Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Playing Hardball and Talking 'Double Dutch' to Undermine the Free Software Community

The disturbing attack on Free software carries on, characteristically led by Microsoft

Tough Game



Summary: The betrayal in the Free software community is partly caused by monopolies that bribe people to defect and, in effect, attack the community by promoting proprietary software

SOME people have already found this disturbing new message from Guido van Rossum, who decided to defect instead of retiring. Microsoft offered him lots of money.



"We've long warned about Microsoft infiltrating Python and seeing that van Rossum (van Icaza) was willing to work for the Condy Rice-connected DropBox, maybe we should not be surprised that he's already shilling Microsoft's proprietary software (which is basically what Microsoft pays him to do)."Python is dead now. Just to be sure, we've checked that it's not a satirical account and proceeded to deleting all Python from our RSS feeds. We've long warned about Microsoft infiltrating Python and seeing that van Rossum (van Icaza) was willing to work for the Condy Rice-connected DropBox, maybe we should not be surprised that he's already shilling Microsoft's proprietary software (which is basically what Microsoft pays him to do).

"RIP python," MinceR wrote in IRC, knowing that it's all about money now. Many people will undoubtedly be upset by this, especially those who invested in learning and coding in Python. Python taking more bribes from the monopolists isn't exactly news (Google also). It's all about money and selling expensive stuff or "computer time"; Python has even copied Microsoft in making newer versions not compatible with older ones, rendering perfectly fine code obsolete. Just like that, for little or no reason...

Dagger and appleAre we shocked? A bit. But it was already getting disturbing when they took Microsoft bribes and they advertised Azure for that money. Python was packed up and sold maybe 2 years ago and van Rossum confirms that he lacks principles; his Twitter timeline is shilling bad stuff with surveillance, in effect rendering himself little but a Microsoft marketing rep, repeating their talking points and enticing people to enter proprietary traps.

Things like these continue to happen (e.g. Stormy Peters) and some people tell us we're not under attack, we're just being 'absorbed' by those looking to crush and destroy software freedom (while they pay loads of money to recruit people to defect). Over the years we heard about Microsoft approaching other high-profile people of his calibre, offering them jobs to trouble communities and remove their leaders. Those strategies help attack our community projects and generally echo much of what we saw in the Bill Gates deposition.

As a side note, this isn't the only high-profile person who has been doing suspicious things. Days ago someone wrote to us regarding Werner Koch, saying something not right was going on. "The issue arises from one of the names in the Guix petition," we were told. "Werner Koch. He's one of the main people behind GPG and the OpenPGP specification. I haven't noticed any hostility from Koch towards the Yubikey threat that we are faced with today. In fact, Werner accommodates Yubikey considerations into GPG development. It's impossible that he's not aware of the threat to user security posed by products like Yubikey; yet he's happily making GPG embrace potential spyware products." (Evidence)

On it goes: "This is a topic of much concern to GPG users. The link is to the GPG development tracker site. You might want to keep that site (dev.gnupg.org) on your radar and search for keywords that have to do with security abusers. GPG is in everything from Git to Debian. You can imagine the threat closed hardware like Yubikey poses. Embracing closed hardware like Yubikey sends a concerning message to GPG users. Of all the things that GPG users want, putting their private PGP keys into potential spyware is about one of the worst practices imaginable.

"The fact that Koch was part of the coup against RMS, added to all this, is immensely disturbing."

"...this isn't the only high-profile person who has been doing suspicious things.""The Raspberry Pi Zero W still has networking," an associate of ours noted, and "the plain Raspberry Pi Zero could work as key dongle if a USB module is tacked on top. More ambitiously, KiCAD could be used to design a better USB add-on to include a few capacitive buttons, whether GPIO or I2C. Maybe (only maybe) one of the newer Arduino models such as the Every would have the processing power and RAM to deal with a key." [1, 2]

"There are also a few off-the-shelf open alternatives to closed hardware. The Nitrokey is the only one I can recall for now, but there are others. Not surprisingly it is very difficult to find the names of the others.

The associate noted that Yubikey costs $650, calling that "Crazy." We recently wrote about other issues associated with that product. Is it 'snakeoil'? Is encryption being undermined along with the Free software community? Are there no people with backbones anymore? Why does the man who created Python promote NSA back doors?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Approaching 10,000 Articles/Pages Since Going Static
Trying to silence or derail the site was always a dumb strategy
Microsoft is Shedding Off Loads of Staff and That Can be Dangerous Too
Working for Microsoft is a choice; nobody forces you to do it
Richard Stallman and the Unix Philosophy
When asked about systemd people must remember that RMS speaks as an active Board member of the FSF and also the founder of the FSF
Get Rid of Back Doors, Don't Obsess Over Bounties and Other Corporate PR Stunts (or Needless Reboot Rituals)
Security as a term has mostly lost its meaning due to repeated misuse for many years
Serial Sloppers Are Killing the Web (They Probably Don't Care, Either)
Slop is a disease on the Web
IBM's Debt Ballooned by 8.5 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months!
Hallmark of a company in a state of disarray, trying to spend its way out of trouble
Big Trouble in GNOME
even GNOME people admit the CoC went wrong
 
