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05.13.15

Links 13/5/2015: GNU/Linux PCs in Russia, Fedora 22 Freeze

Posted in News Roundup at 6:03 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNOME bluefish

Contents

GNU/Linux

  • 10 Linux Dream Jobs – What’s Yours?

    What’s your Linux dream job? The Linux Foundation recently asked our Twitter followers to share their ideal Linux careers. Many responded that they’re already living the dream, working as sysadmins and developers (or by simply getting to use Linux in their everyday tasks.) While others imagine fulfilling careers not yet within their grasp. Here are 10 of our favorite responses, along with a few resources for learning more about each dream Linux career path.

  • New to Linux? 5 Apps You Didn’t Know You Were Missing

    When you moved to Linux, you went straight for the obvious browsers, cloud clients, music players, email clients, and perhaps image editors, right? As a result, you’ve missed several vital, productive tools. Here’s a roundup of five umissable Linux apps that you really need to install.

  • From Windows XP to Linux: Adding to the List

    Yesterday on Datamation, Matt Hartley wrote what could best be described as a reminder piece about the folks using Windows XP at home or in small businesses having options when it comes to replacing that particular operating system, and that the best option — go ahead and say it with me — is Linux.

  • Solar Sail Spacecraft Runs Linux and Uses SSH, Says Bill Nye

    The idea of solar sails was first introduced in popular culture by none other than Carl Sagan, more than 40 years ago. This particular technology was not a priority for scientists in the past decades, with very few exceptions, but The Planetary Society and Bill Nye want to change that by launching a small spacecraft called CubeSat that will be powered by light.

  • Desktop

  • Server

    • Rackspace CEO Takes a Positive Spin from AWS for OpenStack Growth

      Rackspace reported its first quarter fiscal 2015 results on May 11, with company executives sounding very optimistic about the company’s future prospects.

      For the quarter, Rackspace reported net revenue of $480 million, for a 14.1 percent year-over-year gain. Net income for the first quarter was reported at $28.4 million, up from $25.4 million in the first quarter of 2014.

      [...]

      Rackspace’s cloud fortunes today are somewhat tied to the open-source OpenStack cloud platform, which it helped to create. Rhodes sees potential for OpenStack both in the public cloud space as well as the private.

  • Kernel Space

  • Applications

  • Desktop Environments/WMs

    • K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

    • GNOME Desktop/GTK

  • Distributions

    • Goodbye Foresight Linux

      It’s with great sadness in our hearts that we write this article to you all, but it appears that in an email to the Foresight Linux’s mailinglist, Michael K. Johnson announces the retirement of the distribution.

    • Foresight Linux Announces The End Of Development
    • Material Design-Inspired Papyros Shows Great Progress

      It’s been a while since we heard about Papyros, the Linux distribution that used the Material Design concepts from Google, but developers have released a short video that illustrates the work they’ve done so far.

    • New Releases

    • Slackware Family

    • Red Hat Family

      • Fedora

        • End of Foresight and What Makes Fedora Different

          Foresight Linux officially called it quits yesterday due to a lack of developers. The project hasn’t seen a release in over two years, but it’s still sad when a distribution shuts down. Across town, Pete Travis posted a passionate open letter to Fedora on why it should remain true to its philosophy and Bruce Byfield pondered the age old mystery, “Why can’t Ubuntu play well with others?”

        • Fedora 22 Final Freeze

          Today is an important day on the Fedora 22 schedule[1], with a significant cut-offs.

        • Fedora 22 Linux Will Arrive on May 26, Final Freeze Now in Effect

          The Fedora Project is preparing to release their latest and greatest Linux kernel-based operating system, Fedora 22, which will arrive as expected later this month, on May 26, 2015.

        • Fedora 22 Is Now Under Its Final Freeze

          Today marks the final freeze for Fedora 22 with plans to officially release this Red Hat sponsored Linux distribution update later in May.

        • Fedora Workstation 22 Is Looking Great, Running Fantastic

          As the Fedora 22 release approaches, there will be more benchmarks coming along with other tests (e.g. the latest X11 vs. Wayland, Fedora 22 graphics performance, etc). For today’s article I just wanted to make a few remarks about Fedora Workstation 22. Fedora Workstation 22 feels like a nice evolutionary upgrade over Fedora 21. GNOME 3.16 and these upstream improvements represent a bulk of the user-visible changes in Fedora 22. Below the hood there’s the GCC 5.0 compiler, Mesa 10.5, Perl 5.20, Linux 4.0, and many other package updates. If GNOME isn’t your thing, Xfce 4.12 is present along with the premiere of the LXQt desktop environment. The latest KDE Plasma 5 / Frameworks 5 packages are also present in Fedora 22. Many of the other Fedora 22 workstation/desktop changes have already been detailed in numerous Phoronix articles.

    • Debian Family

      • systemd: Type=simple and avoiding forking considered harmful?

        I wonder if systemd shouldn’t do more to detect problems during services initialization, as the transition to proper notification using sd_notify will likely take some time. A possibility would be to wait 100 or 200ms after the start to ensure that the service doesn’t exit almost immediately. But that’s not really a solution for several obvious reasons. A more hackish, but still less dirty solution could be to poll the state of processes inside the cgroup, and assume that the service is started only when all processes are sleeping. Still, that wouldn’t be entirely satisfying…

      • Run Debian 8 Jessie with on Raspberry Pi 2 with RaspEX

        The creator of numerous GNU/Linux distributions are very excited to introduce us to RaspEX today, a distro based on the Debian GNU/Linux 8.0 (Jessie) and created to run on the Raspberry Pi 2 computer board.

      • Derivatives

        • Linux Top 3: Tails 1.4, 4MLinux 12 and TinyCore Linux 6.2

          Nearly a year after Tails 1.0, and the Tails 1.4 release is now available. Tails – short for The Amnesic Incognito Live System and is a privacy focussed Linux distribution.

        • Tails 1.4 is out

          Tails, The Amnesic Incognito Live System, version 1.4, is out.

          This release fixes numerous security issues and all users must upgrade as soon as possible.

        • Tails 1.4 Updates the Windows 8 Camouflage to Work with the I2P and Unsafe Browsers

          Tails 1.4 Updates the Windows 8 Camouflage to Work with the I2P and Unsafe Browsers

        • Canonical/Ubuntu

          • 2015 is shaping up to be the Year of Ubuntu

            Ubuntu has been making big promises since 2011 when they chose Unity to be at the center of their universe. And while they failed to deliver on Ubuntu TV or Ubuntu for Android, they’ve got other tricks up their sleeves.

          • Snappy Ubuntu Linux Now Used in Networking, Refrigerators

            With its number of uses growing, the Snappy Ubuntu Core Linux operating system is now coming to network switches and refrigerators.
            Canonical, the lead commercial sponsor behind the open-source Ubuntu Linux operating system, today announced an expansion of its push to embed Linux in everything from phones to refrigerators—and now network switches. The Snappy Ubuntu Core Linux operating system, a minimal version of Ubuntu Linux that provides an improved updating and security model, is designed for embedded devices and the Internet of things (IoT).

