19), US Hardware Stocks Crash Due to Tariffs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Sticking to Free Software, Smolnet, and Counting the Reals
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: In Conclusion and Enforcement Action Proceeds Against OSI at the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
There's too much to cover in one single part
When You Fail to Filter Your Clients You End Up SLAPPing Reporters on Behalf of Bad People From Microsoft in Another Continent
“American Psycho”
Links 17/04/2025: LayoffBot and Tesla Cheats Buyers
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 16, 2025