Bonum Certa Men Certa

Distrusted Media and the Illusion of Microsoft as an Open Source Player

Soviet Microsoft



Summary: New press coverage which fails to inform readers about Microsoft's real views and intentions when it comes to "Open Source"

EARLIER THIS month we wrote about Microsoft's decision to give Russia's secret services access to Vista 7 source code [1, 2], which does not make the operating system open source, it just makes it less secure. It means that the "new KGB" -- not just the tyrannical company from Redmond -- will have exclusive rights of knowing what code runs on hundreds of millions of machines. It's a power game. Paul Rubens writes about the subject as follows:



What do you do when you find a serious vulnerability in Microsoft server OS source code? You could tell the whole world about it, or you could keep schtum and just inform Microsoft. Or, of course, you could tell no one and use the knowledge to go and attack other systems.

What would the Russians do? That's an interesting question, and I guess we are about to find out because Microsoft (NASDQ: MSFT) recently signed a deal with the Russian Federal Security Service giving it access to source code for Windows Server 2008 R2, Office 2010 and SQL Server.


This morning we wrote about Microsoft pretending to be "Open Source". Its usual bunch of "infiltrators" do this by pressuring people to pay attention to them. Last week we also saw Microsoft boosters like Gavin Clarke and Marius Oiaga pushing the same talking point about Microsoft "embrac[ing] 'official' open source" and releasing "open source" [1, 2] (we also found one example where this talking point was pushed not by a Microsoft booster). Over at IDG, two Microsoft-oriented people (one of whom of runs the Microsoft Subnet at IDG) ran a show on "open source" where the guest was talking about Fog Computing, not open source. Are they out of their minds? Well, it's IDG after all. Some of the predictions from these IDG Microsoft blogs are echoed here and it is not helpful to the 'real' "Open Source" movement -- the core people who actually promoted Free software under a different name/banner, well before Microsoft and its former staff were promoting the whole 'open' core nonsense. Here is another new example where the Microsoft booster (last mentioned here) promotes SugarCRM, an 'open' core company which has just announced that it will run as part of Microsoft's Fog Computing hosting plan (Azure) in the midst of controversy. All of these things ought to be understood because this same IDG blog which calls itself "open source" is also home to two bloggers from Microsoft-oriented/sourced/accommodated companies that spread fear about the GPL and then monetise that fear. Those companies are OpenLogic and Black Duck (Black Duck Software boasts in a new press release that it "Maintains Exceptional Growth Pace in Q2," which proves that GPL fear works well for companies like these -- those that pretend to promote open source but actually sell fear and proprietary software). Joining them last week was this newcomer called nSyte, whose business seems similar if not identical. In its press release it says:

New SaaS Audit Tool from nSyte Software to Reduce Risk Associated with Use of Open Source Code in Proprietary Software



Colorado Technology Start-up Takes a Proactive Approach to Addressing a Growing Problem in the $220 Billion Dollar Software Development Industry Involving the Inadvertent Use of Protected Open Source Code


This was covered in at least one publication that we found:

Lafayette, Colorado-based nSyte Software, a startup developing software testing tools, said today that it has launched a new open source code auditing tool.


The way they put it makes it sounds like they launched "a new open source" something, but what they actually launched is an "open source code auditing tool" which is probably proprietary like Black Duck's. They make money from fear of open source, not from producing open source.

Lastly, it ought to be pointed out that Dr. Dobb's Journal feeds the 'Microsoft press' and gives the impression that Microsoft is "Testing Open Source Waters". Although we mentioned this before, Dr. Dobb's Journal is now owned by CMP Technology/United Business Media, which runs some Microsoft-sympathetic sites like Information Week (it still places large Windows advertisements in articles about GNU/Linux). There are some publications out there (IDG included) which depend on Microsoft's business, namely contracts (e.g. IDC) and advertising.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Our Three Lawsuits Against Microsofters Are About to Become a Lot More Relevant to GNU/Linux
The Master will easily understand why Garrett has been attacking me since 2012
They Don't Tell Us that 'Digitalisation' (Now Sold as "Hey Hi") Just Means Customers Become Unpaid Staff and Are Made Accountable
People are being conditioned to associate technology with something undesirable, at times even unbearable
 