          • ICU Vulnerability Closed in Ubuntu 15.04

            Canonical has published details in a security notice about an ICU vulnerability that has been found and fixed in Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.10, and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

          • Erle-Copter, Ubuntu Core Edition: the first drone with apps

            Although Ubuntu is best known for its desktop/server distro—which was recently updated to 15.04—the last few years have seen the project’s ambitions have grown considerably. For example, there’s the Ubuntu phone, which is beginning to win plaudits. In turn, solving the particular demands for a mobile platform led to new approaches and technologies that appeared again in Snappy Ubuntu, a “transactionally updated Ubuntu for clouds and devices.”

          • Erle Robotics’ Ubuntu Core Drone Is The First Drone With Support For Third Party Apps
          • The Latest OTA Update For Ubuntu Touch Brings A Huge List Of Changes

            As we had anticipated correctly last week, Canonical has released an OTA update for Ubuntu Touch (OTA 3.5), an update which brings fixes for over 15 bugs, some 3G enhancements, fixes for a bunch oc calendar sync problems, removed some crashes regarding ubuntu-keyboard and indicator-network, fixed the bug that drained the battery when the phone was used in airplane mode, patched some routing problems and the suspend problems have been removed.

          • New Ubuntu Touch Update Brings 3G and Location Services Improvements

            Today, May 12, we are happy to inform all Ubuntu Phone users that the Ubuntu Touch developers have just announced the release of the OTA 3.5 update for Canonical’s mobile operating system.

          • Why Can’t Ubuntu Play Well With Others?

            Last week, founder Mark Shuttleworth opened the Ubuntu Online Summit with a challenge to Linux desktop developers.

            “I’m issuing a call to people who participate in every desktop environment,” he said, “to set aside our differences, to recognize that the opportunity now is bigger than those differences, to create experiences that spans phones and tablets, and PCs, to bring all of our applications, none of which are on one desktop environment or another.”

            His words were rhetorically stirring — and provoked no major response whatsoever. Although some news sites reported his words without comment, probably most companies and projects have heard too many similar calls to action for this one to be effective.

          • Loli Papelk + Ultra Flat Icons, Install In Ubuntu
          • System76 Meerkat is a cute Intel Broadwell-powered Ubuntu Linux computer [Review]

            Imagine if every time you wanted a Windows computer, you had to buy a Mac, format the hard drive and install Microsoft’s operating system. That would suck, right? This is pretty much how it is for Linux users, sadly. If you are a user of a Linux distro such as Fedora or Ubuntu, for the most part — unless you are a system-builder — you have to buy a Windows machine, and install your preferred operating system.

            What if you want to buy a computer with an operating system such as Ubuntu pre-installed? Enter System76. The company sells computers — both desktops and laptops — running the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. Recently, the company began selling the Meerkat — a mini computer based on Intel’s NUC. I have been using the computer for a few weeks now, with both Ubuntu and Windows 10 and I am ready to share the experience with you.

          • Ubuntu 15.10 with Unity 8 and Linux Kernel 4.0 Runs on a Lenovo Tablet

            Now, we all know that you can use Ubuntu on a tablet device, so this may not come as news to you, but seeing the next-generation Ubuntu 15.10 Desktop Next on a Lenovo ThinkPad 8 Bay Trail tablet might interest you.

          • Ubuntu continues its push into IoT devices

            Today marks the start of IoT World in San Francisco, and TelecomTV is onsite to record a series of executive video interviews and product demos. As the telecoms sector shifts its focus from vertically-aligned M2M solutions towards more horizontal IoT platforms, we expected to see yet more jostling for position amongst platform providers and OS developers.

          • Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) Release Schedule

            Announced by Mark Shuttleworth on May 4, 2015, Ubuntu 15.10 (codename Wily Werewolf) will be released later this year on October 22, 2015, according to the preliminary release schedule that was made public today.

          • Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) to Use Linux Kernel 4.1, Most Likely

          • Flavours and Variants

            • A preview of the MintBox Mini

              CompuLab has a long history of working with the developers of Linux Mint. The MintBox 2 is a good example of their cooperation, and it has gotten very positive reviews on Amazon. Now there’s a new product called the MintBox Mini and one of the Linux Mint developers has a preview of it.

            • Windows Users Are Top Downloaders of elementary OS “Freya”

              A month after elementary OS “Freya” was released to the public, the developers have made public some details about the platforms that download it and the results are pretty surprising. From the looks of it, the Windows users are the main downloaders of this Linux OS.

            • It’s optional for now, but Linux Mint expects to switch to systemd next year

              Despite recent reports suggesting the contrary, Linux Mint isn’t committed to avoiding systemd, the controversial project taking Linux by storm. In fact, Clement Lefebvre, Linux Mint’s project leader, expects the next major releases of Linux Mint to use systemd by default.

              No, Linux Mint isn’t switching to systemd immediately. The Linux Mint 17.x series and Linux Mint Debian Edition 2 will continue to use Upstart and SysV init, with systemd available as an option you can choose yourself. Linux Mint is giving systemd some time to mature before switching, but—with upstream projects and the Linux ecosystem as a whole moving towards systemd—Mint realizes it doesn’t have an option in the long term.

  • Devices/Embedded

Free Software/Open Source

  • Why tools like Docker, Vagrant, and Ansible are hotter than ever

    The complexity of application stacks keeps going up. Way, way up. Application stacks have always been complicated, but never like this. There are so many services, so many tools, so much more compute power available, so many new techniques to try, and always the desire, and the pressure, to solve problems in newer and cooler and more elegant ways. With so many toys to play with, and more coming every day, the toy chest struggles to contain them all.

  • 3 big lessons I learned from running an open source company

    It all sounds so straightforward: Put your code up on GitHub or start/join a project at the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), build a community of like-minded individuals, start a company, take in some funding, and then IPO. Or maybe not. One thing is certain: Running an open source company has unique challenges and opportunities. Although much has been written on the subject of open source and community building, I’d like to share three critical lessons learned in my travels as a co-founder and CTO of a venture-backed open source company.

  • Gaming Community Asks for Open Source GOG Galaxy Client

    GOG Galaxy is a new gaming client for the GOG distributions service, but for now it’s only available for the Windows platform. As a response, the GOG wish list now shows the open source GOG Galaxy client as the most requested item.

  • Events

    • GNOME.Asia summit 2015

      Every moment spent was mesmerizing in the summit. Day 0, 7th May 2015 Thursday was the workshop day in the auditorium of the Computer Science Department. Presentations by Andika Triwidada on “GNOME Indonesia Translation”, Akshai M for “MicroHOPE(Micro-controllers for Hobby Projects and Education)”, David King on “Writing your first GNOME application”, and Ekaterina Gerasimova, Alexandre Franke on the topic “How to make your first contribution” were out of the box informative.

    • LibrePlanet forever! Watch five sessions from 2015 online

      We’re happy to announce that recordings of five sessions from LibrePlanet 2015 are now online. Whether you couldn’t make it to the conference and are watching these for the first time, or attended and want to see them again, we hope you enjoy.