Links 25/04/2025: Slop Fatigue and Patent Judges Flocking to Fake, Unconstitutional and Illegal Kangaroo Court (UPC, Captured 'Justice')
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/04/2025: Night Manager and Devuan in Hosting
Links for the day
Windows Falls to New Lows in Nicaragua, Now Below a Quarter (It Used to be Almost 100%)
Another all-time low for Windows
The Cost (to Linux) of LLM Slop
Slop 'artists' like Fagioli are far from harmless
Links 25/04/2025: Ubisoft Spyware, Hegseth Fails at Tech on Every Level
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/04/2025: Food Forest Update and Facebook Destroying the Net
Links for the day
Streaming Apps Are “Investor Fraud” That Kills the Planet
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Things Get Increasingly Nasty at Microsoft Ahead of the Fake Results and May's Mass Layoffs Wave
They try to get people to 'resign' so that they won't count as layoffs and the company's 'wellbeing' will seem better
Slopping the Trough: Disney Plus Loses Billions and the Decline of Physical Media in America
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 24, 2025
Links 24/04/2025: GAFAM Problems and No Peace (or Ceasefire) in Sight
Links for the day
Slopfarms on the Web Almost Always Generate Anti-Linux FUD When They Produce "Linux" Output
Welcome to the dying Web
Richard Stallman's Oxford Talk Has Just Ended, Here Are Some Photos
he might hop over to another European country
Gemini Links 24/04/2025: Birthday and Good Work of Academia in Esotericism
Links for the day
Links 24/04/2025: EU fines Apple and Facebook, Another Microsoft GitHub Security Blunder
Links for the day
New Article Explains How the GPL Came About and WordPress Having Copyleft Obligations
Having been involved in the WordPress development community since almost the beginning, I know why it chose the GPL and how it restricts abuse by Automattic
IBM Gained Almost 6 Billion Dollars in "Goodwill" Value in Just 3 Months, According to IBM
Congrats to the management!
In Belarus, Yandex is Now Measured as 50 Times More 'Popular' (by Usage) Than Microsoft
Yandex continues to gain, whereas Bing cannot even register at 1%. Last month it was registered or measured at a measly 0.65%.
IBM Cannot Lie to Shareholders Anymore
"I would not be surprised if we see a layoff every quarter this year."
Dr Richard Stallman (RMS) Gives Talk in Oxford University in 4 Hours
If you live nearby, go there (it's free as in gratis)
Using a Law Firm's Licence to Exercise Politics Through Frivolous SLAPPs and Nastygrams (to Silence People, Remove Pages, Demand Fake or Forced 'Apologies')
Things must be getting really bad when lawyers act for raving antisemites
We're Working to Make Full-Site Search Available
This site has over 1,000 'wiki' pages, many thousands of documents, several thousands of videos, and about 50,000 blog posts or articles. We need to make them easier to find/navigate.
Links 24/04/2025: IBM Loses Many Contracts, Intel to Lay Off Over 20% (Not Counting Those Who Leave 'Voluntarily')
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Can Explain to Oxford Artificial Intelligence Society Why LLM Slop is Not Artificial Intelligence and Why It Hurts Society
another 'crop' of LLM slop that damages GNU/Linux and facts
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Promoting Microsoft and Proprietary Software Using Microsoft Operatives
Because nothing says "Open Source" like GPL violations facilitated by Microsoft
Another Site Bites the Dust: "Open Source For You" Becoming a Slopfarm (LLM Slop)
What a shame. Another dead site.
Links 23/04/2025: Crackdowns on Dissent, Palin Loses Libel Retrial Against New York Times
Links for the day
Links 23/04/2025: Hard Times and Digital Amnesia
Links for the day
The GNU/Linux Site Formerly Known as "linoxide.com" is Back... as an LLM Slopfarm!
Better for linoxide.com to go offline than to do this
Richard Stallman to Speak in Oxford University Exactly a Day From Now
outsourced to GAFAM
Links 23/04/2025: "Hiding Corruption" and "The Cost of Defunding Harvard"
Links for the day
Microsoft 'Studies' Again? Leon Musolff is Writing Papers With Microsoft.
Even if one can see/find a link to "the study" (in the Bezos-controlled publication), most people won't look any further and just take everything at face value.
Towards GNU World Domination
The FSF led by Geoffrey S. Knauth with his friend Richard Stallman in the FSF's Board [...] Let's encourage people to adopt GNU/Linux. There has never been a better time.
statCounter Helps Visualise Just How Deep in Trouble Microsoft is (Especially in Africa)
Microsoft sabotaged efforts to connect Africans and equip them with GNU/Linux laptops
The Register is Using Linux-Hostile Clickbait in Articles of Linux Proponents
Don't be a "whore" to advertisers, team El Reg
Microsoft Windows in Cyprus Lacking a Future
Most people access the Web there from mobile
Matrix Has a Severe Problem With Illegal Images
If Matrix cannot get the CP problem under control, many projects and people will dump Matrix
Never Try to Justify Strangulation of Women (Not in the US and Not in the UK)
Joint post by Mrs. Rianne Schestowitz and Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Links 23/04/2025: Tesla Profits Plunge 71%, Intel Ready to Lay Off 20% of Staff, Microsoft and IBM Layoffs
Links for the day
Microsoft's Most Profound Issue is That People Moved to 'Mobile' and "App Stores" (Microsoft's Presence There is Negligible)
Expect a wild ride for Microsoft this year
Google News is Amplifying FUD and Lies About Linux (and OpenSSH/SSH) by Promoting Slopfarms With Machine-Generated FUD and Slop Images
Google should know better
Gemini Links 23/04/2025: Librarians, Anubis, and Refactoring a Gemini Capsule
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 22, 2025