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Publicado en America, Antitrust, Deception, Europe, GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft, Patentes at 8:25 am por el Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Relaciónes Publicas (PR) Microsoft versus el Microsoft real

Sumario: La guerra de Microsoft contra Linux, una guerra que es peleada usando patentes de software patents (por ganancias y/o por chantáje con arreglos empaquetados), todavía continúa a pesar de todas las tácticas de relaciónes públicas de Microsoft y sus sócios

MICROSOFT todavía está googlebombardenado a Linux (lo último es un ramo de tonterías acerca de un subsistema de Linux en Vista 10, citándo un eructo del propio canal 9 de Microsoft) tratar de decirnos que Windows es Linux y Linux es Windows, o algo de tal efecto (amplia confusión sirve a Microsoft aquí).

Basado en una MENTIRA (Microsoft “abrazándo a Linux,” y no en el sentido E.E.E.), este estupido nuevo artículo da un plan para deshacerse de Android. Son las mismas viejas tácticas E.E.E. que están evidentemente todavía en la mezcla.
“Es un ástuto plan de Microsoft, que simplemente está tratándo de tragárse a la competencia, como hizo hace veinte años con Java.”
En medio de rumores de una compra de Canonical/Ubuntu (hasta ahora hemos encontrádo cuatro artículos) Microsoft mantiene en un lazo a Canonical y Ubuntu para el mercadeo/propaganda de Vista 10 y no podemos dejar de sospechar que esta es la fase de “Extender” en E.E.E. Microsoft está tratando de convencer a la gente a comprar Vista 10 si quieren esta “cosa llamada Linux” (o Ubuntu). El lock-in sólo es cada vez más agresiva, ya que incluso los datos de forma automática de Windows está siendo cargado al cloud de Microsoft y varios elementos sólo para Windows (conjuntamente con el lock-in OOXML). Es una trama inteligente de Microsoft, que está intentando simplemente engullir a la competencia, como lo hizo hace dos décadas con Java.

Bueno, hubo un largo chat en el IRC el otro dia y también se discutiéron aspectos de patentes. De acuerdo a este nuevo artículo, a pesar de que el mafióso de patentes (Horacio) de Microsoft se fuese, su féo chantaje de patentes todavía continúa. Microsoft ahora usa juicios de patentes y las amenazas de ellos para conseguir el llamdo BUNDLING (paquetización). Veán lo que reciéntemente hizo con Acer (una clase de arreglo de patentes envolviendo este llamado bundling de Microsoft). Microsoft básicamente usa las patentes para forzar a los OEMs a escojer Microsoft o enfréntarse a jucios (com Samsung no hace mucho). ¿Es esto incluso legal? ¿Cómo esto no es chantáje y una violación de la ley antimonopolios?

Para citar este nuevo artículo: “Más de 20 proveedores han firmado acuerdos con Microsoft, desde entonces, incluyendo Samsung, LG, HTC, Acer y Asus. En marzo, Wistron Taiwan-basada y Rakuten con sede en Tokio se convirtió en los dos últimos titulares de licencias de patentes Android.”
“Google no debe tolerar los ataques de Microsoft contra lasAndroid OEMs (usando patentes de software como herramiénta) porque si no se levanta y pelea,Microsoft hará lo mismo con otras plataformas que son Linux-powered, e.g. Tizen, SailfishOS, WebOS.”
“Aunque Microsoft intenta buscar acuerdos de licencias adiciónales con vendedores de Android, Hill de Microsoft sugirió que tales acuerdos se tratán acerce de formar más duraderas relaciones que obligar/forzar sus derechos de propiedad intelectual.”

No, en Español lo de arriba significa que los ¨arreglos¨ de patentes todavía están en la agenda y que la solución con bundling es el current modus operandi. Lo suficientemente chistoso, Forbes (la voz de los multimillionarios com Gates y otros) llama al chántaje de Microsoft contra OEMs de Android “El Exito de Microsoft con Android”. Escondiéndo la verdadera historia ¿no?

Google no debe tolerar los ataques de Microsoft contra lasAndroid OEMs (usando patentes de software como herramiénta) porque si no se levanta y pelea,Microsoft hará lo mismo con otras plataformas que son Linux-powered, e.g. Tizen, SailfishOS, WebOS.

Volviendo al artículo anterior, que dice: “Algunos socios de Microsoft esperan que el gigante de software intensifique sus esfuerzos de aplicación de patentes en respuesta a esta tendencia. Jeff Middleton, presidente de IT Pro Expertos, un socio de Microsoft en Metairie, LA., No espera que Microsoft sea delicado en la persecución de los ingresos potenciales por licencias de Android “.
“For Microsoft to claim to have withdrawn complaints against Google after the FTC and EC already take action is like an invading/occupying army ‘pulling out’ of a nation after its complete destruction.”

Así que nada ha cambiado ni lo hará. Los medios británicos (Microsoft-amigable) propiedad de Murdoch actualmente lo hace parecer como si Microsoft se suavizó mientras que es obvio que ataca Linux con las patentes y al mismo tiempo sus medios de comunicación de Estados Unidos muestra que la presión de Microsoft contra Linux (o Android) en los EE.UU. está siendo lucrátiva [1, 2] (“La FTC amplía su investigación sobre el Android de Google”), después de que dio sus frutos en Europa. ¿Quién se beneficia de esto y cómo puede alguien considerar a Microsoft un socio digno de confianza? Microsoft, en base a estos nuevos informes de hoy [1, 2], está agrupando para excluír a Google de nuevo; incluso la búsqueda de Google está siendo negada por Microsoft, a pesar de la mayoría de las personas la prefieren. Nadie da ni mierda por Bing ¿Porqué fuerzan a los consumidores? ¿Porqué Google no prestar atención a esto? Microsoft lucha muy violentamente contra la administración de Android, con la ayuda de grupos de fachada y proxies (mientras finge haberse detenido, hasta el punto que algunos dicen ingenuamente “Microsoft está del caso en la EU“, citando informes como éste).
Como Masnick de TechDirt señaló en relación a esto, “Microsoft, se ha puesto de acuerdo a retirar sus quejas — a pesar de patalear por una acción de la EU antimonopolio contra Google” (cubrimos esto en su momento).

Para Microsoft diga que ha retirado quejas contra Google después de la FTC y CE tomarán medidas es como un invasor/ejército de ocupación ‘salga’ de una nación después de su completa destrucción. ¿Quién sería ingenuo como para creer en serio que Microsoft ha cambiado? Sólo

Only el Jefe Ejecutivo Oficia y la PR han cambiado.

Summary: Microsoft’s war on Linux, a war which is waged using software patents (for revenue and/or for coercion in bundling deals), is still going on in spite of all the PR tactics from Microsoft and its paid partners

MICROSOFT is still googlebombing Linux (the latest is a bunch of nonsense about a Linux subsystem in Vista 10, citing a blurb from Microsoft’s own Channel 9) and trying to tell us that Windows is Linux and Linux is Windows, or something to that effect (widespread confusion serves Microsoft here).

Based on a lie (Microsoft “embracing Linux,” and not in the E.E.E. sense), this foolish new article gives Microsoft a kill plan for Android. It’s the same old E.E.E. tactics, which are evidently still in the mix.

“It’s a clever plot from Microsoft, which is trying to simply engulf the competition, as it did two decades ago with Java.”Amid rumours and suggestions of a Canonical/Ubuntu buyout (we have encountered 4 articles about it by now) Microsoft keeps roping in Canonical and Ubuntu for Vista 10 marketing and we can’t help but feel that this is the “Extend” phase in E.E.E. Microsoft is trying to convince people to flock to Vista 10 if they want this “Linux thing” (or Ubuntu). The lock-in is only getting ever more aggressive, as even data from Windows is automatically being uploaded to Microsoft’s ‘cloud’ and various Windows-only elements (set aside OOXML lock-in). It’s a clever plot from Microsoft, which is trying to simply engulf the competition, as it did two decades ago with Java.