    • Last chance to register for the Randa Meetings 2015

      If you are interested in participating in this year’s Randa Meetings and want to have a chance to be financially supported to travel to Randa then the last 24 hours of the registration period just began.

  • Web Browsers

  • SaaS/Big Data

    • Communication is the key to herding cats

      John Dickinson is Director of Technology at SwiftStack and Program Team Lead (PTL) of the OpenStack Swift project. Last year, he gave us an update on Swift’s progress with Storage policies: Coming to an OpenStack Swift cluster near you for Opensource.com. In this follow up interview, John offers tips for improving community collaboration on open source projects, and gives us a preview of his upcoming OpenStack Summit talk.

    • Mixed Quarterly Results for Hadoop-Focused Hortonworks

      The end of 2014 was a momentous time for Hortonworks, which focuses on the Hadoop Big Data platform. The company had a successful IPO, driving home how focused many enterprises are on yielding more useful insights from their troves of data than standard data mining tools can provide.

    • Q&A Sessions with Cloud and Big Data Thought Leaders

  • Project Releases

  • Openness/Sharing

    • Open Access/Content

      • Open-source texts would have wider use in state colleges

        Students facing eye-popping costs of college textbooks could save substantial amounts of money under a bill that would encourage the use of electronic texts.

        The House on Tuesday approved a pilot program and study of so-called open-source texts that faculty could assign instead of traditional books that can cost students as much as $1,200 a year. The bill, which passed 144-0, next heads to the Senate.

        It would establish a task force to develop plans for the best use of open-source texts through an existing program at Charter Oak State College.

Leftovers

  • Security

    • Google Moves Its Corporate Applications to the Internet

      Google Inc., taking a new approach to enterprise security, is moving its corporate applications to the Internet. In doing so, the Internet giant is flipping common corporate security practice on its head, shifting away from the idea of a trusted internal corporate network secured by perimeter devices such as firewalls, in favor of a model where corporate data can be accessed from anywhere with the right device and user credentials.

    • Tuesday’s security updates
    • Beware the ticking Internet of Things security time bomb

      IBM’s Andy Thurai didn’t quite put the words into former RSA CTO Deepak Taneja’s mouth, but did prompt him by asking at the start of a TIE Startup Con panel in Cambridge, Mass., earlier this month whether Internet of Things security is a “time bomb ready to explode.”

    • VENOM, don’t get bitten.

      CVE-2015-3456 (aka VENOM) is a security flaw in the QEMU’s Floppy Disk Controller (FDC) emulation. It can be exploited by a malicious guest user with access to the FDC I/O ports by issuing specially crafted FDC commands to the controller. It can result in guest controlled execution of arbitrary code in, and with privileges of, the corresponding QEMU process on the host. Worst case scenario this can be guest to host exit with the root privileges.

    • For Venom security flaw, the fix is in: Patch your VM today

      The QEMU fix itself is now available in source code. Red Hat has been working on the fix since last week.

    • VENOM Bug In QEMU Escapes VM Security
    • 11-Year-Old Bug in Virtual Floppy Drive Code Allows Escape from Virtual Machines

      Popular virtualization platforms relying on the virtual Floppy Disk Controller code from QEMU (Quick Emulator) are susceptible to a vulnerability that allows executing code outside the guest machine.

  • Defence/Police/Secrecy/Aggression

    • U.S. Military Proposes Challenge to China Sea Claims

      The U.S. military is considering using aircraft and Navy ships to directly contest Chinese territorial claims to a chain of rapidly expanding artificial islands, U.S. officials said, in a move that would raise the stakes in a regional showdown over who controls disputed waters in the South China Sea.

    • It’s a Conspiracy! How to Discredit Seymour Hersh

      Max Fisher, now at Vox, learned well during his apprenticeship under Marty Peretz at The New Republic. This week, he was among the first to try to smear Seymour Hersh’s piece in the London Review of Books, which argued that pretty much everything we were told about the killing of Osama bin Laden was a lie. Most importantly, Hersh’s report questions the claim that Washington learned of OBL’s whereabouts thanks to torture—a claim popularized in the film Zero Dark Thirty.

      There’s a standard boiler plate now when it comes to going after Hersh, and all Fisher, in “The Many Problems with Seymour Hersh’s Osama bin Laden Conspiracy Theory,” did was fill out the form: establish Hersh’s “legendary” status (which Fisher does in the first sentence); invoke his reporting in My Lai and Abu Ghraib; then say that a number of Hersh’s recent stories—such as his 2012 New Yorker piece that the United States was training Iranian terrorists in Nevada—have been “unsubstantiated” (of course, other reporters never “substantiated” Hersh’s claim that Henry Kissinger was directly involved in organizing the cover-up of the fire-bombing of Cambodia for years—but that claim was true); question Hersh’s sources; and then, finally, suggest that Hersh has gone “off the rails” to embrace “conspiracy theories.”

    • Seymour Hersh Details Explosive Story on Bin Laden Killing & Responds to White House, Media Backlash

      Four years after U.S. forces assassinated Osama bin Laden, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has published an explosive piece claiming much of what the Obama administration said about the attack was wrong. Hersh claims at the time of the U.S. raid, bin Laden had been held as a prisoner by Pakistani intelligence since 2006. Top Pakistani military leaders knew about the operation and provided key assistance. Contrary to U.S. claims that it located bin Laden by tracking his courier, a former Pakistani intelligence officer identified bin Laden’s whereabouts in return for the bulk of a $25 million U.S. bounty. Questions are also raised about whether bin Laden was actually buried at sea, as the U.S. claimed. Hersh says instead the Navy SEALs threw parts of bin Laden’s body into the Hindu Kush mountains from their helicopter.

    • Sy Hersh’s bin Laden Story First Reported in 2011 — With Seemingly Different Sources

      R.J. Hillhouse, a former professor, Fulbright fellow and novelist whose writing on intelligence and military outsourcing has appeared in the Washington Post and New York Times, made the same main assertions in 2011 about the death of Osama bin Laden as Seymour Hersh’s new story in the London Review of Books — apparently based on different sources than those used by Hersh.

    • Smuggled Syrian documents enough to indict Bashar al-Assad, say investigators

      A three-year operation to smuggle official documents out of Syria has produced enough evidence to indict President Bashar al-Assad and 24 senior members of his regime, according to the findings of an international investigative commission.

      The prosecution cases against the Syrian leaders focus on their role in the suppression of the protests that triggered the conflict in 2011. Tens of thousands of suspected dissidents were detained, and many of them were tortured and killed in the Syrian prison system.

    • Fox News Defends Jeb Bush’s “Disastrous” Iraq War Answer

      Fox News defended Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush after he said he would still have authorized the invasion of Iraq “given what we know now,” claiming that Bush simply misunderstood the question.

  • Transparency Reporting

    • Prince Charles’s letters to ministers to be published

      They’ll be examined for evidence of any pressure brought to bear by a hereditary monarch-in-waiting on elected ministers, and for any evidence that government policy was changed following the prince’s intervention.

    • Prince Charles’s black spider memos to be published on Wednesday

      Prince Charles’ secret letters to British government ministers expressing frank views that the government has warned could undermine his political neutrality will finally be published on Wednesday.

