Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gaming the Numbers: Why Microsoft is Not a Top Linux Contributor

Mooning journalists

Moon



Summary: How Microsoft gave the illusion of putting many lines of code inside Linux and what this code really does

THERE were many stupid 'reports' recently -- so-called "news reports" about new statistics from the Linux Foundation. We link to the original reports but ignore as a matter of principles the poor news coverage. Many journalists got it wrong. Many of them were spinning the real report and painting is with the "Microsoft" brush (Novell too played a role)-- something along the lines of Microsoft as a top "contributor". Putting aside all that we wrote before about what those patches are and what they achieve, let it be noted that Microsoft stole he thunder from real Linux contributors for reasons that people who blog fail to mention. As Joab Jackson explains, "Microsoft tallied so many code contributions to Linux due to fact that its original Hyper-V code needed fixing," Here is a proper report about it:

In the latest study by the Linux Foundation, Microsoft only just misses out on a spot among the top 20 groups and companies contributing to the Linux kernel. It has, however, achieved this only by dint of delivering bad code and then slowly improving it.


It ought to be notes that Microsoft hired Novell developers whom it previously paid (through Novell) to help contain Linux inside Windows. That's what those patches are about. They are about controlling Linux, using proprietary software from Microsoft. There is nothin g to commend Microsoft for; the adherence to GPLv2 is a matter of requirement, not goodwill or corporate reform.

Here is a nice new video on the success of Linux, which can help GNU in the same way that Ubuntu helps GNU/Linux and Android helps Linux.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

No, Microsoft Didn't Lay Off So Many People Because of "AI" "Innovation" or "Efficiency" or "Era" or "Revolution" Etc.
Debunking one very common lie
What We Do When We Say "GNU/Linux" to People
It talks about "Linux", "GNU", and what it means to say "GNU/Linux"
Canonical Will Give You Money Only If You Work for Microsoft!
Only if you are servicing (being a slave to) proprietary forges that Microsoft and the NSA control while violating the GPL will Canonical give you money
There Are Also Loads of Microsoft LinkedIn Layoffs Today (Keep Track of the Subsidiaries They Keep Out of Headlines)
Perhaps lost in the smokescreen
There Are Bigger Rounds of Microsoft Layoffs Coming, a Cull of 10% Implemented in Waves (the "3%" Figure is Misleading, Face-Saving)
Last night we said they might do the layoffs in three or at least two waves
Unless a Third of All Microsoft Layoffs Worldwide Are in Redmond (Washington) Alone, Microsoft Has Just Lied to Everyone Via Jordan Novet in CNBC (i.e. the Usual Any Time There's Mass Layoffs and Novet Weighs in With False Numbers)
Maybe when Microsoft said 3% it meant ~6,000 or more in the US alone
 
VS Code Is Not FOSS, And Neither Is the Site "It's FOSS"
VS Code is proprietary spyware of Microsoft, yet this site keeps promoting it like it's FOSS
Links 14/05/2025: Facebook And Instagram Risk Nationwide Bans, Microsoft Subsidiaries Have Mass Layoffs Too
Links for the day
If Microsoft Staff That Strangles Woman Pays You to Write Lies, It Will Not End Well
The past couple of years were our most productive ever
Gemini Links 14/05/2025: "Writing My Story with Inspiration from Notable Lives" and People Start Shovelling Up LLM Slop Onto Geminispace,
Links for the day
Microsoft is Very Highly Stressed About Adoption of GNU/Linux at Windows' Expense (on Former "Vista 10" PCs)
What does this tell us?
Slopwatch: BetaNoise (BetaNews), LinuxSecurity, and Slopfarms Still Promoted by Google News
The primary goal is to demonstrate the problem persists
Links 14/05/2025: Google Agrees to $1.3 Billion Settlement After Spying, China Tariffs Don't Work
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, May 13, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Gemini Links 13/05/2025: Apocalyptic Future and More
Links for the day
McKinsey (McK) is Killing IBM, It's All About Killing This Goose, "National Sales Team 80% on PIP Now" (Preceding Layoffs Without Severance)
PIPs are not based on performance
Links 13/05/2025: Microsoft Breaks Windows Very Badly Again, Mass Layoffs Reported (But False Figures, It's a Lot Higher)
Links for the day
As Expected, Microsoft Uses Media Operative (Jordan Novet) to Downplay the Scale of Mass Layoffs
here we go
2025 Will be a Big Year For GNU/Linux on Desktops/Laptops
with an economy like this, people who don't live in rich countries won't turn to Apple
Signs of Trouble: Microsoft Job Openings for Jobs That Do Not Exist!
Keeping up appearances?
"Special Place in Hell" for Women Who Help Violent Microsofters From Another Continent Attack Local Women Who Did Nothing Wrong, They Just Got Bullied and Deserve Sympathy or Compensation
Nothing says "Brat" like men who attack women, right?
The Numbers Game: 50,000-60,000 Microsoft Workers Laid Off in 2.5 Years? And Debt Still Tripled Under Nadella.
under Nadella Microsoft's debt trebled
The Slow Death of Windows Will Mean the Inevitable Demise of Microsoft
Once people stop using Windows, it'll be hard for Microsoft to sell anything to them
Last Week's Public Talk by Richard Stallman Well Attended and Covered in Technical News Sites
and we're looking at about 60,000 Microsoft layoffs in 3 years
Gemini Links 13/05/2025: Shopping is an Exasperating Nightmare and Making Phones Minimal
Links for the day
23,000 More Microsoft Layoffs by the End of June If the Estimates Are Correct (In Addition to About 6,000 Layoffs So Far This Year)
There's no questions about many layoffs happening this month. It got leaked already. The only question is when (and also how many).
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, May 12, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, May 12, 2025
Major Microsoft Layoffs This Week (Discussed Online)
later we can expect a lot of spin, even misinformation
What Happened to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) Elections: Missed Deadline
they helped expose a number of other scandals
Links 12/05/2025: Measles Rising and Taliban Outlaws Chess in Afghanistan
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/05/2025: Advice, Iorist Ethics, and Touchscreens
Links for the day
The Finances of GAFAM Aren't as They Seem
MICROSOFT FINANCIAL PYRAMID revisited
Links 12/05/2025: US Brain Drain and Reminder That "Microsoft's Lobbying Efforts Eclipsed Enron" (Fraud Coverup)
Links for the day
The Enshittification of Royal Mail (Post Office/Postal Services) Continues
Enshittification is a thing, not only in the digital realm
Red Hat's Owner is Called "America's Worst Tech Company" (IBM) and Microsoft's Liabilities Grow
Microsoft has about a quarter of a trillion (yes, trillion with a "T") in liabilities
If the Gossip is True, Today Microsoft Has "Large M1 Meetings" to Discuss Almost 30,000 More Microsoft Layoffs in 2025
the claim is that Microsoft is preparing to lay off 10% of its staff
Microsoft Has a Long and Proven History of Funding Meritless Lawsuits Against Rivals and Critics (It Always Backfires)
It also looks like the solicitor used by two Microsofters to SLAPP us is being urgently replaced
Links 12/05/2025: Gardens and Kitchens
Links for the day
Links 12/05/2025: Media Being Attacked (New Forms of Attack on the Press), Many Data Breaches
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 11, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, May 11, 2025