Bonum Certa Men Certa

Groklaw Suspects Microsoft May be Behind Neon's Attack on GNU/Linux in Mainframes

NEON vs IBM



Summary: The everlasting pattern of legal attacks almost convinces Groklaw that Microsoft is driving more lawsuits against GNU/Linux

FOR THOSE who do not know yet, T3 is partly owned by Microsoft after it attacked GNU/Linux-powered mainframes. We covered this case in:



Last week we wrote about Neon suing in a similar fashion. At the time it happened, Groklaw made no speculation and its opinion on this subject matters because Groklaw had spent over 5 years looking at an anti-IBM and anti-Linux lawsuit which was funded by Microsoft but came from SCO.

“...Groklaw had spent over 5 years looking at an anti-IBM and anti-Linux lawsuit which was funded by Microsoft but came from SCO.”Pamela Jones has had more time to assess the latest case and in reference to this recent summit, she wrote: "I've been listening to the keynotes from Red Hat's Summit 2009, and IBM's [Robert] Sutor gives a talk on Linux being in use everywhere, and he was pointing out that if you are talking about mainframes, you are talking about Linux. So, I said to myself, is *that* why there is another antitrust allegation against IBM in the mainframe space even after the court just ruled against T3's similar allegations -- is this another attack on Linux using the judicial/regulatory system? That would explain the Microsoft shadow in the picture, would it not?"

Here at Boycott Novell we choose not to speculate about this but rather to present other people's speculations. It only makes sense to do this, in case we discover something new in the future. Let's look at the verified facts. Larry Goldfarb (BayStar), a key investor in SCO, said that Microsoft's "Mr. Emerson and [him] discussed a variety of investment structures wherein Microsoft would 'backstop,' or guarantee in some way, BayStar's investment.... Microsoft assured [his] that it would in some way guarantee BayStar's investment in SCO."

Considering the way Microsoft stepped behind T3 right after it had sued IBM, one cannot help wondering if there were similar arrangements surrounding the latest case.

Since we've mentioned Red Hat's Summit, worth recalling is the legal case against Microsoft's alleged corruption with the government of Switzerland. It's appearing again in this week's news, under the headline "Microsoft rebels":

When monopoly meets budget crunch

Over the past couple of years, Microsoft shops have been increasingly wooed by vendors offering alternatives to Windows, Exchange, Microsoft Office and other Microsoft wares. The competition has grown so fierce that in May, Red Hat went so far as to sue Switzerland (and win), saying that it could not grant Microsoft a no-bid contract for Office when so many other options exist.


It's not Red Hat actually, it's many companies. We highlighted this pattern of disinformation before:

  1. Microsoft Sued Over Its Corruption in Switzerland, Microsoft Debt Revisited
  2. Can the United Kingdom and Hungary Still be Sued for Excluding Free Software?
  3. 3 New Counts of Antitrust Violation by Microsoft?
  4. Is Microsoft Breaking the Law in Switzerland Too?
  5. Microsoft Uses Lobbyists to Attack Holland's Migration to Free Software and Sort of Bribes South African Teachers Who Use Windows
  6. ZDNet/eWeek Ruins Peter Judge's Good Article by Attacking Red Hat When Microsoft Does the Crime
  7. Week of Microsoft Government Affairs: a Look Back, a Look Ahead
  8. Lawsuit Against Microsoft/Switzerland Succeeds So Far, More Countries/Companies Should Follow Suit
  9. Latest Reports on Microsoft Bulk Deals Being Blocked in Switzerland, New Zealand
  10. Swiss Government and Federal Computer Weekly: Why the Hostility Towards Free Software?
  11. Switzerland and the UK Under Fire for Perpetual Microsoft Engagements
  12. Lawsuit Over Alleged Microsoft Corruption in Switzerland Escalates to Federal Court


In conclusion, Microsoft still seems to be investing in spurious lawsuits against GNU/Linux, whereas its own corrupt behaviour in government (contracting) is having it sued by dozens of companies. One might suggest that Microsoft is trying to distract people away from its own crimes by accusing others (notably IBM) of crime. But Microsoft, the company which brought "Jihad" to computing, does not make these accusations directly; it pays other companies to do the dirty work, just as it had Murdoch badmouth Google for weeks [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. Remember those anti-Linux software patents it marketed to patent trolls just a few months ago [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]?

