Bonum Certa Men Certa

Stephen Walli is Back at Software Patents Aggressor Microsoft After Causing Damage to Software Freedom

Close-up of a mole



Summary: Microsoft's "Open Source" mole is going back to Microsoft to become the CTO of CodePlex; Microsoft MVP Jason Hiner carries on with Microsoft boosting (without disclosure)

MICROSOFT employees rarely change their spots and they are not born this way, either. It's a choice, it's a neglect or rejection of ethics. Under the assumption that "making money" is "doing good", that might as well be possible for these subjects to believe in what they do. A lot of ruthless people make money from other people's misery/subjugation/ignorance and the profit does not make that acceptable.



In the previous post we gave the MindTouch CEO as an example supporting the contention that people who leave Microsoft are still serving Microsoft in one way or another. Their old friends and colleagues are still at Microsoft after all. Their history is full of it.

“At least one of our readers told us that he still worked for Microsoft just without the badge or the monthly pay check.”A few years ago we wrote about what Stephen Walli was doing after he had left Microsoft. It seemed like he was "schmoozing" [1, 2] the "Open Source" community (obviously he would not view it that way) and telling companies to avoid software freedom and instead gravitate towards "Open Source", all while denying allegations that he was still tied to Microsoft's interests.

At least one of our readers told us that he still worked for Microsoft just without the badge or the monthly pay check. Well, now we know.

Stephen Walli becomes Codeplex Foundation Technical Director



The Microsoft founded Codeplex Foundation, which describes its mission as "enabling the exchange of code and understanding among software companies and open source communities", has appointed Stephen Walli as its Technical Director. He reports to executive director, Paula Hunter at the Foundation which appointed its board in March.


How long will Microsoft be unleashing its insidious 'insiders' onto "Open Source" to promote Microsoft, Mono, and other contaminations that bring the biggest enemy of "Open Source" (with massive PR effort to deny that it's an enemy) right into the heart of its #1 competitor? "Microsoft's faux FOSS foundation CodePlex has gained a new technical director," writes our reader Satipera. Apparently he does know much about Walli and a lot of people will miss the context of this story.

Satipera has just identified Microsoft MVP Jason Hiner [1, 2] using the "green" PR tactics (greenwashing) to promote Microsoft in high-performance computing (where GNU/Linux is by far most dominant [1, 2]). Hiner published this in TechRepublic (as usual, without any disclosure) and "TechRepublic greenwashes Microsoft's failed high end computing" is how Satipera summarised his article. Watch how he glorifies his beloved Microsoft:

I tip my hat to Microsoft for using its powers for good. The stuff that they are talking about with TCT involves changing high-end computing to make it simpler for scientists and engineers to access computing power and apps they need in a much faster, more powerful way in order to solve big problems.


Interestingly, it was only yesterday that we mentioned TechRepublic for its Novell/Microsoft promotion and presence of Microsoft boosters like Hiner.

What are people like Walli and Hiner promoting anyway? It's a company that represents bullying and corruption in many people's minds. Earlier today we wrote about the lawsuit against Salesforce and now we find some more coverage such as this:

Bogus is one way to describe Microsoft's patent claims against Salesforce.com



[...]

I purposely did not read Microsoft's description of the patents and Salesforce.com's alleged violations from the 9-page patent infringement lawsuit. Instead, I looked over the actual patents, reading them as they are and looking at them in context of Salesforce.com's business, as I understand it. I see huge PR value for Microsoft in filing this lawsuit, possibly inflicting damage against a successful competitor. The patent violations are sure to create FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) about Salesforce.com's future business and may even cause some customers to look elsewhere -- ah, like Microsoft. However, I see nothing among the nine patents, based on a careful non-lawyerly review, that remotely suggests Salesforce.com has grossly violated Microsoft intellectual property rights.


A lot of Microsoft's patent claims are "bogus" and patent numbers are rarely brought up at all. It's racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7], that's what it is.

According to this recent article from LWN, "Steve Mutkoski of Microsoft [...] asserted that patented standards are entirely compatible with most open source licenses" (what a bunch of liars, whose party line CodePlex et al. are pushing).

What Microsoft means by "open source" is not the same as what others mean by it. Microsoft is trying to tame/change "Open Source".

Here is what the 'gentle' Microsoft bully Ina Fried has to say (sent to us by a reader just moments ago): "The patents cover a variety of back-end and user interface features, ranging from one covering a "system and method for providing and displaying a Web page having an embedded menu" to another that covers a "method and system for stacking toolbars in a computer display."

