YESTERDAY we mentioned de Icaza's latest boosting of Microsoft. He helps Microsoft promote OData. Here is what The Source has to say.
Mr. de Icaza continues to fawn over / promote Microsoft technologies. I find it amusing and revealing at the same time that his infatuation isn’t simply with COM or C# or .NET or Silverlight, but has over time come to be more and more fanboy-like.
I don’t recall any big blogs or tweets from Mr. de Icaza about gData – but I’m sure I just missed them. But when it comes to Microsoft’s .NET-based knock-off, well then boy howdy that’s an exciting topic for Team Mono!
“Canonical hires people from Microsoft and Novell, thus making the most fundamental human resource mistake and not surprisingly the company is suddenly willing to put Microsoft behind its back.”Pointing to this ACT/Microsoft lobbying event (see the original page at EuropeanVoice.com), one reader tells us that Microsoft is faking "open source" again, even when it comes to Silver Lie. "Open Source on top of Silverlight and other MS technologies" is what our reader calls it. He also shows that Microsoft promotes these lies, whereby bogus claims of "open source" neglect to mention prerequisites. See the Twitter page where Microsoft lists some familiar crooks from the OOXML fiasco in the side picture.
We are genuinely concerned about what Microsoft is doing to "open source" because it's no accident that Microsoft causes harm to it. First of all, Microsoft is controlling the debate with former Microsoft employees like Mr. Walli, who still try to tell open source people how to do business.
Then, there's more nonsense from former pseudo-journalists who spin Microsoft's work as "communicators" on the company's payroll [1, 2]. They won't admit that it's about harming Free software (GPL) and GNU/Linux, undermining the foundations that "Open Source" initially relied upon. It's as though Microsoft wants to change its opposition party from the inside, essentially taking control of it or changing its nature so as to weaken and assimilate it.
Watch another former Microsoft employee (who occasionally promotes Mono) pushing into Linux news sites his story which is titled "Should Ubuntu Have Been Created?"
Microsoft knows damn well that you need to get behind someone... before you stab that someone in the back. Canonical hires people from Microsoft and Novell, thus making the most fundamental human resource mistake and not surprisingly the company is suddenly willing to put Microsoft behind its back.
What will Canonical's COO Matt Asay say about those remarks from former Microsoft employees? Well, based on this new post, he is willing to reconcile with Microsoft, maybe conditionally (well, if only Microsoft stopped attacking with software patents, lawsuits by proxy, smears, et cetera). The sad thing is that Asay daemonises Microsoft skeptics who merely interpret the company's present actions, not just its history of endless abuse. The Source responds to this post from Asay by saying:
People that do want want Microsoft baked into every level of their Linux experience are not “spewing invectives”: Perhaps they see no need to rely on a court-convicted abusive monopolist. Perhaps, having finally broke free of Microsoft lock-in, they hesitate to expose themselves again. Perhaps they see how far Linux has come despite Microsoft’s best efforts, and see no margin in changing.
People that have moral, ethical and philosophical objections to the restriction of user freedoms are not “spewing invectives” – they are simply attempting to live a life in harmony with their beliefs.
Stop trying to paint all criticism as “invectives” or “zealotry” or whatever derogatory and dismissive label you would rather apply than actually deal with the substance of the criticism.
[...]
I do agree with Mr. Asay that “it gets old”. Which is why I honestly don’t understand those who intentionally fire things up by promoting Microsoft technology. You know it will be controversial. You know it will cause problems. That is obvious, inarguable and proven time and time again.
So, why do it? And, then having done this thing you knew would be divisive, pretend to be suprised and against divisiveness?
That’s what gets old to me.
--Jim Allchin, Microsoft's Platform Group Vice President
Comments
Gizmo
2010-03-24 23:17:36
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-03-24 23:26:49
Bear in mind that Microsoft already can pull the rug from beneath Canonical's feet. Ubuntu knowingly stands on Microsoft's carpet and Groklaw cannot excuse them for it.
Yuhong Bao
2010-03-27 00:46:24
Gizmo
2010-03-24 22:59:52
The other option, quite unlikely according to the world we live in, is that the is on a Microsoft assassination program. He is playing friend with M$ (or playing with fire if you like) to get some slack. He is taking money from them so that they like trust him as any other sold out. Microsoft is already in the technological spiral of death. He could be waiting for his hour to give them a taste of their own tricks. That would make him a clever strategist... knowing fully that he is allowed to fail. Ubuntu is only a distro. Microsoft on the other END is not allowed failure. Is he in for the battle of the money?
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-03-24 23:07:38
I worry not for GNU/Linux; I worry about Ubuntu. I've used it since the first version and now it's in the hands of people whom I don't trust.
Gizmo
2010-03-24 22:32:58
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-03-24 22:49:23
I agree that SuSE was the best distro at the time (I was biased though, I also used Ubuntu 4.10 alongside SuSE 8.1).
Gizmo
2010-03-24 20:54:18
I kindly disagree with you. I have read almost every post from Icaza since 2000 and I think he is clever. He also used to advocate GPL. I think that somewhere along the way those many meals he has had with particular people have changed his mind (he did change his mind). It’s akin to lobbying.
Let’s be clear here; like many managers, Icaza is working for Icaza. We need leaders who are truly advocates of Free software, not worshippers of Apple.
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-03-24 21:46:06
Charles Oliver
2010-03-24 11:59:28
Personally I think Microsoft should be trusted with a ten foot pole and a bio-hazard suit but I doubt I'd say that if I were in his position.
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-03-24 12:40:09
Needs Sunlight
2010-03-24 18:55:30
Needs Sunlight
2010-03-24 12:52:56
He sure has the Microsoft Talking Points (tm) down. What's the threshold of following and promoting the One Microsoft Way party line to class him as official?
Dr. Roy Schestowitz
2010-03-24 14:28:53
I kindly disagree with you. I have read almost every post from Asay since 2006 and I think he is clever. He also used to advocate GPL. I think that somewhere along the way those many meals he has had with particular people have changed his mind (he did change his mind). It's akin to lobbying.
Let's be clear here; like many managers, Asay is working for Asay. We need leaders who are truly advocates of Free software, not worshippers of Apple.