Well, there was a long chat about it in IRC the other day and patent aspects were discussed as well. According to this new article, in spite of Microsoft's patent Mafioso (Horacio) leaving, his ugly patent racketeering strategy goes on. Microsoft now uses patent lawsuits and threats thereof to get BUNDLING. See what it recently did with Acer (a sort of patent settlement involving Microsoft bundling). Microsoft basically uses patents to compel OEMs to choose Microsoft or face lawsuits (like Samsung not too long ago). Is this even legal? How is this not racketeering and an antitrust violation?

To quote this new article: “More than 20 vendors have inked agreements with Microsoft since then, including Samsung, LG, HTC, Acer and Asus. In March, Taiwan-based Wistron and Tokyo-based Rakuten became the two latest Android patent licensees.

“Google oughtn’t tolerate Microsoft’s attacks on Android OEMs (using software patents for leverage) because if it does not stand up and fights back, Microsoft will do it to other platforms that are Linux-powered, e.g. Tizen, SailfishOS, WebOS.”“Although Microsoft intends to seek additional licensing agreements with Android vendors, [Microsoft's] Hill suggested that these deals will be more about forming lasting relationships than enforcing intellectual property rights.”

No, what the above says is that patent deals are still on the agenda and that settlement with bundling is the current modus operandi. Funnily enough, Forbes (Gates’ and other rich people’s mouthpiece) calls Microsoft’s racketeering against Android OEMs “Microsoft’s Android Success”. Missing the big story there, don’t they?

Google oughtn’t tolerate Microsoft’s attacks on Android OEMs (using software patents for leverage) because if it does not stand up and fights back, Microsoft will do it to other platforms that are Linux-powered, e.g. Tizen, SailfishOS, WebOS.

Going back to the above article, it says: “Some Microsoft partners are expecting the software giant to step up its patent enforcement efforts in response to this trend. Jeff Middleton, president of IT Pro Experts, a Microsoft partner in Metairie, La., doesn’t expect Microsoft to tread lightly in going after potential Android licensing revenue.”

“For Microsoft to claim to have withdrawn complaints against Google after the FTC and EC already take action is like an invading/occupying army ‘pulling out’ of a nation after its complete destruction.”So nothing has changed and nothing will change, either. Murdoch-owned British media (Microsoft-friendly) currently makes it looks as though Microsoft softened while it’s obviously attacking Linux with patents and at the same time Murdoch-owned US media shows that Microsoft lobbying against Linux (or Android) in the US is paying off [1, 2] (“FTC Extends Probe Into Google’s Android”), after it paid off in Europe. Who benefits from this and how can anyone consider Microsoft a trustworthy partner? Microsoft, based on these new reports from today [1, 2], is bundling to the exclusion of Google again; even Google search is being denied by Microsoft, despite most people preferring it. Is Google not paying attention to this? Microsoft fights very viciously against Android’s steward, with help from front groups and proxies (while pretending to have stopped, to the point where some naively say “Microsoft’s out” of the EU case, citing reports like this one).

As TechDirt‘s Masnick pointed out in relation to this, “Microsoft, which has agreed to drop its complaints — despite kicking off much of the EU antitrust focus on Google” (we covered this at the time).

For Microsoft to claim to have withdrawn complaints against Google after the FTC and EC already take action is like an invading/occupying army ‘pulling out’ of a nation after its complete destruction. Who would be naive enough to seriously believe that Microsoft has changed? Only the CEO and PR have changed. █

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Publicado por Antitrust, Deception, GNU/Linux, Google, Java, Microsoft at 7:13 am por el Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Credit: unknown (Twitter)

Summary: Otro recordatorio de la realidad que Microsoft está muy activo en el frente E.E.E., not no sólo contra GNU/Linux pero también Android y Java

NO es un secreto que Microsoft está tratándo de obstaculizar el desarrollo de Android o dominárlo completamente, no simplemente extorsiónandolo con patentes de software o ejerciéndo influencia/control usando patentes de software. Entonces también hay el aspecto antimonopolio; fue Microsoft y sus proxies/grupos frontales que impulsaron a los que impulsaron a los políticos Europeos a ir detrás de las aventuras Linux de Google (hemos cubierto estos hechos muchas veces por casi una década).

“Entonces también hay el aspecto antimonopolio; fue Microsoft y sus proxies/grupos frontales que impulsaron a los que impulsaron a los políticos Europeos a ir detrás de las aventuras Linux de Google (hemos cubierto estos hechos muchas veces por casi una década).”

Ahora mismo encontramos a Jason Perlow [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (un empleado de Microsoft que habitualmente ataca a los rivales de Microsoft) haciéndo el anti-Java y anti-Android berrinche en ZDNet, quién estupidamente emplea empleados de Microsoft como periodistas. La última de Jason Perlow tiene carnada en el títular, “La crisis existencial de Android: ¿El porqué Java necesita morir en devices móbiles?” (ataque contra ambos Android y Java; dos pajaros, una piedra).
Cuánt típico es todo esto. Agenda disfrazada de ‘noticias’. Ese es el modus operandi y el modelo de negocios de CBS, quien es dueño de ZDNet. Para entender mejor el porque de Perlow desearíá basurear/hablar mal de ambos Java y Android, consideren el caso de RoboVM, e cual Microsoft acaba de matar usando el clásico E.E.E método. El último nuevo artículo acerca del asesinato de RoboVM por parte de Microsoft de James Darvell (y por extensión dañar a Android y a Linux) va como sigue:

Microsoft recientemente hizo un gran ruido alrededor de su amor y apoyo de la comunidad Open Source (especialmente Linux), pero al mismo tiempo se trata de hacer medidas concretas para mejorar su apoyo a los proyectos de software libre, sus motivos no puede ser totalmente altruista. Microsoft sigue financiando ataques legales contra los proyectos de código abierto en varios frentes, y se ha aplastado proyectos de código abierto cuando conviene a la empresa.
Tal es el caso de RoboVM, un compilador de Java-a-móvil que apoya el desarrollo móvil de plataforma cruzada.
RoboVM fue originalmente un proyecto de código abierto, aunque eso cambió después de que la empresa matriz fue adquirida por Xamarin en octubre de 2015. Xamarin tenía varios productos similares que apoyan el desarrollo multiplataforma utilizando diferentes lenguajes de programación. Naturalmente, Xamarin vio RoboVM como una adición adecuada a su establo.
Poco después de la adquisición, se hizo un anuncio en el sentido de que el modelo de desarrollo de código abierto “no estaba funcionando” para el equipo RoboVM. El proyecto se cerró, y derechos de licencia se incrementaron para que coincida con las otras herramientas en la alineación de Xamarin.
A principios de este año, Microsoft adquirió Xamarin, y mientras se está promocionando con orgullo la mayoría de conjunto de herramientas de Xamarin, parece que no hay lugar para RoboVM en los planes de desarrollo multi-plataforma de Microsoft. La semana pasada, el equipo RoboVM anunció que el proyecto sería cerrada.

Actualmente, RoboVM no dijo esto después de su compra pero poco tiempo antes de ella, probablemente cuando negociaba la toma de control por parte de Microsoft todavía tuvo lugar [1, 2, 3]. Darvell del Linux Journal continua:

Sin embargo, hay algunos que dirán que Microsoft no le gusta Java. Microsoft consiguió sus dedos quemados en 1997, cuando Sun demandó a Microsoft por su intento de apropiación de Java. En aquel entonces, Java se convertirá en el “lenguaje de Internet”, y trayendo el apoyo applet de Java en Internet Explorer era un objetivo importante. Al estilo de Microsoft, Java VM de Windows admite sólo parcialmente los Java estándar lo que es más, añadido funciones publicados que no formaban parte de la norma oficial.
El objetivo era crear una situación en código que se ejecutaba en una máquina virtual de Microsoft no se presentaría en cualquier otra plataforma. Secuestrando el estándar de Java, Microsoft planea capturar base de usuarios de Sun y dictar el futuro de Java. Por supuesto, ese plan resultó en un desastre caro, lo que explica la actitud tibia de la compañía a Java desde entonces.

