07.20.15
Windows Increasingly Discontinued (Mobile, RT), So Microsoft Wants to Take Over GNU/Linux
Summary: The Windows monopoly is at risk of being reduced to scraps after Vista 8, Windows Mobile, and Windows RT failed the market
MICROSOFT will never admit this publicly, but the Windows franchise is under existential threat, looking several years down the line (the trend is clear). In fact, a programmer from Microsoft told me (just over the weekend) that Vista 10 still crashes a lot and has hardware compatibility issues. It sounds a lot like Vista.
Windows RT is pretty much dead or dying. Based on this ‘damage control’, the platform is already on its deathbed and “[w]hatever features the new update brings, it’s a safe bet that this update will be the last gasp for Windows RT. Microsoft stopped selling the RT-powered Surface 2 in January and it put the Lumia 2520 out to pasture shortly after it acquired Nokia. Hardly any other vendors even bothered to make RT tablets, and those that did quickly realized their mistake and pulled out.”
“Windows is in so much trouble right now that Microsoft is trying to hijack Android (to the extent possible), blackmail its backers using software patents, and spread a lot of FUD in the media.”Microsoft is now betting the farm on branding, calling Windows “10″ (as in the number 10, which sounds nice but says very little about anything of substance). Microsoft lies about the price, pretending that it is free, and it also tries to characterise it as “open”. According to this article, if you don’t get “Enterprise Edition” (just not limited by design), “You agree to receive automatic downloads without notice” (meaning that additional back doors can be remotely added for the NSA at any time). As FOSS Force put it, going under the headline “Yet Another Reason to Avoid Windows 10″: “It seems they’re still convinced they know what’s best for their users. So much so that the new Windows, due to be released next week, will have users click off on an EULA that pretty much gives Redmond carte blanche to update the system at will, which will include updating apps as well as Windows itself, with no real way to opt out — except for users of the Enterprise edition.”
Windows is in so much trouble right now that Microsoft is trying to hijack Android (to the extent possible), blackmail its backers using software patents, and spread a lot of FUD in the media. Microsoft also resorts to putting GNU/Linux under Microsoft’s control (as we pointed out last week), with or without patents, e.g. using SUSE. Articles by Microsoft boosters such as Kurt Mackie [1, 2] call this “love”, but it’s actually entrapment with total surveillance on GNU/Linux servers because, according to Microsoft, there might be something criminal in there. Microsoft, according to this new article, is scanning every single file, including photos (i.e. surveillance). Forbes (plutocrats’ propaganda) puts positive spin on it, trying to frame it as “Combat The Spread Of Child Pornography”, but that’s just a convenient excuse that so-called ‘cloud’ companies use to snoop on every single thing. Hopefully there won’t be enough foolish (even negligent) companies that give Microsoft (and NSA vis PRISM) access to everything on their GNU/Linux servers. According to some reports, Microsoft now pretends that change of password is what’s required because Skype has yet another gaping hole in it. That’s not really a solution of course, “but the company is yet to close what appears to be a gaping hole in its software.”
The writer, Kelly (usually FOSS-friendly and Microsoft-sceptical judging by her long history), says that “complaints are building up about the lack of communication coming out of the Microsoft camp regarding what seems to be a Skype security flaw.” Making the software insecure by design (or the encryption flawed) comes at a high cost. GNU/Linux users should immediately remove this malicious blob and never install it again. Moreover, nobody should even give Microsoft any leverage over GNU/Linux and Free software. Microsoft is a loser and an informant, hoping that being a surveillance company will give it a new (post-Windows) future. █
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