    • Prince Charles Asked By Michael Crick About His Secret ‘Black Spider Memos’, It Didn’t Go Well

      Prince Charles clearly doesn’t want to talk about his ‘black spider’ memos to ministers, which are about to be released, after his aide was filmed body blocking a reporter who tried to ambush to ask about the secret letters.

      The memos, written to various government departments between 2004 and 2005, will be released at 4pm after a 10-year legal battle by The Guardian.

      They are understood to show Charles’ disagreeing with government policy.

      As Charles arrived at Marks and Spencer’s flagship store near Marble Arch on Oxford Street in London, Channel 4 News’ Michael Crick asked if he was “worried” about the letters and if he was still writing to ministers – and whether he thought he was behaving “unconstitutionally” in doing so.

    • A battle over these 27 bits of paper has cost you more than £275,000.

      Secret letters that Prince Charles wrote to Tony Blair’s ministers are finally being revealed after a fight lasting several years.

      It’s a battle that’s cost taxpayers more than £275,000 and needed a ruling by Britain’s highest court.

      So why has there been such a long wrangle over some bits of paper? Here are all your questions answered.

    • Release of Prince Charles’s letters shows the point of freedom of information

      The publication of letters Prince Charles sent to government ministers is a triumph – of sorts – for the Freedom of Information Act.

      The point of the act is to enable the public to understand better how those in authority are governing us. The release of the letters allows us a limited peek behind the curtains to see how the heir to the throne has been seeking to influence government policies.

      But boy, what a struggle. The government has fought very hard for a decade to prevent the disclosure of 27 pieces of correspondence between the prince and ministers in Tony Blair’s government.

    • UK Prince Charles’ letters to ministers finally made public

      Prince Charles said British troops were under-resourced during the war in Iraq, according to letters from him published on Wednesday which the government had tried to keep secret in case they cast doubt over the future king’s political neutrality.

      The comment about the armed forces came in a letter from the 66-year-old prince to former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2004, one of 27 letters he wrote to former ministers in 2004 and 2005 which were released to the public after a decade of government attempts to block publication.

    • Queen’s restraint is exception to rule of meddling monarchs

      The determination of Queen Elizabeth II to avoid any action or utterance that might be deemed “political” has become the status quo. Little is known about her personal passions or politics. If she has any – and she surely has – she keeps them to herself.

      But monarchs and future monarchs, even since the end of executive monarchy, have always meddled. It is Elizabeth, not her son Charles, who is the exception rather than the rule.

    • Prince Charles ‘Black Spider’ letters released: Heir to the throne described opponents to badger cull as ‘intellectually dishonest’

      People opposing a cull of badgers to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in cattle were described by Charles as “intellectually dishonest” in a letter revealing that he has long been in favour of the controversial process.

      In a letter to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2005, the Prince criticised what he described as the “badger lobby” for objecting to the killing of badgers while disregarding the slaughter of cattle which contract the disease.

    • Prince Charles’s ‘black spider memos’ show lobbying at highest political level

      A cache of secret memos between Prince Charles and senior government ministers has been released after a 10-year legal battle, offering the clearest picture yet of the breadth and depth of the heir to the throne’s lobbying at the highest level of politics.

      The 27 memos, sent in 2004 and 2005 and released only after the Guardian won its long freedom of information fight with the government, show the Prince of Wales making direct and persistent policy demands to the then prime minister Tony Blair and several key figures in his Labour government.

      From Blair, Charles demanded everything from urgent action to improve equipment for troops fighting in Iraq to the availability of alternative herbal medicines in the UK, a pet cause of the prince.

    • Prince Charles ‘black spider’ memos reveal lobbying of Tony Blair

      A cache of secret memos sent by Prince Charles to senior UK ministers has finally been published, following a 10-year freedom of information battle between the Guardian and the government. The letters reveal that Charles lobbied ministers, including the former prime minister Tony Blair, on a wide range of issues, including agriculture, the armed forces, architecture and homeopathy.

    • Prince Charles – Letters finally out – conspiracy theorists disappointed?

      There will be many disappointed people today I’d guess. Clarence House has released a statement that the publication of these letters will “only inhibit” the Princes ability to express concerns. Complete rubbish, if a member of the Royal Family is sending letters of a non-personal nature to those in our government, its of utmost importance that UK citizens are privy to their contents.

  • Environment/Energy/Wildlife

    • Energy and the US Dollar: May Issue of TerraJoule.us

      Imported energy as a share of total US energy consumption last year fell to just 11.16%, continuing a dramatic downtrend since 2005, when dependency stood at 30%. This is nothing short of a revolutionary trend-change, especially when you consider the gargantuan energy consumption of the US, which stands just shy of 100 quadrillion btu per year. Because US energy consumption overall has either bottomed, or is set to advance at least a little, the next dramatic move lower in the energy deficit will come in 2017, as LNG exports really get underway. TerraJoule.us believes global currency markets have not yet discounted these coming changes. Viewpoints overall about energy use, production, renewables, and global trade remains firmly anchored to an era that ended roughly a decade ago. Moreover, it’s astonishing that anyone who was watching markets a decade ago could possibly think the US Dollar is headed for trouble today. The US will become energy independent by 2019, according to the TerraJoule.us forecast. While the swings in fossil fuel trade are the driver for this change, the gains in renewables that will start hitting harder in the latter part of the decade will perfect and ensure this new era. Energy independence has typically been a subject for geo-political analysts. However, for our purposes, it’s the effects on the US Dollar and the impact on energy transition more broadly which are the main concerns for energy-focused investment, and the energy mix to 2020.

    • Nepal needs ‘sustainable aid’, says water charity

      In the aftermath of the 7.3-magnitude tremor in Nepal this week, Seattle-based NGO Splash has launched a campaign to raise $500,000 (£320,000) for its water projects in Kathmandu.

  • Finance

    • The Future of Jobs and Wages: A Conversation with Economist Richard Wolff

      WTO, TPP, NAFTA, CAFTA, and a host of trade agreements are causing America to hemorrhage jobs and the resultant downward pressure on wages. Add the productivity gains realized from automation and technology and the future of jobs in America looks pretty bleak. The government is cutting back on social programs and privatized welfare systems dependent upon the whims of the wealthy didn’t work for Louis the XVI or any other aristocracy throughout history. How will American workers support their families and keep our economy vibrant? There is a way but it will take courage. However, the long-term benefits are sustainable and fair. Professor Wolff talks to Tim Danahey and tells us how.

    • European Union VAT and my bookstore

      I really, really dislike this, but EU law leaves me no choice. I’m not comfortable blatantly ignoring tax law. I don’t think the EU could really do anything to me, but I wouldn’t be shocked if a future EU-US treaty were to suddenly make me responsible for years of back VAT. And I would like the option of visiting the EU in the future, rather than risk trouble because I’m evading taxes.

  • PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying

    • Groups Add to Evidence in “Whistleblower” Tax Fraud Claim Against ALEC

      Common Cause and the Center for Media and Democracy sent federal authorities new evidence today that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is falsely passing itself off as a tax-exempt charity and effectively using taxpayer dollars to subsidize its lobbying on behalf of private interests.