Nos preocupa que el próximo E.E.E. de Microsoft que haya pueda ser Canonical. Entonces allí esta la preocupación acerca de la Linux Foundation, la cual como Canonical al presente tiene dinero de Microsoft money en su mesa. Hablando de lo cual, la propaganda de Microsoft está siendo amplificada por la Linux Foundation incluso dos veces el mismo dia (ayer), levantando dudas como, ¿para quién están trabajando estos dias? Despues de permitir antiguo personal de Microsoft dentro de ellas, y haber estado recibiéndo dinero de Microsoft, el poder del dinero los amenaza también.

“No sobrestime la malicia de Microsoft. Está todavía dirigida por la misma gente.”

Microsoft tiene una historia de usar la corruptible influencia del dinero para demoler a sus competidores, e.g. al contratar a sus empleados, pagar por cláusulas de no competición, hacerse cargo de ellas sólo para desmántelarlas. No sobrestime la malicia de Microsoft. Está todavía dirigida por la misma gente.

“Infestaciónes de Linux están siéndo descubiertas en muchos de nuestros grandes cuentas como parte de los comprómisos de escalación.”

–Microsoft Confidential

Summary: Another reminder of the fact that Microsoft is very active on the E.E.E. front, not just against GNU/Linux but also Android and Java

IT IS no secret that Microsoft is trying to derail Android development or take over it, not just tax it using software patents or exerting influence/control using software patents. Then there’s the antitrust aspect; it was Microsoft and its proxies/front groups that pushed European politicians to go after Google’s Linux endeavours (we have covered this in dozens of posts going half a decade back).

“Then there’s the antitrust aspect; it was Microsoft and its proxies/front groups that pushed European politicians to go after Google’s Linux endeavours (we have covered this in dozens of posts going half a decade back).”Right now we find Microsoft’s Jason Perlow [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (a Microsoft employee who habitually attacks Microsoft’s rivals) doing the anti-Java and anti-Android spiel at ZDNet, which foolishly employs Microsoft staff as journalists. Perlow’s latest piece has a bait headline, “Android’s existential crisis: Why Java needs to die on mobile devices” (attack on both Android and Java; two birds, one stone).

All we can say is, how typical. Agenda as ‘news’. That’s the modus operandi and the business model of CBS, which owns ZDNet.

To better understand why Perlow would wish to trash-talk/badmouth both Java and Android, consider the case of RoboVM, which Microsoft has just killed using its classic E.E.E. method. James Darvell’s good new article about Microsoft’s assassination of RoboVM (and by extension harm to Android and to Linux) goes as follows:

Microsoft recently made a big noise about its love and support of the Open Source community (especially Linux), but while it’s making concrete steps toward improving its support for FOSS projects, its motives may not be entirely altruistic. Microsoft continues to fund legal attacks against open-source projects on multiple fronts, and it has crushed open-source projects when it suits the company.

Such is the case with RoboVM, a Java-to-mobile compiler that supported cross-platform mobile development.

RoboVM originally was an open-source project, although that changed after the parent company was acquired by Xamarin in October 2015. Xamarin had several similar products that support cross-platform development using different programming languages. Naturally, Xamarin saw RoboVM as a suitable addition to its stable.

Shortly after the acquisition, an announcement was made to the effect that the open-source development model “wasn’t working out” for the RoboVM team. The project was closed, and licensing fees were increased to match the other tools in Xamarin’s lineup.

Earlier this year, Microsoft acquired Xamarin, and while it’s proudly touting the majority of Xamarin’s suite of tools, it seems there’s no place for RoboVM in Microsoft’s cross-platform development plans. Last week, the RoboVM team announced that the project would be shut down.

Actually, RoboVM didn’t say this after the buyout but shortly before it, probably when negotiation with Microsoft’s outpost still took place [1, 2, 3]. Darvell of Linux Journal continues:

But, there are some who will say that Microsoft just doesn’t like Java. Microsoft did get its fingers burned back in 1997 when Sun sued Microsoft over its attempt to appropriate Java. Back then, Java was set to become the “language of the Internet”, and bringing Java applet support to Internet Explorer was an important goal. In true Microsoft fashion, the Windows Java VM only partially supported the published Java standard—what’s more, it added features that were not a part of the official standard.

The goal was to create a situation where code that ran on a Microsoft VM would not run on any other platform. By hijacking the Java standard, Microsoft planned to capture Sun’s user base and dictate the future of Java. Of course, that plan resulted in an expensive debacle, which explains the company’s lukewarm attitude to Java ever since.

We worry that next on Microsoft's E.E.E. queue there might be Canonical. Then there’s concern about the Linux Foundation, which just like Canonical currently has Microsoft money on its table. Speaking of which, Microsoft propaganda is being amplified by the Linux Foundation even twice in one day (yesterday), raising questions such as, who are they working for these days? After letting former Microsoft staff in, and having received money from Microsoft, the power of money threatens them too.

“Don’t underestimate Microsoft’s malice. It’s still run by virtually the same people.”Microsoft has a history of using the corrupting influence of money to demolish competitors, e.g. by poaching employees, paying for non-compete clauses, taking over only to dismantle and so on. Don’t underestimate Microsoft’s malice. It’s still run by virtually the same people. █

“Linux infestations are being uncovered in many of our large accounts as part of the escalation engagements.”

–Microsoft Confidential

Summary: Microsoft has just killed yet another FOSS project (using money to shut down competitors) — one that was helping Android and Java

THE headline “Embrace, extend – and kill. Microsoft discontinues RoboVM” says it all really. Several people in our IRC channels noticed this original story (from the original statement) rather quickly and later on in the day some people told me about it privately, so it obviously wasn’t overlooked at all.

“Nice,” Lirodon wrote in the afternoon, “and now Microsoft has killed RoboVM dead. It was already dead when they became non-free.”

“Microsoft,” MinceR responded, “where projects go to die [...] just like they killed entire video game developer companies (Terminal Reality and Ensemble Studios)” (we covered this years ago).

Microsoft is just the same old evil company, there is no ‘ new’ Microsoft. Microsoft will try this against GNU/Linux if it can. It’s its classic modus operandi, but taking on a project as big as these (to “extinguish”) is a monumental task.

What Techrights wrote about RoboVM when it was first “embraced” [1, 2, 3] turns out to be true. We foresaw exactly what Microsoft would do about RoboVM once it’s payday (yet again!) for Miguel de Icaza.

Some people still wonder, what exactly happened to RoboVM? Here it is in their own words: “Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working with the teams at Xamarin and Microsoft to assess the technology and business conditions of RoboVM to determine the path forward for the products. After looking at the complete landscape for mobile development with Java, the decision has been made to wind down development of RoboVM.”

After they had made it proprietary (shortly before Xamarin stepped in formally), essentially stabbing the whole community in the back, the Microsoft people (all of them are Microsoft staff now) did this:

For any fools out there who still think Microsoft doesn’t do E.E.E. against FOSS, here we go again. What would it take to wake people up? How many more companies need to die? How could RoboVM not know that Xamarin was an evil proxy of Microsoft? It was common knowledge as it wasn’t hard to see where Xamarin’s money had come from (Microsoft veterans).

Microsoft is now essentially shutting down another pillar of Java, so this is classic E.E.E. via Xamarin. As one person put it to us, “and today Microsoft ordered RoboVM to wind down operation” (linking to the original announcement).

A lot of the utter rubbish about Microsoft “loving Linux” is a villainous lie. It’s the best lie money can buy as it’s clear that Microsoft is still very aggressive; it hates GNU/Linux, it hates Android, and it hates Java. Don’t let the Microsoft-funded media fool you (Microsoft Peter, for instance, moved from the UK to the US to write for Condé Nast, which is paid by Microsoft). Microsoft basically buys articles from various large media networks; it pays networks to tell us that Microsoft has changed, but nothing is changing, it’s only escalating.

The above, says Fernando Cassia, “reminds me of VirtualPC, which was a product of Innotek Gmbh and offerend Windows virtualization under OS/2 hosts….”