New and Old
On Ageism in Tech
Slop Is Not Intelligence and It Does Not Enhance Productivity
Like voice dictation, which cannot tell the difference between "sheet" and "shit"
EPO Crimes Are Spreading to the British Court System
Society is now paying the price for failing to tackle crimes at the EPO
It's Time to Dump SharePoint and Here's What to Use Instead
Nextcloud, ownCloud, Bookstack, MediaWiki, and MediaGoblin
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Has Gone Silent
Sometimes silence says more than nothing at all
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Planet Ubuntu, and LinuxTechLab
some slopfarms show no remorse and they don't value their reputation at all
Links 23/07/2025: Book Bans, Storms, and Kangaroo Court for Patents Commits More Unlawful Acts of Overreach
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: Thinkpad and Pinephone
Links for the day
Links 22/07/2025: "Blog Restart" and Microsoft Clobbered by “ToolShell"
Links for the day
Global Warming and Global GAFAM Energy-Wasting
Burn more money (borrowed, loans), then hope the waste will somehow translate into profit?
No Compliance With the European Patent Convention (EPC) at the European Patent Office (EPO)
It's about preventing competition against this autocracy
Blue-Collar Trolls vs White-Collar Trolls
Examples of white-collar trolls
Apple Vision Pro Failed So Badly That Its Sales Are About 2,000 Times Smaller Than iPhone Sales
What's left for Apple to offer other than hype?
To Millions of People "Year of the Linux Desktop" Was Some Time in the 1990s (Bootable GNU/Linux as a Complete Operating System is Over 33 in Age)
In some sense, "year of the Linux desktop" was 33 years ago
Make No Assumptions (or Demands) About the Screen Resolution Used by Other People
There are usability aspects, aside from accessibility aspects
Why Wayland (and XWayland) Won't Solve the Key Problem It Proclaims to be Tackling (the Same Is True for Rust)
The problem isn't Wayland per se but the false promises and efforts to force everybody to move to it whilst insulting or demonising everyone who won't play along
Diplomatic Immunity Should Not Exist for Anybody
The EPO in its current form gradually 'normalises' the end of European democracy
Brett Wilson LLP Stopped Sending Me Papers When I Showed It had Sent Me Over 5 Kilograms of Legal Papers
A week ago we lodged our third lawsuit
Microsoft Mass Layoffs and Shutdowns Became the New Normal at Microsoft
Microsoft mass layoffs became a topic of everyday media coverage since May
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Has Layoffs and Microsoft Gaming/Entertainment Division Has an Uncertain Future
it's good to see all those horrible things crashing and burning
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 21, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 21, 2025
FSF "Raised Almost $139,000 During This Summer Campaign"
"Thank you for making a stand against dystopia!"
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: VPS Exploited and Fear of View
Links for the day
LLM Bots vs Techrights
Slows things down a bit
New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers
Links 21/07/2025: Hardware, Health, and Imperialism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2025: "When Buying Isn't Owning" and "CMS Special Edition"
Links for the day
Links 21/07/2025: Indie Web and Toxic Politics
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft Lawyers Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
threatened me with bankruptcy
Google "AI Overview" is Not AI and Not Overview
do not be misled; what Google does isn't smart, it's just ripping off the sites it already crawled for as long as 27 years
Making the Case to Dump Microsoft and GAFAM for National and Digital Sovereignty
"Sovereignty is difficult"
The Tactics of the Opposition (Microsoft Lunduke): Associate With K00ks, Throw in Vaccines to Muddy the Water
Who stands to gain from this?
Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) and Largest Patent Monopoly Office Needs More Transparency, Not Less Transparency
In the EPO, what good are elections when one candidate literally bribes all the voters?
How Not to Report News About Microsoft
This pattern of misreporting is so widespread that it's hard to believe it's not intentional
Computer Science is Under Attack, They Want Everyone to be a Consumer
If people can no longer acquire Computer Science education and real Computer Science experience, they will not know how to control their own digital destiny or emancipate the very same universities that now control the syllabus and instead of teaching Computer Science encourage the outsourcing of systems
The Best Tools Are the Simplest Tools
There's a hidden message here about the merits of sticking with X
Ofcom Online Safety Group Speaks of Protecting Women Online, Will Brett Wilson LLP Ever Listen?
They've essentially became like the Taliban's "burka police"
Social Control Media Relies on Advertisers, So It'll Always Be Hostile Towards Free Software
Sales, sales, sales
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 20, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 20, 2025
Fragmentation of Data
Life is too short to "hoard" data
In Defence of "Spinning Rust"
Just because something is "old" (or older) doesn't mean it ought to become extinct
Using Free Software to Prepare Legal Documents
LibreOffice is openly complaining about OOXML as an obstacle
Tech and Technology Are Not the Same Anymore
"Are you into tech, Sir?"
Our Articles About SLAPPs Receive Recognition and Interest
This week we shall continue writing about the 3 lawsuits we filed