Bonum Certa Men Certa

The 'New' Linux.com Sometimes Feels Like a Microsoft Promotion Site

Recent: Azure Running GNU/Linux Isn't About 'Love' But About Control

“It is not the lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”

--Friedrich Nietzsche



Summary: Anything that the 'Linux' Foundation touches seems to turn into its proprietors' agenda; one of those proprietors is Microsoft, which has a "Jihad" against Linux

TRYING my very best to be polite, I rarely post here (as articles) my microblogging rants about the Linux Foundation. When I write articles I also try to omit names (sometimes going to the extremes of 'censoring' names in our sources' messages on the subject). Some of these rants can offend some people even though they're perfectly honest and sincere a bunch of rants. Some have become satirical and cynical; I resort to humour. The truth is, I am really not happy about the pivot of the Linux Foundation and I've noticed, based on responses, that many other GNU/Linux users aren't happy either. They probably just don't say much about it. People refrain from 'disparaging' the Linux Foundation mostly because it has the word "Linux" in its name (never mind if very little or what it does actually supports Linux and most staff aren't Linux users).



"People refrain from 'disparaging' the Linux Foundation mostly because it has the word "Linux" in its name (never mind if very little or what it does actually supports Linux and most staff aren't Linux users)."Earlier this year we took some gloves off, partly because my wife had gotten fed up and said I ought to break the silence. Why do these people get a free pass (avoidance of criticism)? She reads Linux news all day. She runs Tux Machines, which makes this required. The Linux Foundation is "trying to condition the minds of people," she told me this morning, to suggest "that Microsoft is OK..."

And my wife argues this not as a Microsoft basher or hater. She hardly ever minded them (until recent years). Now she uses terms like "entryism" and "conditioning" (which she borrowed from politics). "That's the term there..."

"...Microsoft's attacks on GNU/Linux (from the inside) have left us no choice... sadly, the Foundation that owns or at least monopolises/utilises Torvalds' trademark now actively participates in Microsoft's attacks.""There's no Linux news anymore, it's all about Microsoft," she retorted a couple of hours ago. I too read Linux news all day, every day. So I see the same thing. Some readers sent us E-mail saying the same thing. There's a lot going on behind the scenes. Some people underestimate the work of Techrights, much of which isn't about publishing articles but doing activism in support of GNU/Linux behind the scenes and coordinating actions, e.g. in IRC. We're supporting GNU/Linux a lot better than most 'foundations'. Articles are one component of several activities. Tux Machines, for example helps people find positive stories about GNU/Linux. The same cannot be said about LINUX.com ever since the Linux Foundation effectively shut it down (back in April). It fired all the editors and staff without even a "thank you" or an explanation. Remember that for a "thank you" from the Linux Foundation you need to open the wallet/purse and pay tens of thousands of dollars. Yes, "thank yous" are a service or a product from the Linux Foundation. This is how gross things have become. In our latest daily links we included this report from yesterday; it shows Microsoft giving more money to Jim Zemlin and his PAC/foundation. This does not amuse us. What also isn't amusing is yesterday's news pick from "swapnilbhartiya", who was chosen by the Foundation, maybe based on track record of love for Linux-hostile firms (he uses a "Mac"-branded PC, just like Zemlin). Weeks ago he did puff pieces for GPL violator VMware on the Foundation's payroll and this week (the second week) he continues using the site LINUX.com to promote Microsoft stuff. Zemlin's PAC has put just one single person in charge of LINUX.com news, posting maybe (at most) two paragraphs a day. There's like 50 Linux stories per day (I know this because of my research for Tux Machines and Techrights daily links), so why does he post Microsoft ones?

About 2 years ago I said repeatedly (and it's a matter of public record) that I do not want to cover anything Microsoft and instead focus on GNU/Linux and patent issues. But Microsoft's attacks on GNU/Linux (from the inside) have left us no choice... sadly, the Foundation that owns or at least monopolises/utilises Torvalds' trademark now actively participates in Microsoft's attacks. It is a gradual handover, a passage of ownership, so to speak.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM Layoff Rumours, Large-Scale Implementations Weeks Ahead (in March 2025)
There are some people corroborating
Microsoft Blasted for Adding Insult to Injury: Workers Laid Off Without Prior Notice, Without Severance Payment and Basic Coverage (Like Health), Then Stigmatised as Bad Performers So They Cannot Find a Job Elsewhere
Such stereotypes end entire careers
BetaNews is Still Publishing LLM Slop/SPAM About "Linux"
Assuming it is indeed LLM slop, it seems clear BetaNews has no intention of improving or is simply unable/unwilling to improve
 