He then told me, “guess which product they dropped after being acquired by Microsoft? Yes, Virtual PC for IBM OS/2 :-/”

He further emphasised that “everything Microsoft does is about leveraging its cash cow to hurt competitors or whatever it sees as a menace” and “the war on Java started ten years ago… “Operation Sunblock” never really stopped” (here is the article about “Operation Sunblock”)

“20 years ago,” he added a few hours later, “boy how time flew [...] “+options available…including tools that will help you PORT TO XAMARIN” //Competitor eliminated.Mission accomplished”

When will be the next antitrust probe against Microsoft bribery, racketeering, blackmail, and extortion? Did it get enough lobbyists in all the right places in order to shift any such focus to Google? Remember that Microsoft is still run by the same thugs (only the CEO changed) and they want Android and Linux to be next in the E.E.E. pipeline. Microsoft loves nothing but itself and its own monopoly of lock-in and back doors. New charm offensives try to lull us into sleep and inaction (no defensive/reactionary statements from the community).

As one person told me yesterday: “Remember Microsoft’s charm offensive with Nokia? We all know very well how that ended and what happened to MeeGo & Meltemi.”

We wrote a lot about what Microsoft did to Nokia. How many more Linux and FOSS backers need to die (out of work) before the media acknowledges that Microsoft is a liar and an assassin? █

Publicado en Antitrust, Decepción, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 9:02 pm por el Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Córtala o completamente acaba el marrulleo, Microsoft…

“Esta cosa anti-trust explotará. No hemos cambiado para nada nuestras prácticas de negocios.”

–Bill Gates

Sumario: Las proclamaciones de Microsoft “amor” hacia GNU/Linux no están siendo aceptadas por la comunidad, así que un montón de campaña de PR cae en oídos sordos (excepto aquellos que quieran ser engañados y diseminar aún mas la mentira, e.g. en las compañias de medios financiados o amigables a Microsoft)

EL siguiente mensaje fue publicado no hace mucho en Reddit. Es másc como un blog publicado como submisión en el sitio y es títulado “Recuérden: Microsoft es todavíá (y siempre lo será) hóstil hacia Linux y FLOSS”. Pensamos que vale la pena reproducirlo abajo (sin ninguno de los comentarios) porque alude a muchas cosas que hemos cubierto en este lugar, incluyendo el caso Comes vs Microsoft.

Con toda la “buena” PR y las noticias de Microsoft (aparentemente) se acercar a Linux, es fácil olvidar cómo Microsoft es hostil a Linux y todo el código abierto. Recuerden: Todo lo que hicieron fue conseguir un nuevo director general, la cultura de la compañía todavía es la misma.

Todo lo que ha cambiado es en lugar de odiar públicamente en Linux, Aman ahora públicamente Linux, pero en realidad siguen siendo muy hostiles a Linux. Esto nunca va a cambiar.

Sólo recuerde los archivos de casos de consumo de Iowa (http://edge-op.org/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/), que tiene una gran cantidad de correos electrónicos internos de Microsoft, muchos de ellos básicamente declarar su amor por todas las cosas de Windows y MS y odio para todo lo demás. Todos se encuentran en formato PDF y se han desprecintado (por suerte). Algunos incluso entrar en detalles acerca de su trazado con cosas como el programa Vista Ready con el fin de engañar a los consumidores (que, básicamente, no dan una mierda), etc.

Entonces allí están los documentos Halloween: http://www.catb.org/esr/halloween/

De nuevo, tomen su decisiión – Consigan el FUD, cualquier cosa que escojan. Todo esta allí. Entonces esta lo de Ballmer “Linux es un cancer” etc.

Sí, sí, claro, estoy fuera de mi eje de balancín, esto fue hace todos los años, etc. Pero no es – Microsoft ODIA Linux, esto nunca va a cambiar! Una vez más, la única cosa que tiene el cambio es el CEO y como resultado, el PR. Es probable que encuentres que Nadella ha dicho internamente para todos “públicamente, nos encanta Linux y el software libre, a nivel interno sigue siendo como hasta ahora”; y cambiado la máquina PR como resultado.

Ahora bien, no sé qué Shuttleworth y Canonical están jugando en o qué beneficios pueden obtener de la oferta que hicieron, tal vez más cuota de mercado de Ubuntu (y dinero). Pero no bajar la guardia – Microsoft SIEMPRE odio Linux, incluso si usted no puede ver directamente.

¿De verdad cree que Bill Gates, aunque ya no sea presidente o CEO (que todavía trabaja allí Tho), que realmente dejar que su compañía, sus caminos, sus deseos y dirección, etc. todo vaya por el retrete y que alguien más venga y tomar todo en una nueva dirección? No se … Gates es muy inteligente y despiadado. Mucho más inteligente que eso. Sus / los “viejos” Microsoft maneras del negocio sucios están totalmente arraigados en la empresa. No solo cambio de CEO va a arreglar los caminos de la “vieja Microsoft”.

El “viejo Microsoft” sigue siendo el “nuevo Microsoft”, sólo la cara de la empresa ha cambiado – CEO y PR. Eso es. Microsoft, si pudieran presionar un botón y matar a Linux y a FLOSS durante durante la noche.

Recuerde las “patentes” que tienen que utilizarán para amenazar nuestras forma de desarrollo, aunque no directamente. Microsoft siempre va a ser hostil a Linux y el software libre. ¡RECUERDEN ESO!

Paul Venezia de IDG tiene un razonable buen artículo (él es pro-UNIX/Linux y siempre lo ha sido), el cual publicó esta mañana en InfoWorld. Para citar un poquito: “El hecho que Microsoft ahora soporte SQL Server en Linux no es realmente un desarrollo téchnico — es un movimiento de negocios. Afortunadamente para Microsoft, los ciégos de Ballmer se han ido, y la compañía puede ver que Linux es el OS de preferencia para nuestro futuro, no Windows. Microsoft perdió esa batalla hace tiempo. No sorprende, que los tipos del Azure cloud han tomado la iniciative en empujar Microsoft para apoyar a Linux (y otras tecnologías de open source relácionadas con el cloud, incluyendo Docker, Kubernetes, y varias NoSQL databases).”

“Microsoft no está amando o abrazando a GNU/Linux, excepto en el sentido E.E.E. (recuérden lo que la primera E significa).”Un resumen por Jim Lynch de IDG (también de InfoWorld) dijo más tarde (citando lo de arriba) que “Microsoft ha hecho reciéntemente movimientos para aceptar al Linux de una manera prominente, pero ¿ha tomado la compañía tanto tiempo para hacer esto? Un escritor de InfoWorld piensa que el Embrace de Microsoft hacia Linux pueda ser un poquito, y demasiádo tarde.”

Como explicamos hace un dia, hay un montón de mentiras provocativas Microsoft no está amando o abrazando a GNU/Linux, excepto en el sentido E.E.E. (recuérden lo que la primera E significa).

Hablándo de E.E.E., CSO (IDG) republica y luego se expande en Maria Korolov la propaganda de BlackDuck FUD contra FOSS al decir en lenguaje retórico (allí mismo en el titular) que hay algo malo en “la cálidad del código de open source code”. Black Duck (proviene de un personaje de marketing de Microsoft) es proclamado como sigue:

A medida que se crea el software de código abierto más, el número de vulnerabilidades aumenta también. Software de Black Duck está rastreando actualmente 1,5 millones de proyectos de código abierto.

Vulnerabilidades de código abierto pueden ser particularmente peligrosos, de acuerdo con el ‘vicepresidente de Estrategia de Seguridad Mike Pittenger de Black Duck. Software de código abierto puede ser ubicuo, dijo, y típicamente tiene ningún proceso en el que los parches se envían automáticamente a los usuarios.

Black Duck es de alguna manera similar a Xamarin en el sentido que actúa un poco como proxy de Microsoft. No sería posible sin el “embrace” (como en E.E.E.) de FOSS. Black Duck es una compañíá de software proprietario la que simplemente explota FOSS por mercadeo. Vean todo el largo mensaje arriba y dense cuenta de que estas tácticas no son nuevas en su totalidad. ¿Porqué los mismos errores de nuevo? Aprendan de la historia. █

“No animen nuevas, Java clases de platáformas múltiples, especialmente no ayuden que grandes implementaciones de Win 32 sean implementadas escritas/desplegadas. [...] Promuevan fragmentación del espacio classlib de Java.”

–Ben Slivka, Microsoft

“This anti-trust thing will blow over. We haven’t changed our business practices at all.”