      Common Cause filed a supplement to its three-year-old tax whistleblower complaint against ALEC, and the two groups sent a joint letter to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen demanding an investigation, collection of fines and back taxes, and the revocation of ALEC’s status as a tax-exempt charity. Supporting evidence available here.

  • Censorship

    • Greatest Threat to Free Speech Comes Not From Terrorism, But From Those Claiming to Fight it

      We learned recently from Paris that the western world is deeply and passionately committed to free expression and ready to march and fight against attempts to suppress it. That’s a really good thing, since there are all sorts of severe suppression efforts underway in the west – perpetrated not by The Terrorists but by the western politicians claiming to fight them.

  • Privacy

    • Welcome to the ad business, Verizon

      AOL’s fastest-growing business is advertising technology, which few people understand, like, or value.

      In its acquisition announcement this morning, Verizon Wireless declared its $4.4 billion acquisition of AOL, the Internet stalwart, to be a driver of its “over the top,” or Internet-delivered, content strategy.

    • Feds drop case in which cops nailed webcam to utility pole to spy on house

      The Justice Department on Tuesday withdrew its appeal of a lower court’s December ruling that said it was illegal for police to attach a webcam to a utility pole and spy on a suspected drug dealer’s house in rural Washington state for six weeks.

      The government did not comment on its decision to drop the appeal in a brief filing to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

      The video camera operated 24 hours a day. Footage was synced to the computer of a Kennewick Police Department detective who could operate the camera from afar via its pan-and-zoom capabilities.

  • Civil Rights

Does Anyone Still View Cyanogen as Anything But a Microsoft Proxy?

Posted in Courtroom, Europe, GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft, Patents at 4:33 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Android and Microsoft

Image from Android Beat

Summary: The marriage of convenience between Microsoft and Cyanogen helps reaffirm CyanogenMod’s status as a Microsoft Trojan horse which must be rejected

MICROSOFT is assaulting Android from numerous angles at the same time. There is no way Microsoft can compete with Android on technical merit, so Microsoft is, as usual, resorting to underhanded tactics and dirty tricks. Our recent article about Microsoft’s assault on Android says that “Cyanogen is confirmed as a Microsoft Trojan horse also elsewhere, so it’s not merely a rumour.”

Stallman asked us for additional references for that, so we provided a few [1, 2, 3], including one from Microsoft’s unofficial mouthpiece ([1] is from the original announcement). Anyone who still thinks of Cyanogen as an independent company is clearly not paying attention. The days of CyanogenMod are gone; now there’s just a proxy called Cyanogen and it is controlled by Microsoft just like Nokia was controlled by Microsoft after Elop had taken charge.

The announcement which unofficially confirmed Cyanogen’s status as a Microsoft proxy was made a few weeks ago, but we think many of the details are still not entirely clear to some negligent observers. It is not stated explicitly, but basically, CyanogenMod would push Microsoft software at the expense of Google et al. software (also Google/Android partners), turning Android into a sort of “Microsoft Android” — a term which some other sites now casually use as well. Android is facing the threat of a classic embrace extend and extinguish manoeuvre by a Microsoft proxy.

“We are having a fundamental miscommunication,” said Stallman. “The CyanogenMod I have heard of is a system distro. Various people have told me about installing in phones.”

That was well before Microsoft harnessed the popularity of CyanogenMod to attack Android, or to turn it into “Microsoft Android” (same thing which was attempted by Amazon, Facebook, and Nokia).

“You are talking about “CyanogenMod” as some sort of entity which can do things,” said Stallman. “That is a total surprise to me. What relationship exists between those two?”

One predates the other and Microsoft needs CyanogenMod to operate like a company, e.g. Cyanogen. Microsoft requires that in order to manipulate CyanogenMod in this turf war against Google and AOSP (Android Open Source Project).

“I will look at those articles,” said Stallman regarding additional links we sent to him. “Does this mean that when people install CyanogenMod on their phones, it standardly includes Skype etc?”

I recently found out that even some companies like HP preinstall Skype on Android tablets (I found out because I bought one for my parents in law). One has to wonder who pays who and what deals are silently being made, not publicly. With respect to Cyanogen’s CM12.1, I think that their latest release contains many Microsoft apps. I have not downloaded CM12.1 or anything like this to confirm it, but it seems like an inevitability. The announcement from Cyanogen (about the Microsoft deal) was made some weeks ago, so we think some of the details are still not entirely clear (they remain to be seen in practice), but basically, CyanogenMod would push Microsoft software (spyware, or ‘cloud’) into phones. We wrote additional articles about it and will continue to write as new details emerge. More Microsoft spyware and surveillance are being spotted by the media even this month, so whatever Microsoft puts on Cyanogen is likely to be as privacy-infringing as is legally allowed (if not well beyond it).

Stallman has been eager to understand what is happening here. We explained that Microsoft ‘embraces’ Cyanogen to make CyanogenMod a distro through which Cyanogen partners will spread Microsoft spyware, hoping that this adequately explains the relationship. Stallman wanted some broader context though. “It leaves the most important question unanswered,” he wrote to us. “Will the CyanogenMod distro that users install contain these Microsoft apps? Does it contain them now?”

Seeing the confusion here, we clarified a little further; CyanogenMod and Cyanogen are synonyms only in the sense that CyanogenMod (CM), previously a username of the guy who founded the company (Cyanogen), are company-product. A quick historical roundup:

  • CyanogenMod (name of person) uses AOSP (Android Open Source [sic] Project) to make his own fork/derivative of Android{tm}
  • CyanogenMod (self named, like Linus and Linux) becomes popular
  • CyanogenMod (the person) is hired by Samsung
  • CyanogenMod leaves Samsung
  • CyanogenMod establishes a company called Cyanogen
  • Microsoft sues Samsung using patents, compelling it to install Microsoft spyware (by default in Android) in order to attain settlement
  • VCs give money for Cyanogen to develop CyanogenMod
  • Microsoft ‘embraces’ Cyanogen to make CyanogenMod a distro through which Cyanogen partners will spread Microsoft spyware
  • (Coinciding with the above) After much lobbying in Europe, Microsoft paralyses Google and dubs Google apps in Android ‘anti-competitive’. This is accompanied by potential legal action.

We hope this adequately explains the relationship between CyanogenMod and Cyanogen and we hope that Microsoft’s strategy in attacking Google is better understood now. It’s an extension of the “Scroogled” PR campaign that Microsoft has sunk so much money and effort into. Microsoft, being Microsoft, is very focused on annihilating the competition rather creating its own products.

We always recommend Replicant and F-Droid, and have done so for years (even at CyanogenMod’s expense). See our articles from 2013. We sort of foresaw what is happening now, including what Microsoft does to Samsung and other Android distributors at the moment (patents as tools of extortion). According to the press in Taiwan, Microsoft now pressures companies to put Microsoft spyware in their distribution of Android or face patent lawsuits/higher patent royalties. This is extortion, blackmail, abuse of retaliatory means etc.

