Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Put an Innocent, Heroic Man in Prison. Then Microsoft Ran Away.

"The fact that there's some e-mail here at MS that says, 'let's go up and beat this guy'...there's nothing wrong with that. That is capitalism at work for consumers."

--Bill Gates



Microsoft considers this recycling hero to be a criminal. But this guy, who broke many laws for a number of decades, Microsoft views as a 'God'.



Summary: Now that Mr. Lundgren is out of prison he's able to tell his amazing story, which Microsoft desperately attempted to suppress

JUST over a week ago we began writing about Microsoft’s legal attacks on Eric Lundgren, who had been released from prison. We've been studying the case and we're speaking to Lundgren these days. He's a kind, generous person. He deserves medals, not lawsuits and jail time. This whole situation is a travesty and there's so much to be said, so we'll split the story into many parts.



For more background see Eric Lundgren's Twitter account (old news/clippings) and Web site, which includes the section "How does copying free-to-download software land you in prison?"

"The total cost (to Lundgren) by far exceeds a million dollars if one considers the long-term consequences e.g. employment prospects."He can be reached on ECAnetwork@Gmail.com and he's a nice person. As we noted last weekend, "Eric Lundgren's story will hopefully be explained in meticulous details now that he is out of jail (for the non-crime which is recycling unused PCs)". We spoke to him earlier today. Expect us to write a lot more on this subject and share never-seen-before material. Our goal is to show the incredible extent of injustice. Lundgren, in his own words, spent nearly a million dollars defending himself. The "legal battle cost $870,000 USD," he explained, "(+) $50,000 Court Fine (+) 15 Month Prison Sentence (+) Felony..."

The total cost (to Lundgren) by far exceeds a million dollars if one considers the long-term consequences e.g. employment prospects. He will never be a truly free man, but he's a passionate and inspiring positive thinker, who looks forward to make the world a better place, looking ahead rather than back. To us, however, the long-lasting ordeals he went through do matter a great deal and we'll delve into the finer details.

"The court documents ought to help objectivity (readers can assess these for themselves) and, if shown the defamatory statements from Microsoft, we can correct them. As we shall.""My grandfather whom raised [me] died a few days ago," he told me this morning. I know the feeling, but consider the fact that his grandfather's latest and last days were spent without his (grand)son, who was arrested for doing the moral thing. Surely Microsoft wouldn't like that aspect of the story told. The most common feedback after our seminal story about Lundgren was about Microsoft trying to silence those who covered his story. Microsoft threatened the media and we'll cover that in a future part. We're separating different aspect of his story as compartmentalisation will make it easier to follow. We may soon show court documents too and demonstrate, using photographs, Lundgren's great contribution to society, which Microsoft 'rewarded' with a prison sentence (after he had spread Windows even further as part of his recycling campaign).

The court documents ought to help objectivity (readers can assess these for themselves) and, if shown the defamatory statements from Microsoft, we can correct them. As we shall. Fact-checking will be an integral part of this series. The court deliberately got many of the facts wrong or simply removed them (making them inadmissible).

Lundgren spent or wasted 15 months of his life in prison; he remains a debt prisoner for a long time to come (a longterm/permanent timeframe). It all happened after a dodgy trial, so let's let the public decide, based on underlying evidence presented in that trial. Mischievous elements of what happened at the trial will be covered here too, albeit separately. It won't be 'trial by media' but (re)trial by media; the outcome won't change. One cannot undo a prison sentence or cancel the debt, which is enormous. One can, however, ensure that the record is set straight. Lundgren is still relatively young and has a lot to offer, much to promise.

"Lundgren spent or wasted 15 months of his life in prison; he remains a debt prisoner for a long time to come (a longterm/permanent timeframe)."Although we're eager to just 'spill the beans' all at once we probably should not. One heavily-packed article can be powerful, but we need to do this in small chunks that readers can digest; it's easier for us to compose and more effective overall (with an index and chapter-like breakdown).

Tomorrow we will post our next (fourth) part of this series, which we expect to span about a dozen parts and weeks if not months in the making. Let's do justice for Mr. Lundgren. If not legal and financial justice, then at least moral justice. Lundgren isn't in it for the money. Microsoft tarnishing his reputation and harming his life/health is something that someone out there should be held accountable for. Stay tuned to find out what happened when Mr. Lundgren came to see Microsoft's CEO.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Why Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Won't Work
American companies don't follow laws, they work around them
Net Gain of 50 Gemini Capsules in Just One Month
a big jump in just one month
Keeping Linux Reliable
If Linux becomes a lot more reliable in the future, it'll be an "hey hi" miracle. If Linux becomes a lot less reliable in the future, we'll know why and who is responsible for it.
Cyber Show on the Fallacy of Salary/Ego as a Function of Wisdom in the Era of Pyramid Schemes (Cheating People Using Buzzwords and Complicit Media)
"the remuneration fallacy and the role of reluctance as a negative feedback force."
EPO's Local Staff Committee Munich Organises General Assembly Next Week, the Goal is to Oust the Corrupt President and Derail His Unlawful Agenda
They're aiming to show Campinos the door
 
Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Small Things and "Hitching Your Wagon"
Links for the day
Links 11/09/2026: Tristan Buckmaster Ripped Off by Slop, Social Control Media Spreads Hatred for Profit
Links for the day
Animals Smarter Than Chatbots
Quack quack goes the chatbot
IBM Isn't Reporting Layoffs, But It Removes Tens of Thousands of People From Its Workforce
Red Hat and IBM already mark people for removal
"A Tale of Two Antónios" Will Resume Soon
In November the site turns 20
Links 11/09/2026: Cyberattack in Berlin (Windows/Microsoft TCO) and Hype About Slop as 'Existential' Something; Scam Altman et al Caught Stealing/Plagiarising "Mathematical Breakthrough"
Links for the day
Microsoft/GNOME 9/11
Garrett and Graveley (Microsoft/GNOME) will have a lot to explain
9/11 Was a National Event, Not an International Event
They insist that back doors will "save lives"
Very Sloppy PR From a Dying IBM, Company in Disarray and in Need of Distractions
IBM could really use distractions right now
What a Price-Fixing Cartel Can Look Like
If your prices increase five-fold or ten-fold and so do your revenues/income, what does that tell us?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 178 Out of 200: Explaining to Your American Clients That Spending 130,000+ United States Dollars on a Single Hearing in Another Continent Means the UK's National Archives Will Retain in Perpetuity What Your Spouse or Girlfriend Said
Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley should ask Garrett how much money he has lost so far
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 10, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, September 10, 2026
Latest IBM Gossip is, Over 25,000 People to be PIPed (by Year's End)
That figure, 10%, is different from 15% (what we saw a lot). 10% is over 25,000 staff.
Solidarity at EPO
"Many colleagues have made personal and professional sacrifices by participating in the ongoing strike and work-to-rule action"
Gemini Links 11/09/2026: Culture Stuck, Robot Symphony, and Back to Geminispace
Links for the day
Links 10/09/2026: Facebook Unsafe for Kids, Fake Songs (Against Right of Publicity, CG Forgeries Basically) a Growing Problem
Links for the day
Rust is Financially and Technically Controlled by Microsoft. Rust Foundation is a Front for Microsoft's Proprietary Software.
Rust is not and has never been about security
Gemini Links 10/09/2026: "I Don’t Want to Interact With Stochastic Parrots" and "ROOPHLOCH 2026!"
Links for the day
What the British School Closure (BSN Senior School Leidschenveen) Means to EPO Staff
The only European thing about the EPO is the staff
Standing in Solidarity With Matt Mullenweg
I don't trust the people and companies that want Mullenweg out. Neither should you.
Links 10/09/2026: "Smear Campaign Says Anti-Flock Movement Is Chinese Propaganda" and "Flock Employee Calls Cops on Reporter Filming Them"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, September 09, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, September 09, 2026
IBM's Senior VP of Infrastructure is Out, Silent Layoffs Still Going On
Some people imagine the CEO will also "retire" very soon (and "ahead of time")
Gemini Links 09/09/2026: Mechanical Cameras, "Super App", and Prusa Issues
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 177 Out of 200: Manosphere Without Financial Transparency
It has moreover replaced a female worker with a male
Deadline Tomorrow (10th of September) to Appeal the EPO's Fleecing of Staff (Union to Make Legal Challenges)
Join them. Fight the good fight.
linuxstans.com Died, Then Came Back as Slop (LLM Junk)
Don't make the mistake or the assumption that merely 'dabbling in' or 'experimenting with' LLMs can be forgivable as it is a trust destroyer
Links 09/09/2026: GAFAM Fatalities in Miami International Airport, "Britain’s Health Crisis Is Becoming a Political Crisis"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/09/2026: "Adjective Is Subjective" and Walled Gardens
Links for the day
Plagiarism is Hardly a New Problem, It Predates Mainstream Media Getting Paid to Whitewash It as "Training" or "Hey Hi", Then Conflate Plagiarism With "Intelligence" or Deferred "Value"
"Quantum" isn't new either; it's a 'circle-jerk' for companies without direction, only hype
Links 09/09/2026: Airport 'Down' (Glasgow and Edinburgh), 'Open' 'AI' Losses Rise to Pace of 50 Billion Dollars in Losses Per Year
Links for the day
Unsafe at Any Speed, "Modern" Appliances
Appliances have gotten worse
SLAPP Censorship - Part 176 Out of 200: The Sex-Obsessed Non-Experts
We heard some sexual stories
European Patent Office (EPO): No Transparency and No Paper Trail
The incompetence is that of the management, i.e. sheer incompetence of people who never examined a patent in their entire lifetime
Gemini Links 09/09/2026: Going Out, Smartphone Addiction, Mapping the Geminispace
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 08, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 08, 2026