"...Microsoft wished to promote SCO and its pending lawsuit against IBM and the Linux operating system. But Microsoft did not want to be seen as attacking IBM or Linux."

--Larry Goldfarb, Baystar, key investor in SCO



Recent Techrights' Posts

Weaponisation of For-Profit Dockets - Part I: Hiding Behind Lawyers (or Guns for Hire) After Abusing Many People and Even Strangling Women While Microsoft Paid Salaries
This whole thing is very typical of the Microsoft and Bill Gates mindset
From EPO to "MAGA Regime": A Shift Away From Reality to Fake News and False Metrics
Disbelief in itself isn't a bad thing; but the problem is that people are taught to believe rich people in suits more than they believe others
Skype is Officially Dead Today and This is Why People Should Use Free Software Instead (Goodbye, Microsoft)
It's also a good reminder of why people should move to GNU/Linux
'Simple Articles' in MyGemini Just One of Many New 'Sites' in Geminispace
Geminispace has grown fast lately; it's turning 6 next month
 
Weaponisation of For-Profit Dockets - Part II: Hiding Behind Lawyers and Barristers Who Lack Standards so as to Engage in Classic Corporate Extortion
They're trying to scare people and they misuse their licence to operate
Links 06/05/2025: LLMs/Chatbots Attract More Scrutiny (Getting Worse Over Time), PwC Has Many Layoffs
Links for the day
Thanks for listening. How can this Morse feed be further improved?
Right now any and all feedback on the audio would be helpful
statCounter: Bing's Market Share Lower Right Now Than It Was When LLM Hype Began (With "Bing Chat")
If anybody gains at Google's expense in search, it is BRICS' alternatives such as Yandex
Gemini Links 06/05/2025: Failure and Proxmox Cluster
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, May 05, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, May 05, 2025
Links 05/05/2025: TikTok Still a Romanian Woe/Foe, Signal Perils Showing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/05/2025: Debian and GNOME and a "Welcome to Simple Articles"
Links for the day
Links 05/05/2025: US Economy Shrinks, US Presidency Spreading Deepfakes
Links for the day
Links 05/05/2025: Breaches, Environment, and Conflicts
Links for the day
SUSE the Company Now Uses LLM Slop to 'Write' Its Blog, What Does That Tell Us About SUSE?
There are many giveaways
Richard Stallman is in Alicante Today to Give a Talk, Czech Republic in Two Days (Wednesday)
Of course he can deliver the talk in Spanish
Gemini Links 05/05/2025: XL Bullies and Luddites
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 04, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, May 04, 2025
Links 04/05/2025: Science, Conflicts, and Monopolies
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Above 7% in Bulgaria, Rising Just Like in Most of Europe
Up to 7%, not counting Chromebooks
Data Shows Largest EU Economies Shifting to GNU/Linux
all-time highs
statCounter Says Only One in 6 Web-Connected Clients in Hungary Are Using Windows, iOS Almost Bigger Than Windows Now
Hungary is a cautionary tale in the world of European (or Russian) politics
Many Reports About Microsoft's Financial Report/Performance Are False, Fake News, Churnalism/Parroting, and LLM Slop (Machine-Generated Lies)
Even if you see a thousand sites saying that Microsoft is performing well ask yourself why the company is rushing to fire tens of thousands of workers and cancelling datacentres
Links 04/05/2025: FCC Turning Into MAGA’s Censoring Machine, SEC Pressured to Delist Chinese Companies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/05/2025: Historical Artifacts and Date Calculations in POSIX Shell
Links for the day
In the First 3 Months of 2025 GAFAM Debt Rose by More Than $14.4 Billion
That's based on their official statements
10-Step Strategy to Get BRETT WILSON LLP ("Gun for Hire"), Microsoft's Serial Strangler, and the Serial Defamer to Compensate Techrights and Tux Machines for Years of SLAPPs and Abusive Litigation
There's no room or capacity for forgiveness here; enablers and protectors of crime need to be scuttled and pay up in full
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 03, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 03, 2025