–Bill Gates

Summary: Microsoft’s claims of “love” for GNU/Linux aren’t being accepted by the community, so a lot of the PR campaign falls on deaf ears (except those wishing to be fooled and further disseminate the lie, e.g. in Microsoft-friendly/-funded media companies)

THE following message was posted not too long ago at Reddit. It’s more like a blog post published as a submission in the site and it is titled “Remember: Microsoft is still (and will always be) hostile to Linux and FLOSS.” We thought it was worth reproducing below (without any of the comments) because it also alludes to many things we covered here before, including Comes vs Microsoft.

Will the all the “nice” PR and news of Microsoft (seemingly) getting close to Linux, it’s easy to forget how Microsoft IS hostile to Linux and everything open source. Remember: All they did was get a new CEO, the company culture is still there.

All that’s changed is instead of publicly hating on Linux, they now publicly love Linux, but are really still very hostile to Linux. This will never change.

Just remember the Iowa consumer case files ( http://edge-op.org/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/ ) which has a lot of internal emails from Microsoft, many of them basically state their love for all things Windows and MS and hatrid for everything else. All are in PDF format and have been unsealed (thankfully). Some even go into detail about their plotting with things like the Vista Ready program in order to trick consumers (they basically don’t give a shit) etc.

Then there’s Halloween docs: http://www.catb.org/esr/halloween/

Again, take your pick – Get The FUD, whatever you choose. It’s all there. Then there’s Ballmer’s “Linux is cancer” etc.

Yeah, yeah sure, I’m off my rocker, this was all years ago etc. But it’s not – Microsoft HATES Linux, this will NEVER change! Again, the only thing that has change is the CEO and as a result, the PR. You’ll probably find that Nadella has internally said to everyone “publicly, we LOVE Linux and FLOSS, internally it’s still business as usual”; and changed the PR machine as a result.

Now I don’t know what Shuttleworth and Canonical are playing at or what benefit they may get from the deal they made, perhaps more Ubuntu market share (and money). But don’t let your guard down – Microsoft will ALWAYS hate Linux, even if you can’t directly see it.

Do you really think Bill Gates, while no longer chairman or CEO (he still works there tho), would really let his company, his ways, his wants and direction etc all go down the toilet and have someone else come in and take it all in a new direction? No… Gates is very smart and ruthless. MUCH smarter than that. His / the “old Microsoft” dirty business ways are fully entrenched in the company. No single change of CEO will fix the ways of the “old Microsoft”.

The “old Microsoft” is still the “new Microsoft”, only the face of the company has changed – CEO and PR. That’s it. Microsoft, if they could, would press a button and kill Linux and FLOSS over night.

Remember the “patents” they have that they will use to threaten our ways, even if not directly. Microsoft will always be hostile to Linux and free software. Remember that!

IDG‘s Paul Venezia has a reasonably good article (he’s pro-UNIX/Linux and always was), which he published this morning at InfoWorld. To quote one bit of it: “The fact that Microsoft now supports SQL Server on Linux isn’t really a technical development — it’s a business move. Fortunately for Microsoft, the Ballmer blinders are gone, and the company can see that Linux is the OS of choice for our cloud future, not Windows. Microsoft lost that battle a long time ago. Not surprisingly, the Azure cloud folks have taken the lead in pushing Microsoft toward supporting Linux (and other open source cloud-related technologies, including Docker, Kubernetes, and various NoSQL databases).”

“Microsoft isn’t loving or embracing GNU/Linux, except in the E.E.E. sense (remember what the first E stands for).”A roundup by Jim Lynch of IDG (also InfoWorld) later said (citing the above) that “Microsoft has recently made some moves toward accepting Linux in a prominent way, but has the company taken too long to do this? One writer at InfoWorld thinks Microsoft’s embrace of Linux might be far too little, and far too late.”

As we explained a day ago, there’s just a lot of rhetoric and provocative lying. Microsoft isn’t loving or embracing GNU/Linux, except in the E.E.E. sense (remember what the first E stands for).

Speaking of E.E.E., CSO (IDG) reposts and then expands on Maria Korolov’s Black Duck marketing FUD against FOSS by saying in the language of rhetoric (right there in the headline!) that there’s something wrong with “open source code quality”. Black Duck (it came from a Microsoft marketing guy) is advertised as follows:

As more open source software is created, the number of vulnerabilities goes up as well. Black Duck Software is currently tracking 1.5 million open source projects.

Open source vulnerabilities can be particularly dangerous, according to Black Ducks’ Vice President of Security Strategy Mike Pittenger. Open source software can be ubiquitous, he said, and typically has no process where patches are automatically pushed out to users.

Black Duck is somewhat similar to Xamarin in the sense that it acts a little bit like a Microsoft proxy. It would not be possible without the “embrace” (as in E.E.E.) of FOSS. Black Duck is a proprietary software company which merely exploits FOSS for marketing. See the long message at the top and realise that these tactics aren’t entirely new. Why make the same errors all over again? Learn from history. █

“Don’t encourage new, cross-platform Java classes, especially don’t help get great Win 32 implementations written/deployed. [...] Do encourage fragmentation of the Java classlib space.”

–Ben Slivka, Microsoft

Summary: Just as in the case of privacy and standards (or interoperability), Microsoft pretends that its bad behaviour can be combated by creation of mere publicity stunts, this time a so-called ‘antitrust compliance office’

Microsoft has a long history of competition crimes when it comes to Web browsers. The uninitiated should read the Netscape case petition (included in Comes vs Microsoft case) and maybe recall some articles we wrote some years ago, such as:

• Browser Ballot Critique
• Cablegate: European Commission Worried About Microsoft’s Browser Ballot Screen Being Inappropriate
• A Ballot Screen is Not Justice, Internet Explorer Still Compromises Users’ PCs
• Microsoft Claimed to be Cheating in Web Browsers Ballot
• Microsoft is Still Cheating in Browser Ballot — Claim
• Microsoft’s Browser Ballot is Broken Again and Internet Explorer 8 is Critically Flawed
• Microsoft Loses Impact in the Web Despite Unfair Ballot Placements
• Microsoft Not Only Broke the Law in Europe, So Browser Ballot Should Become International
• Microsoft’s Ballot Screen is a Farce, Decoy
• The Microsoft Who Cried “Wolf!”
• Antitrust Authorities Versus Microsoft Vapourware, Not Operating System Bundling
• Mozilla and Opera Still Object to Microsoft’s Deal with the Commission
• FSF Recommends That the European Commission Should Unbundle PCs/Windows

Microsoft’s excuses at the time were remarkable. Nowadays, at work, I am seeing more and more sites that ‘break’ due to Microsoft’s ‘new’ and ‘improved’ browsers, which mostly mean that a lot of Web developers need to find new hacks and ‘adapt’ to bugs in Internet Explorer and its attempted rebrand, “Edge” (total rubbish based on what I’ve been hearing). It’s the same old Microsoft, begging for attention even by openwashing its proprietary browser (by publishing code of some small pieces of it) and rebranding, changing the logo just a mild little bit. How else to get attention? Pretense of security.

“Microsoft has a long history of competition crimes when it comes to Web browsers.”“MICROSOFT is giving Internet Explorer users a few weeks to upgrade their browser or become vulnerable to cyber attacks,” says this nonsensical article. Prior to it we saw even Microsoft Zack spreading the same kind of Microsoft nonsense. It’s truly nonsense as everyone who currently uses Windows is permanently exposed. Security is not the goal at all. Microsoft tells spies how to crack Windows before even patching flaws (and some consciously remain unpatched for many months if not years). Microsoft’s marketing people are putting their browser in the headlines again, using lame excuses.

“It’s not over until after the furniture is sold and the former employees fined as well.”
      –iophkMicrosoft, based on this new report, gets away with competition crimes again, appeasing people who lost from this behaviour, having just come up with the “antitrust compliance office” PR.

To quote IDG: “Microsoft on Friday told shareholders that it has settled a lawsuit brought last year against former CEOs Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates, the company’s board of directors and other top executives over a $732 million fine that European Union antitrust regulators slapped on the firm in 2013.

