12.02.06
Posted in Deception, FUD, GNU/Linux, Marketing, Microsoft, Windows at 12:44 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
The company of marketeer has begun its next round of deception. It is no coincidence that this comes as soon as clients prepare for the next generation of servers and desktops (software-wise).
Lately there has been a HUGE push by Certified Microsoft Professionals and their companies to call clients and warn them of the dangers of open source. This week I received calls from 4 different customers that they were warned that they are dangerously insecure because they run Open Source Operating systems or Software because ‘anyone can read the code and hack you with ease’ they are being told. Other colleagues in the area also have noticed this about 3 Microsoft Partners or so they claim have been going out of their way to strike fear of OSS in companies that respond with ‘yes we use Open source or Linux’ when the sales call comes in.
The beast from Redmond is gearing up towards delivery of more disinformation than ever encountered before. It’s bracing itself for destruction of perceptions which accompany the term “Open Source”. According to Mary Jo-Foley, Microsoft has been preparing yet another
self-commissioned anti-Linux study. On top of that, Frost & Sullivan were recently used to conduct outrageous TCO studies. And yet, the press fails to mention who is behind the studies whose ‘conclusions’ it helps propagate.
Microsoft’s grip on public information and the media is nothing to sneeze at. Just have a look at the leaked Holloween Documents to get a quick reminder. That of course is the company which Novell, a so-called Linux advocate, chooses to do business with. Whilst Novell removes its anti-Windows Web site components, Microsoft fuels its anti-Linux fire and added aggression to its sales pitch. Clearly, “know your enemy” is a little tidbit which Novell absolutely must begin to digest and act upon.
In other news, LWN speaks of the division that’s formed in the Linux community, as well as the possible defection of developers who were invited to depart from Novell. Google and Canonical are named as examples.
To complete this quick roundup, I would also briefly mention Susan Heystee, the newly-appointed babysitter for this controversial deal. Shane has read the article more carefully and concluded that “they are going to customers jointly, in here she says that IP issues aren’t that important to customers that she has talked to. Plus, they admittedly have no plan – after ‘months’ of working out a deal and now they go to customers and are pitching them what exactly? Vague concepts like ‘interoperability’, ‘virtualization’ and ‘patent protection’“. This aligns perfectly well with the confusing ‘virtues’ that Novell waves in the eyes of European businesses, to whom patents are not even valid. All in all, this creates a great deal of noise and confusion. Wake up, Novell. You help destroy your source while returning to your proprietary roots.
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Posted in Deals, Deception, Finance, Intellectual Monopoly, Microsoft, Patent Covenant, Ron Hovsepian at 11:54 am by Shane Coyle
So, are we all to believe that Novell approached Microsoft and walked away with a deal which, on its face, is so one-sided in Novell’s favor that Microsoft’s shareholders should be calling for Steve Ballmer’s resignation:
Grand totals: MS gets at least $40M, Novell gets $348M themselves plus the benefits of having Microsoft selling and marketing SUSE ($46M). And remember, Novell approached Microsoft, perhaps they just have experience in dealing with Microsoft:
As for allegations that Novell has intentionally or naively entered a deal with the devil, Hovsepian was candid in his remarks: “We’ve been competing with Microsoft for 20 years. We didn’t just get stupid overnight.
Now, does anyone really believe that Microsoft got stupid overnight? Of course not. The money is insignificant to them, we are talking about a company that is facing a daily $1.5M fine in the EU and never even blinked. Perhaps this money even came from their anti-linux slush fund.
So, what is Microsoft getting from the deal, it clearly isn’t economic?
Well, there is the EC Antitrust ruling, in which Microsoft is required to do two things: 1) provide the interoperability interface information necessary to communicate with Windows, and 2) submit proposed license terms for the interoperability interface information. Now that Novell has accepted their interoperability license terms, it will be hard for the EC to argue that they are not Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory.
Then, there is the possibility of using Novell to undermine the Open Document Format, all while deriving revenue from their competition and instituting the “Microsoft Tax” on virtually all software. As a bonus, Microsoft got a bunch of FUD-munition (I wrote that the other day, I kinda liked the sound of it) to use against Free Software and GNU/Linux. The community is fragmented, and “Open Source” is Dead:
This was the week ‘Open Source’ ceased to be a useful phrase because it denoted everything up to and including Microsoft’s attempts to destroy free.
* UPDATE: Apparently, it is 70,000 certificates per year for 5 years, so divide the per certificate cost by 5 = $646, and they are 1 year certificates: “Each certificate entitles the recipient to a one-year subscription for software updates and technical support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.”
** UPDATE: Since this article, subsequent announcements regarding coupon distribution have indicated that they are actually the 3 year certificates – more confusion about the nature of the agreement by the parties involved.
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Posted in Formats, Standard at 5:22 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
One of the less visible gains for Microsoft from this deal are antitrust implications. Simply put, the deal works in Microsoft’s favour. It makes it seem as though Microsoft is willing to interoperate with everyone.
The following article would anger quite a few people. Therein lie quite a few misleading statements. They prove that Novell lends a hand to Microsoft in its fight against antitrust regulations and for software patents, which are supposedly inridged upon by Linux. Novell’s deal empowers Microsoft and enables it to continue its aggressive behaviour.
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today pointed to the collaboration between Microsoft and Novell as another reason to shun government intervention in the technology sector. The companies struck a deal to improve interoperability between Microsoft Windows and Novell’s Linux operating system.
[...]
The deal ensures that SuSE Linux can operate together with Windows in corporate data centers, defends Novell from patent infringement suits from Microsoft, and protects both companies’ intellectual property.
“The agreement to share intellectual property stands in stark contrast to the effort by the European Commission to force Microsoft to share some of its trade secrets with competitors,” Schatz continued. “The marketplace is the best venue for these issues to be resolved. Regulation by litigation hurts taxpayers, stifles innovation, and threatens intellectual property rights.”
As the above demonstrates, more patent FUD continues to be spread, not only in European countries where software patents are altogether invalid. To those who don’t know, Novell touts protection from patent infringement in its leaflets in Germany and England. It’s highly deceitful.
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