Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft is 'Openwashing' Azure

Putting detergent in the washing machine



Summary: Microsoft resorts to openwashing its so-called 'cloud' ("openwashing" is the practice of trying to portray as "open" something which is not)

SOME months ago we began to show that Microsoft was marketing its Fog Computing as "open", which could not be any more cynical because Fog Computing is probably more proprietary than proprietary software in the traditional sense; people haven't even access to the binaries they use. A company which was created by a Microsoft employee, Black Duck, is currently promoting Fog Computing with this press release. They too confuse "Open Source" with SaaS, whose relationship is complex. This mirrors what Microsoft has been doing to order to 'openwash' the defective Azure, which it is trying to 'openwash' in some other ways.



"I think this shows move from licensing to SaaS," remarks praxagora on the deceiving words from Microsoft's "OOXML Paoli" [1, 2] (see these previous debunkings with small updates in both).

“The fight against cancer would be pursued by the colleagues at the Foundation, with a medical focus.”
      --FFII
"Paoli says so, and that's fine," the FFII says. "The fight against cancer would be pursued by the colleagues at the Foundation, with a medical focus." That of course is a reference to Steve Ballmer's remark, which said: "Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches."

Sean Michael Kerner is now writing about Microsoft's bogus "Open Source" Foundation, which holds the key to Microsoft-complementary software which gets marketed as "open" (Paoli too refers to, highlights and brags about such fake openness because it's actually Fog Computing, which impressed nobody but fellow Microsoft folks like de Icaza). Sean Michael Kerner points out that:

The foundation is initially being funded by Microsoft and will be led by Microsoft's Sam Ramji, though Ramji has also announced his plans to leave Microsoft this month. Novell's Miguel de Icaza will be part of the new foundation's Board of Directors (don't forget Microsoft and Novell have an interop and patent deal).

So why does Microsoft need its own open source foundation? And what's the difference vs what they are doing with Codeplex.com anyways?


It wasn't so long ago that Microsoft used CodePlex to break the GPL. It took code from there in order to develop a Vista 7 tool and it violated the licence in the process, just like Facebook does right now [1, 2] (mentioned a few days ago).

In summary, people must beware what Microsoft labels "open". Microsoft is lying. ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

Linux is Not Controlled by Linus (Torvalds)
Torvalds has become "90% marketing hype"
 
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Arch Linux Journey and Amin Bandali's Priorities
Links for the day
Bluewashing as a Form of Silent Layoffs
IBM will continue to shed off loads of workers while its debt climbs
Turning 20 in 2 Weeks and Upcoming Network Maintenance
That ought not interrupt our anniversary
Microsoft Shutdowns Accelerating, More Shutdowns Revealed (Not Connected to Gaming)
Silent layoffs disguised as "voluntary" "exits"
Links 24/10/2026: Microsoft Blackmail and Lingering Unrest in France:
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: From Bendigo to Kerang, Enshittification of Radio and Music in the UK
Links for the day
Red Hat Sinks With the Blue (IBM) Ship
As IBM's debt continues to soar so do the silent layoffs
The "No Pain No Gain" Expectations in Publishing
Sometimes truth hurts; but that does not mean it mustn't be told
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XIII - Censorship by All Means Available in a Continent So Far Away, as 'Secure' (Restricted, Restriction by Microsoft) Boot Has a Crisis of Legitimacy
it's about America controlling sites and computers everywhere
Links 24/10/2026: Oligarchs Already Buy US Elections, GAFAM Front Group "EFF" Speaks of "Vulnerability Apocalypse"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Automobile Differential Tire Movement, Samsung Washer Woe, and Slop Scraping
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 23, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, October 23, 2026
As Usual, Late on a Friday XBox (Microsoft) Releases Evidence of Its Demise
We covered several such Friday announcements earlier this year
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Break/Fix and OpenStreetMap
Links for the day
Links 23/10/2026: Slop "is Scaling Transnational Repression" and Infringement and DMCA Suits Against Suno/Anthropic (Plagiarism Blenders)
Links for the day
More Shutdowns at Microsoft, Hundreds of Workers Impacted Shortly
It's not the entire wave, just part of it
The Register MS: About 60 Mentions of "AI" in One Day Are Paid-for Spam (Sponsored Hype, Composed by the Companies Covered)
The Register MS is a dying site
Links 22/10/2026: MElon (Elon Musk) Election Interference and Perl/Raku Foundation by the Numbers
Links for the day
Techrights Audience Grew as a Function of the Intensity of Attacks on Its Existence
We try to publish fewer stories but better (not necessarily long but at least important) stories
TechRepublic is Becoming a Slopfarm
It seems like TechRepublic became LLM slop (maybe all of it, maybe only some of it for now)
Techrights is Not About GNU/Linux, Tux Machines Is
When we say "GNU/Linux" we emphasise the GNU
The World Needs Activists With Social Skills and Perseverance
An everyday activist makes life better for everybody, everywhere (not for personal gain or even credit)
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XII - Lawfare to Cover Up Microsoft's Restricted Boot Calamity (Microsoft as Authority Over Linux), Garrett Wants to Talk About Penises Instead
When lawsuits become a political weapon
Without Microsoft's Monopoly (and Monopoly Rents) the Inevitable Microsoft Mass Layoffs Carry on Endlessly
Microsoft Windows is not retaining the dominance it once had
IBM's Debt Grew About $2 Billion in 3 Months
The silent layoffs still seem to impact Red Hat
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 22, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, October 22, 2026
Gemini Links 22/10/2026: Solar MiniBBS, Building Major Tom, and Zig
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2026: Busan’s Celebrity Shark in Canal Again
Links for the day
Links 22/10/2026: "Software Developers Have Been Promoted Into Incompetence"
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XI - Losing Over a Million Pounds (Borrowed Money) to Try to Silence Critics of Restricted Boot With Microsoft-Controlled "Certificates"
Garrett is also very jealous of Daniel Pocock
Links 22/10/2026: eBay to Lay Off a Tenth of Staff (Again), Node.js and PHP Security Crises, Climate News
Links for the day
Red Hat Layoffs Still Going on This Week (Whilst IBM's Debt Grows in Spite of Mass Layoffs)
IBM is bluffing/cheating the shareholders again
IBM's Debt Continues to Increase While the Company Rapidly Shrinks
This is what a dying company looks like
Linux Kernel Needs Diversity and Diversity of Good Code, Not LLM Slop
Linux (and Linus) are kicking a can down the road
Microsoft Shrinks Every Year
Microsoft will try to spin or twist this as "efficiency"
Gemini Links 22/10/2026: Holiday Inn and Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 21, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 21, 2026