“I think it would help if the FSF issued some kind of statement regarding Microsoft’s behaviour,” I told Stallman, “[especially the attacks which happen] behind the scenes, countering Orwellian charm offensives that seek to paint/frame Windows as “Open Source” and insist that Microsoft “loves” [GNU/]Linux. What Microsoft has been doing recently sure increased the blood pressure levels of many Free software supporters (I wrote a lot about it this year). A high-authority, facts-based response would perhaps help counter Microsoft’s narrative.” █

Open Source Revisionism of GNU and Free Software History

Posted in Deception, FSF, Law at 3:20 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Richard Stallman
Source: Conference by Richard Stallman, “Free Software: Human Rights in Your Computer” (2014)

Summary: Media mistreatment of the very roots of Free/Open Source software (FOSS), which is now approaching 35 years in age and increasingly thriving

IN recent weeks we have found several ‘news’ articles that gave us cause for concern. Some were shared with Richard Stallman, a regular reader of Techrights, for his views to be expressed and portions of the correspondence can be found here (cautiously redacted to reduce potential animosity/tensions).

It is not unusual, especially these days (age of openwashing), to see the label “Open Source” misused. Not too long ago we identified some very gross distortion of the term “open source” to essentially openwash Facebook’s surveillance ambitions, focusing on poor people. Facebook traffic has sunk pretty badly over the past year (based on Alexa it’s a massive drop), so Facebook is trying really hard to frame/paint itself as “ethical”, even when it tries to expand its surveillance to people too poor to get connected to the Internet. This isn’t altruism, it’s opportunism and malice. It’s definitely not “open source” and the dot org suffix (Internet.org) is clearly inappropriate, not just misleading. “Facebook mistreats its users,” Stallman explained. “Facebook is not your friend, it is a surveillance engine.”

There was also an effort to delete GNU from history — an effort that has gone rather aggressive. Stallman was in the process of speaking to editors who jad allowed this to happen (dumb lawyers called GNU and Stallman’s text “Open source Manifesto” in the article “Open source Manifesto turns 30″). Stallman asked me to show him the original publication site and tell him how to write to them. It wasn’t too clear whether to write to the editor/site or the author/law firm. The former can issue some fixes/corrections, we tend to think, superseding what was contributed by lawyers. The article comes from a formal publication which often publishes patent lawyers’ pro-software patents columns (we have seen over 100 of them over the years). The target audience is lawyers. The latest is no exception to the rule. It is an article by Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl LLC and the Web site is London-based, with Andrew Teague as the Associate Publisher, Mark Lamb as the Publishing Director, and Chris Riley handling subscriptions. When it was first published Stallman was eager to contact “Either one, or both! [editor and writer] But the sooner the better.” No correction has yet been published. It’s nowhere to be found.

GNU and Free software are 30+ years old. A lot of people contribute to the misconception that it all started when Torvalds released Linux or when the term “Open Source” (not open source intelligence) was coined by the likes of O’Reilly. Watch the “Open Source” O’Reilly nonsense starting the clock more than 10 years later than GNU: “Twenty years ago, open source was a cause. Ten years ago, it was the underdog. Today, it sits upon the Iron Throne ruling all it surveys. Software engineers now use open source frameworks, languages, and tools in almost all projects.”

Rachel Roumeliotis is advertising OSCON 2015 (OS stands for “Open Source”), but she should know about GNU and its age. These people conveniently start the clock when O’Reilly and his henchmen got involved. They want all the credit and they want people not to speak about freedom. Eben Moglen already ranted about this, right on stage in an OSCON event nearly a decade ago.

“This shows how “open source” misses the point,” Stallman wrote to us. “If the frameworks, languages and tools they use are free software, that is good for their freedom. But if what they develop with those is nonfree software, it doesn’t respect our freedom.

“So open source “won” by ducking the important battle.”

Well, the “we already won” attitude (or notion) helps a defeatist’s approach; why fight for more freedom if “we won”? That’s what those people (even developers) who open a MacBook or some ‘i’ device want to happen; some would further insist that Apple and Microsoft are now “open source” players, so “game over”…

We have noticed that Microsoft is now googlebombing with “Windows open source”, promoting the ludicrous notion that it’s now “open” (or gratis), or that it will be so one day. It started about a month ago, maybe two; dozens of articles have served this PR strategy. we wrote some rebuttals and will write another one this weekend. There is a gross distortion of what actually happened and what is happening.

“Stallman was unhappy about the increasing prevalence of proprietary software,” said the aforementioned article From Lexology, “software protected by copyright law and usually licensed on a commercial basis by its owners.”

Yes, but Free software too is protected by copyright law, it’s just twisted into copyleft. “Source code is sometimes licensed under GNU GPL terms,” says the article, “a form of
“copyleft” rather than copyright.”

OK, so surely they know what Free software is and where it comes from. Why proceed with statements like: “The “open source” movement emerged in GNU’s wake. As with GNU, users of
open source code can look at the source code and modify it. However, unlike with GNU, they are not required to share their developments with the world at large.”

“We have noticed many articles throughout this past year or so — including some from Linux Foundation staff — that basically start history in 1991 as if GNU/Linux came out of a vacuum or from Torvalds’ bedroom.”Actually, unless they are using something like the BSD licence, they usually must. Then there are issues like SaaS, which are addressed by the AGPLv3, among other licences. But either way, Free software remains Free software, there is no justification for renaming it “Open Source” and calling the GNU Manifesto “Open source Manifesto”. It’s insulting to those who started the whole thing and wish to receive fair coverage or attribution, at the very least.

The Lexology sites presents some other issues, mostly to do with access, not just paywalls. Stallman asked: “Can you email me the full text of that article? I tried to fetch the page and what I got did not include the text.”

Stallman said he “wrote to them”, but more than a month later the article remains uncorrected, not updated, etc.

Another big load of revisionism (changing history) uses the “Open Source” label to delete GNU from history. Published last month, the article titled “At Birth, Open Source Was About Saving Money, Not Sharing Code” focuses on Torvalds (see feature image) and frames the movement as one that is centered around money. Stallman asked: “Is that someone opinionated who won’t listen to me?”

It is of course worthless asking for a correction when you know in advance none would be made. It later turned out to be part of a broader series of articles, some of which did cover GNU. I personally read several hundreds of items from the author and he’s more into ‘practical’ benefits, so I don’t think it would be worth arguing over. Some people just aren’t fond of freedom in the context of computing.

We have noticed many articles throughout this past year or so — including some from Linux Foundation staff — that basically start history in 1991 as if GNU/Linux came out of a vacuum or from Torvalds’ bedroom. Quite frankly, we think it’s an insult to history. We deem it negligent at best. Of course it leads people to deducing that the success of the system in its entirety is owing to the great “Linux values”, not GNU philosophy.