“As part of the settlement, Microsoft will set aside $42.5 million to fund an antitrust compliance office for the next five years, and pay the plaintiffs’ lawyers at least $7.3 million, according to court documents and a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”

Here is a good part of the article, serving to show Microsoft’s rather unique attitude:

EU regulators were not amused, and fined Microsoft to the tune of $732 million. “This is the first time we have seen a breech of a legally binding commitment,” said Joaquin Almunia, then the European Commission’s top antitrust official, in March 2013 when he announced the fine. “This is, of course, serious, whether it was intentional or not.”

Our reader iophk said: “It’s not over until after the furniture is sold and the former employees fined as well.” Well, companies like Microsoft — much like the EPO — believe they are above the law and act accordingly. █

“Life — the way it really is — is a battle not between bad and good but between bad and worse.”

–Joseph Brodsky

THERE are many negative things to be said about Vista 10, but what about criminal things? What happens when Microsoft breaks competition laws?

Earlier this year we wrote about how Microsoft’s UEFI ‘secure boot’ attack on GNU/Linux had escalated (see 2014-2015 articles on how Microsoft’s terms got even worse, i.e. more discriminatory) and based on this site which regularly studies Windows’ effects on BSD and Linux installations, Vista 10 can mess GRUB up, i.e. sabotage dual-boot setups. To quote:

Where you might run into some problem is if the dual-boot setup is on a computer still using Legacy BIOS, with GRUB installed in the Master Boot Record, or MBR. On such a system, be sure to back up your file before attempting the upgrade.

In response to this, one anonymous user in Diaspora wrote:

I’ve got W7 dual-booting alongside Slackware (+ test distros) on my not-often-used netbook. It’s never finished its updates because it fails to update the MBR – which, for some reason it wants to. I multiboot with LILO which seems to cause W7 problems – I’m glad to say, because nothing should be updaing the MBR except LILO – when I run it. So…
That’s decided it. I won’t be updating to W10.

Which means W7 goes the way of W95 all those years ago when MS forced me to be 100pc Linux ‘cos XP would only run on new machines.
MS – I love you – you always force me to do the right thing – like deleting your software

– don’t mess around with any part of the disk except the partition I give you.
don’t tell me I need a new machine

– Good riddance to bad rubbish – I never used w7.

But it’s not just GNU/Linux partitioning that Microsoft loves to overcomplicate and often wipe/mess up with, the nuisance of UEFI ‘secure boot’ aside. Microsoft apparently learned nothing about fair competition, even when it comes to Web browsers on top of Windows itself (not GNU/Linux). Two decades of disputes and court battles have changed nothing at Microsoft and “Firefox’s CEO is furious”, according to this news headline:

Upgrading to Windows 10 switches your web browser to Edge – and Firefox’s CEO is furious

Mozilla chief exec Chris Beard has penned a tetchy open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, criticizing the Redmond giant for changing customers’ default browser choice when they upgrade to Windows 10.

Internet Explorer users were warned that Edge, Microsoft’s Chrome-chasing new browser, would be the default in Windows 10. But as it turns out, users of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and other browsers, have found their default web clients switched to Edge following the Windows 10 upgrade, too.

In his letter, Beard accused Microsoft of using this part of the upgrade process to “throw away the choice your customers have made about the Internet experience they want, and replace it with the Internet experience Microsoft wants them to have.”

Chris Beard has already written about this not once but twice [1, 2], so he is very passionate about it. Most Firefox users are still stuck in Windows.

Should Mozilla be surprised at all? Microsoft sent Mozilla birthday cakes (publicity stunts), but then again it’s also said that “Microsoft loves Linux” (according to Nadella the liar). Like his boss, Bill Gates, it often seems as though Nadella feels like he’s above the law and any government intervention against gross violations will be too little, too late. Microsoft loves Firefox and Mozilla like it loves Linux and like American Psycho loves women.

Mozilla already helps Microsoft by sending it lots of user activity (even keystrokes) via Yahoo in the Firefox address bar. What has Microsoft done for Mozilla in return? Nothing. That’s just how Microsoft behaves. Some people refuse to learn from a long history of crimes, lies, deceit, and betrayals.

Mozilla should make a stronger alliance with GNU/Linux and other Free software (maybe join the FSF) as opposed to alliances with Google, Microsoft, and others to whom Firefox, the Web browser, is competition.

The European Commission proved to be so toothless and slow (while US authorities unwilling to tackle Microsoft’s recent browser crimes altogether), so no wonder Vista 10 goes further with anticompetitive behaviour. Microsoft knows it can get away with it and make gains by the time technical changes — if any — are made. The European Commission probably won’t take action against Vista 10 any time soon. Entryism is partly to blame (lobbying followed by a coup).

We cannot understand why Mozilla’s CEO is still acting surprised to have found out that Microsoft is a criminal enterprise that won’t obey the law and won’t respect competition, not even on Windows. In a way, Mozilla’s CEO is being punished for being naive, perhaps believing that Microsoft was a partner. As this Firefox advocate points out, all this happens after the Beard-led Mozilla had Firefox divert user keystrokes (like a keylogger) to Microsoft (via Yahoo) without even asking users for their input, opinion, consent, preference, etc. He now gets stabbed in back.

At some later stage we are going to show how Microsoft also suppresses the use of non-Microsoft online services. It’s all “me me me!” █

“I think he [Bill Gates] has a Napoleonic concept of himself and his company, an arrogance that derives from power and unalloyed success, with no leavening hard experience, no reverses [...] They don’t act like grown-ups!”

–Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson

A LOT OF disappointing ‘news’ coverage (gossip) promotes the notion that Google’s business, and Android in particular, is some kind of illegal activity. It is the tiresome old strategy of casting “free” (even when it means freedom-respecting) as anti-competitive. That’s the very opposite of what should be considered “true”.

A lot of the so-called ‘news’ (not really news) omits important details, just as the media did when it came to an OpenSSL bug, dubbed “Heartbleed” by the firm of a ‘former’ Microsoft chief for increased fear (we covered this before and there is this new response from the OSI’s President).

So let’s start with the alleged ‘news’. Who’s behind it? The man who “was lead counsel for Microsoft during part of its defense against antitrust claims,” based on Wikipedia. It’s an opportunist and an antitrust actions maximalist.

It wasn’t long ago that we saw other antitrust motions against Android and they have been always tied to Microsoft or Microsoft proxies such as Nokia (there is a collusion there).

Sadly, every journalist whom we have seen covering the “antitrust trolling” missed this important connection between Microsoft and Berman. One example from the British press said: “Google is facing a new antitrust class action lawsuit in the US over its “illegal monopoly” on internet and mobile search.”

It also said: “These deals are hampering the market and keeping the price of devices from manufacturers like Samsung and HTC artificially high, the firm said.”

This is nonsense. It doesn’t even pass the “bullshit test” because the very opposite is true. A high price, if ever, is caused by patents, which are not in Google’s interest. Price is not the issue with Google, so the allegations are bogus. Privacy would be a more legitimite concern, but given how Nokia is trying to shove Microsoft spyware into the OS, there’s room for hypocrisy. Consider this new analysis:

When Nokia delivered its Android-based phones at Mobile World Congress, the big news was that with Microsoft acquiring the company, Microsoft would suddenly be in the Android business. But there was another storyline that accompanied the delivery of the Nokia Android phones, which was that they are based on a forked version of Android. Among other issues that creates, the phones don’t support the Google Play app store and the apps there, all of which ring the cash register for Google.

What we may be dealing with here is more of the "Scroogled" attack ads, this time in litigious form. We have already exposed and chastised other anti-Google lawyers who had shrewdly hidden their Microsoft payments by editing their CV prior to their assaults on Android, which basically used all sorts of distortion and libel.

Looking back at the responses to the article in the British press, there are many good comments, preceded by this: “Instead of having me read through all the stupid why not say “greedy lawyers with no grasp over what they are talking about drool over the potential payments from Google but most likely from people that will pay to be represented in the trial””

Another commenter responds: “Hopefully the courts will see through this ruse and slap down these lawyers. Their only purpose is to collect $Millions at the expense of Google and the people they claim to represent.”