Like GAFAM, the EPO is Passing the Financial Pains to Staff
the EPO is operating illegally at this point
Morale at Microsoft Ruined by the Company Labelling Thousands of Workers 'Low Performers', Sacking Them on the Spot and Denying Them Basic Benefits
people laid off as "low performers" go to social control media to bemoan the label
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, February 11, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Links 11/02/2025: Current state of the Internet and Smallnet Information Services (SIS)
Links for the day
Conservative Estimate: Over 10,000 IBM Workers to Be Laid Off in the Next Two Waves
The morale is low and layoffs are expected soon, with mass layoffs likely happening next month and then again later
Links 11/02/2025: Trade Wars and "Crisis for American Universities"
Links for the day
Parasitic LLM Slop Sites Destroy the Ability to Find "Linux" News in Google News
Remember that Google News laid off lots of its workers
Richard Stallman's English Talk in Italy Less Than 24 Hours Away (Torino) and Then Another Talk in Italy Scheduled (University of Bozen-Bolzano)
He's active and he travels a lot in spite of his medical condition
Links 11/02/2025: Nutritional Poverty, Closure of USAID, More Fictional 'Valuations' Around Buzzwords
Links for the day
Perl Programming Leftovers
recently in perl.org
Microsoft in Africa: From 98% to Less Than 10% in Just 16 Years
Microsoft being on less than 1 in 10 Web-connected devices in Africa is a very big deal
Almost as If MElon Reads Techrights
The joke we started appears to be spreading
Gemini Links 11/02/2025: NeoVim and Deploying Other People's Code
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 10, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, February 10, 2025
Scheduled Maintenance Tomorrow and on Valentines
If the site (or Gemini capsule) is offline for a bit, the maintenance windows are likely the root cause
If Matthias Kirschner Loves Free Software, He'll Change the Name of the Microsoft-Sponsored Organisation He Governs (in Order to Avoid Confusion)
The FSF-EEE does not really like Software Freedom, it just loves money (including Microsoft's)
Soylent News Lessens the Scope of Discussion Due to Persistent Trolling and Online Abuse
if they make it a lot harder for new people to participate, then they limit the "general appeal" and reach
EPO's Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague: Workers Are Getting Sicker, Conditions in Which to Assess Patent Applications Deteriorate
"According to the Office statistics the total number of days of absence has gone up from 12.4 to 13.1 total number of sick days per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) from 2023 to 2024."
The Standard Needs to Improve Its Standards for Fact-Checking, Aaron Swartz Had Nothing to Do With Reddit and He Detested the Company That Created It
The Web is already bad enough as it is
When the Livestream of Richard Stallman is Apparently Bury-Brigaded Offline You Finally Learn to Avoid Google/YouTube for Streaming
Please, people, stop uploading to Google/YouTube
New Paper From the EPO Highlights Large-Scale Discrimination at the Office, Where People Are Rewarded for Granting More and More Illegal Patents
Even the Kremlin is probably more competent than this
Links 10/02/2025: Ban on D.E.I. Language, Listeria Risk/Outbreak
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Announcing "Stringless" and Mental Health Improvement
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Facebook Mass Layoffs, "Meta" Did What Aaron Swartz Had Done But to the Tune of 81.7 Terabytes
Links for the day
Microsoft Tarnishing the Brand of Arch
Of course Arch can do whatever it wants, but being associated with Microsoft is a badge of shame
The Ultimate and Inevitable Fall of OpenAI (Even Brave is 'Bigger' Now)
"When you advertise at the Super Bowl, you’ve reached just about every consumer in America. It’s the last stop. If you’re not profitable yet, you never will be."
Adding Slop to Your Blog Only Makes One Assume All the Text is LLM Slop
Simon Coter from Oracle has turned to slop
Macao is Leaving Microsoft Behind
Windows is falling to new all-time lows
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 09, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 09, 2025
Microsoft's WSL (LSW) Shows That It Can Never Love Linux, Only Windows
that's just how Microsoft rolls
Activism in Times of War and a Coup
'Linux' Foundation works for fascism
What the Silencing of Neatnik Tells Us About Linus Torvalds Inside a Microsoft-Dominated 'Linux' Foundation
Is Linus Torvalds free to express his mind as he wishes about every topic, even just any technical topic?
Windows Down to 11.35% in Senegal, as Measured by statCounter
Another all-time low (Windows was at 99% in 2009)
"Latest Technology News" in BetaNews is LLM Slop Promoting OOXML and Proprietary Software at the Expense of LibreOffice and OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Remember that "open-source" and Open Source aren't the same; the former is fake