Bonum Certa Men Certa

Summer of Code or Nuclear Winter?

Microsoft claims to maintain a "vault"; Google claims to 'support' Free software, but both are mostly PR ploys that let monopolies 'boss' or 'police' their alternatives

Nuclear-Free Zone



Summary: 2 'seasons' or 2 'flavours' of PR charades; can we seriously trust companies that fight against freedom to somehow guard Free software and 'manage' communities that are stewards of key Free software projects?

THE company known as "GOOGLE" (GOOG) has long used GNU/Linux. It has been publicly traded for a couple of decades, about half as long as "MICROSOFT" (MSFT). The companies are inherently different because of their primary business models, so comparing them as though they're the same would lead us astray. We won't compare apples to oranges, only note that both merit their place in "GAFAM" (or "GIAFAM" as figosdev puts it, insisting IBM belongs there too).

"One thing that Microsoft and Google do have in common is disdain for freedom."Google's Summer of Code (SoC or more commonly GSoC) has long bothered me for a number or reasons. On the one hand, it encourages people to join Free software communities and improve existing stuff; the downside is, as we found out in recent years, Google leverages GSoC to muzzle or 'cancel' Google critics (former Debian Project Leader Ian Jackson and Daniel Pocock from Debian complained about it). A side note is that many GSoC students end up outsourcing their work to Microsoft (GitHub), but Google or GSoC program managers cannot be held responsible/accountable for it as it's typically students who make this choice, however careless if not reckless a choice.

Google is not a friend of copyleft, but it pays key people to pretend that it is (as does Microsoft, a serial GPL violator that goes out of its way to spread FUD against the GPL all around the Web, sometimes directly and sometimes by proxy, e.g. 'former' staff).

One thing that Microsoft and Google do have in common is disdain for freedom. Sure, Android uses Linux (kernel alone), but what is it used for anyway? Spying on people everywhere they go?

"It's a bit amusing that Microsoft brags about a so-called 'Arctic vault' while helping Donald Trump pave the way to nuclear confrontation with China."For ethics and morality look neither at Google nor Microsoft (or the rest of "GAFAM"). The founders of Google are long gone -- one of them reportedly tried to keep Google in compliance with the "don't be evil" mantra -- and they don't care about freedom. To them, Free software is just "free stuff" (to exploit or leverage to build proprietary, user-subjugating stuff).

It's a bit amusing that Microsoft brags about a so-called 'Arctic vault' while helping Donald Trump pave the way to nuclear confrontation with China. Good luck with that PR charade.

Recent Techrights' Posts

France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
 
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025