Well, the author, Brid-Aine Parnell, gave coverage to this non-news, using the editor’s trollish headline and the following attempt at balance: “A Google spokesperson told The Reg in an emailed statement that Android had brought more competition into the market.”

Well, unlike Apple. So what’s the basis for singling out Google? It’s nonsense. No matter how the case ends up, it make Google look bad and this was probably the intention of this whole PR blitz.

It’s not just this one angle that seems to be pointing a gun at Google. Watch the latest relentless attacks from the Murdoch press against net neutrality and against Google (there is always anti-Google bias in there and more recently a lot of net neutrality disinformation).

Over at IDG, Jim Lynch responds to this original IDG report that almost everyone is citing. The Microsoft connection not even named, so no wonder nobody mentions where a lot of it may be coming from. IDG should be shamed of itself for publishing many lobbying/PR paragraphs without mentioning even once the Microsoft ties. It’s not responsible journalism, as it distorts by omission.

Microsoft says “don’t be Scroogled.” We say, don’t be bamboozled by “Scroogled”; it’s a nasty PR campaign (attacks ads) and the people behind it recently got promoted, █

THE MENTALITY OF greedy investors, and more so investors who put their money in a criminal enterprise, is worth noting. Microsoft has a long history of crime and the investors occasionally sue not because the act of committing crime is bad but because Microsoft fails to dodge the fines (i.e. there is conviction for the crimes).

Here we have a new example of an investor in a criminal company complaining about the wrong thing. To quote the Indian press: “The lawsuit, brought by shareholder Kim Barovic in federal court in Seattle on Friday, charges that directors and executives, including founder Bill Gates and former chief executive officer Steve Ballmer, failed to manage the company properly and that the board’s investigation was insufficient into how the miscue occurred.”

The problem is not that they “failed to manage the company properly”; as we saw in court documents, the crimes go all the way to the top and include instructions from Bill Gates, who chose to break competition laws. This “Supreme Villain” is now spending his wealth on PR (distracting from his crimes), in order to gain yet more wealth while paying virtually nothing in tax.

Here is a new article about protests against Bill Gates profiteering from private prisons.

Criminals rarely change their spots, they just change how the public perceives them. Gates was personally responsible for many of Microsoft’s crimes (and we have the documents to prove it), but nowadays he is busy bribing much of the press and even blogs in order to paint a different picture while he keeps hoarding a lot more money (at everyone else’s expense). Historically there were people like Gates who used the same tactics to alter public opinion. What’s truly shameful is that the biggest (more expensive) crimes still lead to no jail sentence, especially when the government is funded and run by corporations. █

Summary: Reports of “loss of Linux dual-booting” due to Windows Update are investigated further; FSF award to Garrett faces opposition

IT WAS recently reported in Reddit that UEFI was used by Microsoft Windows to wipe out GNU/Linux. Windows Update rendered GNU/Linux unbootable and allegedly turned ‘secure’ boot on to achieve this.

According to this new analysis from Jamie the UEFI explorer, it’s not an isolated incident. He starts by stating: “I can finally report that yes, there is a problem — but it’s generally not as serious as has been reported.” He also writes: “While I found that I was able to ‘fix’ the loss of Linux dual-booting on both of my systems, I am NOT trying to say that everyone who has posted claims about dual-boot being ‘destroyed’ by Windows Update is wrong. I certainly have enough experience with UEFI boot configuration to know that all sorts of strange things are possible, and it may well be that some systems, with some configurations, really do get more seriously damaged by Windows Update than mine have. One very obvious example might be that the Linux items could get deleted from the boot object list. If that happened you would have to use efibootmgr to put them back again.”

But who would know how to do this and how many people would just turn away from GNU/Linux at this stage? This is why UEFI should face a boycott and antitrust complaints against Microsoft get bolstered. I wholeheartedly disgree with FSF for giving Garrett an award. This can be a PR disaster waiting to happen, a bit like Miguel de Icaza and Theo de Raadt and getting such an award before their FSF bashing. Apparently I am not alone in disagreeing with the FSF; Sam Varghese expressed similar concerns, having opposed ‘secure’ boot for quite some time along with many others. He writes: “The Free Software Foundation has given an annual award this year for work that enslaves people to the demands of Microsoft – something that flies in the face of all that the organisation has stood for since its founding.”

This has indeed been a bizarre move and it can help weaken existing complaints (in Europe) over Microsoft’s UEFI tricks. █

ECT, going by the name Linux Insider, has just published this article about Android-x86 — a project that mostly helps a convicted monopoly abuser (Intel) interject itself into Linux/Android.

The article is very negative about Google and it speaks of complaints for abuse in a Free software project. We have seen such stuff before and it usually turns out to be provocation. It has been very typical for Microsoft people to do so, or even Microsoft proxies such as Nokia. It’s often provocation against Google using forks that don’t obey simple rules, or simply lead to FUD, patent taxation, and even severe privacy issues like NSA/Microsoft Skype.

“Sadly enough, ECT only quotes people who are against Google. No balance is offered, not even an attempt at balance.”Dealing with the core of the article from ECT, it says that the “maintainer of the Android-x86 Project has suggested that the Justice Department should investigate whether Google has been interfering with adoption of the open source code his community is developing.”

This is attributed to Chih-Wei Huang, which is a common name in places like Taiwan. There is Dr. Chih-Wei Huang, who worked 5+ years in Washington/Redmond (with Microsoft payroll), but he is not to be confused with this guy (same full name and even the same username in the same country) that has a good track record when it comes to Free software in China and Taiwan. We already know of former Microsoft staff like Xuxian Jiang, who pretend to be researching Android but are actually FUD mills against Android. But this one guy has nothing to do with Microsoft, unlike Dr. Chih-Wei Huang (see his revealing CV).

According to ECT, Huang said (to ECT): “Asus announced the dual OS laptop TD300LA in the CES and got very positive feedback. However, Google asked to stop the product so Asus are unable to ship it, sadly.”

This doesn’t sound right. Days ago we covered this and it was actually Microsoft that put the kibosh on the project (see the links here), not just Google as previously (and perhaps even falsely) reported. Neither party wanted to support this product. Several publications reported on that. So why is Huang picking only on Google?

Sadly enough, ECT only quotes people who are against Google. No balance is offered, not even an attempt at balance. There is no approach for comment from Google. It only says: “Asus executives did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Huang’s assessment of the alleged thwarted hardware release. Google officials several times declined requests for interviews to discuss the Android-x86 Project.”

What about Asus then? Maybe he should ask Asus (according to Wikipedia his current employer) for more information before accusing Google. What does Google have to lose here? Motivation is too weak for this theory to make sense. If anyone has reasons to interfere here, it would be ARM (UK-based) or Nvidia (also external to Asus).

Asus already ships a lot of Android (e.g. the Nexus 7), so only hardware limitation is the mystery here. Intel’s x86 is notoriously unsuitable for mobile devices, especially due to heat, size, and energy consumption. Intel’s “Atom” was a massive failure; heads were rolling. In fact, Google would generally be wise to avoid or to dodge those chipsets that put Windows to shame (heavy, clumsy, not running for long). But it doesn’t mean that Google intervened; in fact, maybe Asus reached those same conclusions on its own.

Five years ago when Asus announced a Linux-booting device (Android Eee PC, running Linux/Android) is was most seemingly killed because pressure from Microsoft, not Google (just read what the head of Asus said at the time).

It seems likely that Huang is barking up the wrong tree. We are eager to give Google the benefit of the doubt here because looking at the track record of Android, there tend to be provocations every now and then, trying to portray Android as “not open” (common line from Apple and Microsoft), abusive, monopolistic, etc. Almost every time this type of claims floods the media it eventually turns out to be bogus and often it ends up revealing an embarrassing link to Microsoft (which shamelessly runs anti-Google smear campaigns). █

Summary: The latest experiences with UEFI (reported by one who is experienced with UEFI) suggest that a boycott of UEFI is still justified

AS we pointed out before, UEFI ‘secure’ boot is actually a mechanism for reducing security, enabling remote entities to take control of one’s hardware or destroy it ‘IBM style’ (IBM works with the NSA on self-destroying hardware). Even the NSA recognises this ability. In addition, UEFI makes it harder for people to explore operating systems other than those which have NSA back doors.