These are not innovations. That's garbage and it applies to software.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Case is a Very Easy Win, the SLAPPs From Microsofters Were a Grave Error, and Censoring Information Won't Work (It'll Only Ever Backfire)
Censoring is what people do when they lose the argument
 
Slopwatch: Mindless Slop Pieces, Fake Images and Text, Linux FUD on the Cheap
spewed out by Microsoft-controlled LLMs
Links 04/06/2025: Workers' Strikes, Sudan Exodus
Links for the day
Links 04/06/2025: Linux Foundation PR Spam and Lee Jae-myung Wins Election
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/06/2025: Future Leaders of the World and Platforming Jordan Peterson
Links for the day
Links 04/06/2025: WSL Backfiring on Microsoft and "Disney, Microsoft Announce Massive Layoffs"
Links for the day
Say the Truth, the Rest Will Follow
There's no guarantee that writing the truth will result in an audience (or readership), but over time - in the long run - people generally gravitate towards what they know or feel to be crude truth, not just what's comforting (albeit false or self-deluding, usually groupthink dictated from above)
How to Expose High-Level Corruption Without Getting in (Too Much) Trouble
Democracy depends on free press and freedom of the press depends on being able to safely publish (and keep available) material that bad people don't want to be known to anybody
In-Depth EPO Coverage at Techrights Turns Eleven
11 years is a very long time
Windows Measured Below 10% in Afghanistan, GNU/Linux Gaining a Lot
about 80% are Android (Linux) users, compared to only about 10% for Windows
Poland's Political Predicament and Social Control Media
Democracy and fake "tech" don't mix well; the latter tends to interfere with the former and that's why we get more "Putins" out there
EPO: Taking Away From the Staff to Give More to the Rich
The Central Staff Committee (CSC) wrote to EPO staff earlier this week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 03, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 03, 2025
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part I: It's a Lot Like the EPO
we can commence a series soon
Gemini Links 04/06/2025: Inescapable Questions and Quitting All "Oligarch Tech"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux FUD From Slopfarms, Blaming Linux for Microsoft Issues; Even WebProNews Has Become a Slopfarm (Googlebombing "Linux" With Slop Images and Fake/Plagiarised Text)
The Web is really getting bad; it's also overwhelmed by fake material or plagiarised material, wherein the plagiarism gets disguised/hidden by LLM sausage factories
Links 03/06/2025: Tiananmen Square Massacre Censorship and Growing Military Activities Around Taiwan
Links for the day
Linux is Already Dominant (Android), Let's Make GNU/Linux Dominant in Desktops/Laptops as Well
"Dr. Stallman recently warned everybody about Microsoft."
The Loyalty to Microsoft and the Salaries From Microsoft (Funding SLAPPs Against Techrights and Tux Machines)
Garrett always knows better. He knows everything best.
Windows Falls in Italy as GNU/Linux Jumps to 5%
Italy knows a thing or two about digital autonomy
Nigeria is All Android and Google
Windows down to almost nothing in Africa's largest population
Mass Layoffs at Microsoft (Second Wave) Not Limited to Redmond
"More layoffs at Microsoft as axe falls in Washington and California"
Gemini Links 03/06/2025: Forth System and "Common Lisp is a Dumpster"
Links for the day
The Leaks Were Right: Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in May, Then Another Wave in June
Just as we've been saying for over a month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 02, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 02, 2025
Last Article From Australia's Sam Varghese Was a Year Ago and It Covered the Release of Julian Assange, Who Will Apparently Come Back as 'Politician'
It'll soon be exactly 12 months
Hungary Seems Hungry for Linux
Windows down by a lot
Like in Europe, Bad News for Microsoft in US and Canada
If it loses those "regions", then what's left?
About 8 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft in 2025 (in Less Than 5 Months), Now Vista 11 "Market Share" Decreases
Really bad news for shareholders of Microsoft
statCounter Sees Bing "Share" Falling Over 0.5% in One Month, Now Lower Than Before the ChatGPT/Bing Chat Hype
Bing has been part of the mass layoffs for quite some time
After Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia Android (Linux) Will Dominate Asia Completely
Windows probably peaked in "XP" or "2000"
Microsoft's Demise is a Global Phenomenon
mass layoffs justified using mindless buzzwords
All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux in EU and the UK, All-Time Lows for Microsoft
Combining ChromeOS and GNU/Linux, it adds up to and almost reaches 6%
India: Windows Falls to 50% in Desktops/Laptops and 8% Overall
laptops/desktops fell to 16% of the whole
statCounter: GNU/Linux Up to 4.7% "Market Share" This Month
30,000 Microsoft jobs may be eliminated by year's end
Microsoft is in Trouble and Microsofters Know It
"I've been happy on Win 3.11 for years."
[Video] New Introduction to Richard Stallman's Contributions Including GNU Emacs, GNU/Linux, and Software Freedom
from the channel previously bullied for supporting RMS
Links 02/06/2025: South Korea to Vote, Russia Blitzed From Within
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Political Leftovers, DRM, and Patents
Links for the day
Links 02/06/2025: Microsoft Spins Layoffs as "Slop", Frontier Settles Lawsuit
Links for the day
When You Publicly Boast About Wanting to Violently Attack People (Even Colleagues) Finding a Job Will Prove Difficult
there's a lesson to be learned here
The Web We Lost, the Information Lost Due to Microsoft's Attacks on Companies Like Yahoo! (Before the LLM Slop Frenzy)
When it comes to news sites, what can we say?
Covering Corruption in Poland, Including a War on Science (Due to Bad Politicians)
What we're about to show is that skilled and experienced scientists in Poland are besieged by bureaucrats
Gemini Links 02/06/2025: "Star Wars Day" and "Security Day"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 01, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 01, 2025