A Venezuelan lesson

Summary: Free/Open Source software (FOSS) is getting a boost from the Trump regime's policies, not only in China but also in Latin America

IF Microsoft controls FOSS repositories, then it'll take them down (even causing considerable data loss) when political considerations emerge. The US government is a big client of Microsoft. GitHub users are very rarely customers to Microsoft (they don't pay). It's a bear hug and an open bear trap; Microsoft wants to squash its competition, it's not trying to foster FOSS. Azure is a losing franchise (operating at a loss; Microsoft lies to its shareholders) and so is GitHub (for many years), so Microsoft is looking to gain from control/domination/monopoly. Now there's this whole 'cloud' hype; the rental-like business model of proprietary software has never been so clear to see.

Consider what Adobe has just done [1-4]; it demonstrates the importance of decentralised Free software. Even the biggest troll at ZDNet covered it [1], but notice how they fail to mention Free software as an alternative. They don't entertain the topic of Software Freedom. But it's partly intentional. Just look at the latest SJVN/ZDNet nonsense (entrapping Torvalds with loaded questions for clickbait 'journalism'). Maybe we'll comment about it again some time in the coming days. ⬆

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Adobe to deactivate accounts for all Venezuelan users due to US sanctions





2. Adobe is cutting off users in Venezuela due to US sanctions

   In the document, Adobe explains: “The U.S. Government issued Executive Order 13884, the practical effect of which is to prohibit almost all transactions and services between U.S. companies, entities, and individuals in Venezuela. To remain compliant with this order, Adobe is deactivating all accounts in Venezuela.”

   Users will have until October 28th to download any content stored in their accounts, and will lose access the next day. To make matters worse, customers won’t be able to receive refunds for any purchases or outstanding subscriptions, as Adobe says that the executive order calls for “the cessation of all activity with the entities including no sales, service, support, refunds, credits, etc.”





3. Adobe shuts down Photoshop in Venezuela

   Adobe has moved to a subscription-only model for the latest versions of its products meaning users will not be able to buy standalone versions.





4. Adobe Will Cancel All Subscriptions in Venezuela to Comply With U.S. Sanctions

   Users will not get any refunds, according to a notice published to Adobe’s website, and the tech giant says that the sanctions won’t allow it to issue refunds even if they wanted to.

   “We are unable to issue refunds,” Adobe says on its site. “Executive order 13884, orders the cessation of all activity with the entities including no sales, service, support, refunds, credits, etc.”