In summary, in our threads of communication with Stallman we were able to reaffirm that there were factual issues in the “Open Source Manifesto” article (it speaks about the GNU Manifesto) and despite Stallman’s request for correction, nothing has been done by the publishers. It’s like people just don’t wish to speak favourably about freedom in computing. Mac Asay, a Mormon (i.e. more superstition a religion than most other religions), compares Free software people to dangerous religions — a typical smear directed at a largely secular Free software community. Perhaps there are just those who are impossible to please because they are inherently opposed to control over one’s machine and would rather buy digital prisons from Apple than work a little harder to gain control or acquire freedom-respecting tools. █

Microsoft Wants GNU/Linux Users and Developers Addicted to Microsoft APIs by Means of Cross-Platform Proprietary Software

Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 8:47 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Locked inside Gates

Locks

Summary: Microsoft’s proprietary software, such as Visual Studio Code and PowerShell, thrown at GNU/Linux users in an effort to promote Microsoft’s way of doing things and re-enforce lock-in

MICROSOFT is trying very hard to confuse the population. It’s aiming at low-hanging fruit — the non-technical people who are easy to bamboozle and convince through repetition that Microsoft is now “Open Source”. Microsoft’s googlebombing, as we have stated here before, keeps pushing Microsoft and “Open Source” into headlines. Jim Martin from PC Advisor is doing the “Windows Open Source” routine even one month after something actually happened (publicity stunt in Wired Magazine) and another British news site does the “Microsoft Open Source” routine (yet again!). If one isn’t careful, he or she might be led to believe that Microsoft completely embraced “Open Source”. See yesterday’s headline “What if Windows went open source tomorrow?” Days ago we found openwashing in a puff piece from Kevin Kelleher at Time Magazine. This is propaganda. It’s effective. People repeat what the propaganda tells them.

The most serious issue with all this is perspective or perception. In this new article about “.Net Core” (as in open core) Bill Weinberg is correct about what ‘open’ (openwashed) .NET does; it’s all about Windows and Microsoft lock-in. It is about leading people, including developers, into the prisons of proprietary software (Windows, Office, SQL Server, Hyper-V and so on). Microsoft recently used some non-news about Visual Studio Code (which is as proprietary as can be) to seduce people into the fantasy of “Open Source Microsoft”. As one GNU/Linux-centric site put it: “Microsoft Visual Studio Code, as opposed to the original Visual Studio for Windows, is not a complete integrated development environment containing an its own compiler and typical tools of this kind of development environments but it’s simply a code editor like sublimetext, atom, kate or brackets.”

So it’s not only proprietary but also less potent than Free/libre software. Paul Krill, the Editor at Large at InfoWorld, continues his Microsoft apologism, going further than openwashing Visual Studio. “Continuing its overtures toward open source,” he says (loaded statement), “Microsoft is unveiling technologies for packaging applications and remotely debugging JavaScript.”

Another article, titled “Visual Studio Code For Linux: What it Means”, provides another kind of analysis and notes that ‘Linus Torvalds once said: “If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I’ve won.”‘

“Bill Gates once said: “They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.” That very well applies to developers as well as end users. Microsoft is trying to make developers ‘addicted’ to Microsoft.”Well, but those applications are proprietary. They’re unwanted. A Microsoft promotion site wants people to run “.NET on Linux and Mac OS X” (that’s the real goal, spreading .NET). By repeating the words “open source” in relation to proprietary software Microsoft gives people the wrong/false impression that its proprietary software is suddenly “open”. Microsoft is doing that to its Web browser right now [1, 2] and by extension, by saying that this proprietary browser may run on Windows for phones, Microsoft promotion sites serve to openwash Windows Phone [1, 2]. How appalling it that? Cross-platform efforts with proprietary software and a little bit of “open core” in very few areas (getting developers ‘hooked’ on Microsoft APIs) is not “Open Source”. It’s only now that Microsoft says it may finally stop torturing the Web with ActiveX, so never mind “Open Source”, what has Microsoft ever been for standards? Bill Gates once said: “They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.” That very well applies to developers as well as end users. Microsoft is trying to make developers ‘addicted’ to Microsoft.

Microsoft booster Darryl K. Taft was one among several (including Adrian Bridgwater) who promoted Telerik, a longtime booster of .NET (“enhancements to its existing solutions, ongoing support for Microsoft development tooling” says the latest press release). The push for the whole world to become prisoner of .NET is reaching new heights as even Fedora 23 is chewing Mono [1,2] (after it got rid of it half a decade ago).

Let’s remind ourselves that amid all the “Microsoft Open Source” nonsense (googlebombing) there is very little that is actually open and a lot which is proprietary and geared towards lock-in. Microsoft now wants to ‘addict’ UNIX/Linux users to Microsoft’s command-line syntax [1, 2]. As if GNU/Linux hasn’tgot enough Free software shells like GNU Bash… well, apparently it needs Windows, too. Microsoft insists it needs proprietary Windows blobs like PowerShell. To quote one report: “After having shocked the world by releasing Visual Studio Code for Linux, Microsoft had the pleasure of announcing today the immediate availability for download of PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) for GNU/Linux operating systems.”

Compiling a pile of Windows lock-in for another platform is not openness. It’s a proprietary trap, just like Visual Studio Code. Developers are hopefully wise enough to see through the lies and the gross spin. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

  1. Mono 4.0 with Microsoft’s Open Source Code to Arrive in Fedora 23

    We announced last week that the release schedule of the upcoming Fedora 23 Linux operating system has been published and that the distribution might arrive on October 27, 2015, if everything goes according to plan and no unexpected delays occur during the development cycle.

  2. Mono 4 Is Planned For Fedora 23

    Aside from the other features proposed thus far for Fedora 23, the update of the popular Red Hat sponsored Linux distribution due out in late 2015, you can add Mono 4.0 to the list.

Updates on Microsoft’s War Against GNU/Linux, Android, and Free/Libre Software

Posted in FUD, GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft at 7:17 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Toy

Summary: The latest moves from Microsoft, which is eager to undermine Android and GNU/Linux (desktop/server) by all means possible

Microsoft really hates GNU/Linux. It shows it too. We wrote about several clear signs of it just a couple of month ago. It’s summarised in the following series which we published in order to — at the very least — act as a reminder amid Microsoft’s media blitz (claiming that it “loves Linux” and embraces “Open Source”):

“Windows ideology [is] causing harm just to be spiteful,” wrote to us a reader yesterday morning, “yet again.” He cited this new article which shows an attack on GNU/Linux from a Microsoft-faithful CIO.

“The CIO,” says the article, “had already released a memo to all tech support chiefs, stating that all retiring hardware should be placed on pallets for pick up by a soon-to-be-named reclamation and recycling vendor. The real kick? They’re paying big money to have their stuff picked up and parted out for profit — all in the name of “responsible recycling.” Rick quietly shared with me that the CIO was miffed because we were repurposing their donated computers with GNU/Linux. Because we were removing Windows, he thought the donated hardware was being wasted.”

How is it a waste to throw away proprietary software with back doors? Surely it would not be a gift if handed over to the disenfranchised in this form (with Windows). Windows is a tool of espionage against its users, so wiping it off should make sense by now, especially after the NSA leaks which prove Microsoft’s complicity. Microsoft Peter (Peter Bright) frames Microsoft as anti-leaks after the NSA’s Exchange Server spewed out almost everything the NSA had in store. It’s hilarious to see how far Microsoft propagandists in Ars Technica are willing to go with such spin.

