Branding is the main expertise of the Linux Foundation's head (Linux Foundations CEO). That's the field he comes from (his professional biography reveals this) and this is the purpose he serves, especially by ignoring if not altogether deleting GNU's role. It is all about the "Linux" brand, trying to label everything that uses the popular kernel "Linux" but never GNU or something similarly (or even more) important. Just remember who is the guardian is the "Linux" trademark and who seized control of the domain Linux.com. That in itself is not a major issue or a big deal, but the point is, the "Linux" brand is a relatively huge success story, perhaps bigger than Apple and the "i" things (or even the "Obama" brand, which exceeded in value any single corporation in the world, as empirically measured some years back).
"Perhaps the name of this so-called alliance can still be amended."The Linux Foundation has been very good at advancing the Linux brand, so why was it so tactless in labeling its new initiative "AllSeen", especially amid the NSA scandals? LXer commenters have rightly pointed out that this was a mistake. We can expect what they promote to be a potential cause for issues (see [1] from October 2013), but alas, the announcement [2] received a lot of press [3-13], not just from Linux Foundation staff [14].
The name "AllSeen" is not benign; it's similar to All-Seeing and in practice it involves sensory signals being passed over a surveillance-dominated Internet. This can be used against people (espionage), as information about 'smart' meters shows. Perhaps the name of this so-called alliance can still be amended. Android, by the way, is no brilliant brand either, no matter if it refers to the devices, the users, or the creator (Andy Rubin).
Branding matters. The Linux Foundation can still dodge the "AllSeen" nonsense before it's truly irreversible due to brand recognition. ⬆
Related/contextual items from the news:
The Linux Foundation, together with industry heavyweights, has announced the formation of the AllSeen Alliance.
The Linux Foundation announced an “AllSeen Alliance” for the Internet of Things built upon Qualcomm’s open source “AllJoyn” IoT interoperability framework.
open source project, which was originally developed by and is contributed to the Alliance by Qualcomm. The Linux Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, announced the formation of the AllSeen Alliance, a consortium dedicated to advancing adoption and innovation in the "Internet of Everything" in homes and industry.