Bonum Certa Men Certa

Amid Billions in Losses, Microsoft Tries to Conquer the Competition (Which Already Wins)

Grabbing GNU/Linux revenue and share

Bank robbery



Summary: The 'Embrace, Extend, Extinguish' strategy goes a few steps further as Microsoft looks to dominate developers, devices and servers that are running Free/libre software

AS we have just shown, Microsoft suffers billions in losses because GNU/Linux and Android crush it. Microsoft's reaction seems irrational as it's not sure whether to just keep attacking GNU/Linux and Android (as it still does) or pretend to embrace it. Xamarin, the steward of Mono (along with Microsoft), integrates more closely with Microsoft and hopes to make developers (not just Windows developers) dependent on Microsoft. Microsoft wants "developers developers developers developers" (Ballmer's words) and that's where Xamarin comes in.



"Perhaps we are seeing the very end of Microsoft these days."Yesterday we remarked on the latest advertising (in news form) for Microsoft as a GNU/Linux host. Microsoft's Channel 9 (the last remaining channel) has been openwashing Microsoft quite a lot recently and now it joins the advertising effort:

Corey Sanders, Director of Program Management on the Windows Azure Compute team sits to chat about recent Linux announcements on supportability as well as MOAR stuff on ARM Templates (this time from a partner).


Like we explained yesterday, it would be very dumb to let Microsoft control GNU/Linux instances, but Microsoft's acceptance of this route is a sign of defeat.

An argument that can never be won when dealing with anti-GNU/Linux trolls is about "year of Linux". It often goes like this never-ending moving-goalposts list of demands:

2002: "Nobody uses Linux."

But look, everyone uses Google and many other servers, which mostly run GNU/Linux.

2007: "Nobody uses Linux on the client side."

Actually, many people's devices and phones run some form of Linux.

2012: "Nobody uses Linux on the proper screen."

Android (Linux) is used extensively not only on phones but also tablets.

2014: "Nobody uses Linux on desktops or laptops."

Actually, Chromebooks are gaining popularity and they have GNU/Linux in them.

2014: "But Chrome OS is not really Linux."

It's also simple to install 'proper' GNU/Linux on them (my wife did that twice).

2015: "Microsoft does better than GNU/Linux. Windows is so much better!"

Even Microsoft is trying to make money by offering GNU/Linux support and hosting.

And on it goes...

Perhaps Microsoft's current efforts to become a GNU/Linux host are due to GNU/Linux being a majority market share platform (especially in the back rooms). The same is true for Android on mobile. Perhaps we are seeing the very end of Microsoft these days.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
 
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025