In other news of interest, the New York Times whitewashes a patent troll (Paul Allen) who attacks Android through Interval. Microsoft, in the mean time, spreads more Android FUD (security-flavoured), showing its clear disdain for Free/Open Source software. Is this the “nice Microsoft” or “new Microsoft” we keep hearing about? How about Microsoft’s attacks on Android through Cyanogen as a proxy? It’s a Microsoft vassal which tries to remove Google from Android and put Microsoft in charge. Jack Wallen recently published this article about “Microsoft and Cyanogen”, asking: “But why Microsoft? Why jump from one juggernaut to another, from one lockdown to another? It’s really clear why Microsoft would make this deal: their mobile platform is going nowhere. In order to get their fingers embedded in the mobile pie, they have to embrace other platforms. And what better way to embrace mobility than to get in league with the leader–Android. By working with Cyanogen, Microsoft effectively gets their own version of Android–we’ll call it MS Android.

“From my perspective, Cyanogen partnering with Microsoft on Android doesn’t open the platform, it closes it up tight. This is especially true considering we’re not talking about simply adding a few apps, we’re talking about bundling. Microsoft’s history of bundling is not littered with praise for being “open”. Instead, what this looks like to me is an attempt at Cyanogen turning its back on Google to say “We’ll show you!””

Microsoft’s spinners Peter Bright and Andrew Orlowski both feel unhappy that Microsoft tries bringing Android software to Windows [1, 2]. They view this as surrender or suicide, as if Microsoft has any chance against Android/Linux and GNU/Linux, except by destroying/undermining them.

“Microsoft closes sole Helsinki outlet,” says a Microsoft-friendly paper after Microsoft killed Nokia. “Software giant Microsoft,” it explains, “has shut the doors of its only retail outlet in Helsinki, saying that it will focus sales of its consumer devices online and in other retailers’ outlets. Located in prime commercial real estate in the heart of downtown Helsinki, the store operated under the Microsoft banner for less than one year.”

Yes, just under a year. It means that Microsoft layoffs carry on. We’re entering a post-Microsoft era, one that is dominated not just by an alternative brand but also a software distribution alternative. Free software is getting its way. Microsoft actively attacks Free software. Microsoft cannot coexist with freedom, as history serves to show. █

“I do hope that the suit can help demonstrate that Microsoft’s claims of succeeding through innovation are a complete fraud. Their only innovation has been in inventing predatory business practices. Other than that, they have been perhaps the greatest borrowers in the history of the software industry.”

–Sybase Chairman Mitchell Kertzman

When ‘Former’ Microsoft Influence Lands in Free/Open Source Software

Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 6:39 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Linux Foundation Helps .NET

Sam Ramji
Photo from a Microsoft marketing site

Summary: The voices and brute-force impact of Microsoft are gradually penetrating the Free/Open Source software (FOSS) world, including the Linux Foundation

Earlier this year we wrote about Sam Ramji, Microsoft’s mole inside Free/Open Source software, entering the Linux Foundation [1, 2, 3]. No lessons learned yet from Nokia and Elop?

Either way, according to some articles (see also [1,2] below), Ramji’s new position (at Cloud Foundry) now facilitates Microsoft and .NET. How predictable. It didn’t even take long, only months.

“GE Launches Cloud Foundry ‘Industrial Dojo,’” says one new press release, “Contributes to Open Source to Foster Continued Development of the Industrial Internet” (more coverage in [1, 2, 3, 4]), so “Microsoft and Canonical are partnering up on IoT,” to quote SJVN.

This is what we have come to expect when ‘former’ Microsoft staff was allowed to join the Linux Foundation. Watch how an operating system (DCOS) that is backed by Microsoft’s anti-Linux manager (Silverberg) is getting tied up to Microsoft right now, facilitating control over the competition (GNU/Linux guests). This is a sign of defeat, not a victory over Microsoft, and it is going to lead to more proprietary software (which DCOS is).

North Bridge, somewhat of a sidekick of Black Duck (founded by a man from Microsoft to badmouth the GPL and sell proprietary software), is doing Black Duck’s marketing in Red Hat-run site, not just in Linux Foundation sites. The author says: “It’s been nine years since my firm, North Bridge, began our annual examination of trends in open source, which we conduct in conjunction with Black Duck Software.”

Congratulations, Chamberlains of the world. We now have Microsoft-occupied FOSS. Microsoft tells FOSS what to think and compels FOSS to invite Microsoft in, even though Microsoft remains proprietary, attacks FOSS (even in the courtroom), bribes officials, eliminates standards etc. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

  1. IBM Adds New Bluemix Services at Cloud Foundry Summit

    IBM announced a bunch of new Bluemix services to help developers create analytics-driven cloud apps.

  2. IBM Bluemix Welcomes Microsoft’s .Net

More Microsoft Moles/Double Agents in IDG (Working for Microsoft and News Sites at the Same Time)

Posted in Deception, Microsoft, Security at 6:12 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Hats

Summary: The plague which is Microsoft staff swapping hats (to masquerade as journalists) is still impacting news giants

OVER the past half a decade (or more) we have given many examples where CBS hired from Microsoft and appointed ‘journalists’ who not only had worked for Microsoft (to cover Microsoft issues and/or bash Microsoft’s competition) but even people who still worked for Microsoft. It’s like they are wearing two hats. The latest such example goes only a month or two back. There are dozens of such people (in total) and it is a very big deal because CBS owns and controls ZDNet and CNET, among many more sites. Last night we were told by a writer from Ars Technica (owned by Condé Nast, just like Wired and Reddit) that Microsoft sponsored the launch of Ars Technica UK, where every single page right now bears a huge Microsoft advertisement (which ad blockers are unable to hide). Ars Technica already employs several pro-Microsoft propagandists.

IDG, which owns and runs a huge number of sites that cover technology and proclaim to be news sites, can serve to show the security bias which we last mentioned the other day. As spotted by this comment, “Roger Roger A. Grimes] currently works for Microsoft as a principal security architect.”

“The author clearly has never met a good troll,” said another comment. The title of the piece is “We need the Internet police now more than ever”. This is total nonsense. What we need are operating systems without back doors, i.e. we need to abandon the likes of Microsoft (no more Windows). It facilitates cyber-crime, leads to botnets, DDOS attacks, extortion, etc.

This article is not atypical; this is just Microsoft propaganda (whether planned/coordinated or not). It’s Microsoft philosophy publicly projected. There is mostly blaming of the victims from Microsoft’s Grimes (Microsoft salaried ‘journalist’). Watch one of his latest: “Get real about user security training” (because it’s easy to blame the victims).

One day it may become possible to effectively screen journalists. We hope that journalism wouldn’t be so easy for Microsoft to penetrate and use to its advantage, leaving Microsoft only with aggressive PR agencies that try to push 'prepared' articles to journalists. █

“Mind Control: To control mental output you have to control mental input. Take control of the channels by which developers receive information, then they can only think about the things you tell them. Thus, you control mindshare!”

–Microsoft, internal document [PDF]

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