Several days ago Jamie Watson reported [1] that he had purchased a computer saddled with the notoriously unwanted Vista 8. He said he was getting it “ready for Linux” and days later he reported on his findings, having had many issues with UEFI before (the UEFI Forum contacted him as part of well-coordinated attempts to change perceptions). His opinion on UEFI is hardly changed. He calls UEFI “a royal pain” after trying almost a dozen distributions with it (over the course of nearly 2 years). He said: “For those who might not be personally familiar with UEFI boot yet, and especially for those who might be familiar with only one UEFI boot implementation, I’m going to include some more details here to explain and illustrate why it is, for me, such a pain.”

Intel and Microsoft are making it very hard to dodge back doors, surveillance, etc. in pursuit and in favour of freedom. It’s time to dodge Microsoft and Intel and it’s time to seriously just boycott any hardware that comes with UEFI. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Buying a new Windows 8.1 laptop – and getting it ready for Linux

   One of the large retail chains here in Switzerland has a low-priced product range that it calls “M-Budget”, which includes everything from groceries to housewares to computers, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

   As I was walking past one of its shops on Saturday, I saw that it was offering an HP Compaq laptop for 333 Swiss Francs (about £225/€272/$370), and that is so low for the Swiss market that I couldn’t resist.

2. Experiments with my new laptop, Linux and UEFI

   But as for UEFI: what a royal pain. For those who might not be personally familiar with UEFI boot yet, and especially for those who might be familiar with only one UEFI boot implementation, I’m going to include some more details here to explain and illustrate why it is, for me, such a pain.

   The UEFI BIOS boot configuration is made up of two basic parts — a list of boot objects, and a sequence in which they should be attempted. When you get a new Windows 8 system, there is usually only one “real” item in the list, that being the Windows 8 Bootloader.

   There will probably also be some other “pseudo” items or “generic” items in the list which allow for CD/DVD and USB boot, for example. The boot sequence on the a new Windows 8 system will contain the Windows Boot item first, and then perhaps some or all of the pseudo/generic boot items.

   This is the first place I saw something unexpected in this UEFI BIOS, because there were items included in the default sequence which don’t even exist in the list of boot objects. Weird.

   When you install another bootable operating system, such as Linux, it will add an item to the boot object list for itself, and that item will be placed at the front of the boot sequence list.

   [...]

Summary: Calls for boycott against UEFI receive supportive proof from journalists who are unable to install GNU/Linux because of Microsoft/Intel locks

WE HAVE already published many articles about UEFI because it is clearly a Linux-hostile plot to remove users’ control over their PCs. It’s about limiting the ability to boot operating systems, usually by giving authorisation powers to some third party like Microsoft. Novell (ex-)employees in particular — suffice to say because of their Microsoft ties — have been friendly towards this agenda and they laid inside Linux some of the endorsing code which weakens antitrust action.

Based on this new report from one who knows his way around GNU/Linux, UEFI is a pain in the neck. To quote his article’s summary: “Opinions vary on whether the UEFI standards are helping or hurting the migration to Linux. Enterprise users can select a Linux distro certified to work with UEFI standards, but not all Linux distros have keys that allow it to install. Despite the intent of the UEFI standards, the process so far is not universally successful. It should “just work,” said the Linux Foundation’s Greg Kroah-Hartman.”

Well, not quite. Novell’s Kroah-Hartman played a key role in pushing Microsoft-serving code into Linux and this includes UEFI restricted boot. UEFI should never have been embraced by Linux; it should be shunned because it’s a patent trap that serves a rapidly-shrinking criminal entity known as Intel as well as its partner Microsoft (they are jointly known as “Wintel”). Intel cannot keep up with mobile revolution according to the latest news [1], so it must be fighting to keep the old abusive duopoly/oligopoly going. To quote more from the above article: “I have extensive practice with installing various Linux distros on older and new computers. I am handy at setting up disk partitions and dual booting to maintain a working Microsoft Windows OS alongside numerous Linux distros. I also have routinely installed Linux on older and new computers by removing the Windows OS and replacing the entire drive with one or more Linux distros.

“However, it was not until I attempted to do a Linux installation on a new Gateway Series DX desktop with Windows 8 installed that I stared that UEFI monster down. At first I nearly ran back to the big box store to return the shiny new Windows box. I was not able to get the BIOS settings for the UEFI and Secure Boot permissions to even see USB and DVD live sessions for Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Korora 19 or Puppy Linux. That made routine installation of Linux impossible.

“The current use of UEFI and Secure Boot technologies might all too conveniently lock down the hard drive to lock out the installation of other operating systems — like Linux. Successfully installing Linux on UEFI/Secure Boot hardware controls depends on which computer brand or model you buy. Some of the newest BIOS versions effectively lock down any other OS access.”

Advice to the author: join the effort to enforce antitrust action. The European authorities have already received a formal complaint from lawyers. In the mean time, boycott hardware that comes with UEFI. Voting with one’s wallet is casting a strong vote. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Intel could abandon smartphone market: Report

   Intel’s deal with Chinese manufacturer Lenovo to supply chips for its smartphones has now ended. The processor giant, however, is reportedly working on other partnerships to replace the deal. Asus also released the Intel-powered Asus Zenfone series at CES. The new line of smartphones—featuring 4-inch, 5-inch and 6-inch models—will be released in March, mainly aimed at the China and Southeast Asia markets.

II sure seems like Microsoft has done enough, especially with moles in the national healthcare programme, to undermine FOSS and GNU/Linux in key areas of government operations. When people leave Microsoft they often turn into moles. Stephen Elop is one among many examples; in recent years he became the most famous such mole, and people generally know about him because the corporate media covers it. There are many more examples like him. It is now being reported that another entity, a fraud partner of Enron (to which Microsoft is similar because of confirmed financial misconduct), will get involved in the same programme. What an effective way to discredit national healthcare. Fraudsters are being put in charge. It’s corruption, just like repeated financial fraud at Microsoft (maybe it’s collaborations/collusion with the NSA that gave Microsoft immunity from criminal prosecution/legal actions, not to mention funneling of public money from black budget).

Microsoft’s illegal actions are not a thing of the past though.

Now that there is “damage control”, following reports that Microsoft is bribing companies like B&N, not just dumping ‘free’ (gratis) traps, we should keep an eye open for potentially new moles like Blair Westlake. The reports are denied by Shaw, who is a proven liar (it’s formally his job and we proved him to be a liar quite a few times before), but there is most likely substance to this (Microsoft paying billions to OEMs to prevent them from choosing Linux, only the numbers are being challenged). As the author puts it, “Mobile-Review.com’s Eldar Murtazin, who has provided some accurate Windows Phone scoops before, reports Microsoft (MSFT) will be making $2.6B in “support” payments (likely including marketing spend) to OEM partners in 2014 to compel them to make one Windows Phone apiece.

“Samsung (SSNLF, SSNLF) is said to be receiving $1.2B, Sony (SNE) $500M, Huawei $600M, and other firms $300M.”

Windows Mobile was such a failure that Microsoft is now struggling to keep any presence at all in mobile. As iophk puts it, “what are the real numbers then?”

Sosumi said, “windows mobile is so bad that MS has to bribe OEMs” and iophk said, “like with regular windows, too.” (e.g, in netbooks)

MinceR said, “hopefully that android won’t have to be virtualized on top of winblows (building a castle on a swamp…)”

Where are antitrust regulators? Bribes as a business model are not an acceptable strategy. It’s a serious abuse and there are laws against it. Sure, Microsoft’s close partners at the NSA are confirmed to be spying (espionage) on EU regulators under pretexts like “terrorism” (reported months ago), but these people should still be able to do their job. █

NOT ONLY under-aged children in China are being exploited for Apple profit.

According to a new post [1] and photograph from Will Hill, children are forced to sign an “agreement to use [Apple] laptop for school.” This comes at an interesting time because the FTC has just ruled that Apple will “pay at least $32.5 million in refunds to parents who didn’t authorize hefty purchases racked up by their children on their iPhones and iPads.”

What about laptops? How can Apple and its facilitators at schools get away with forcing children to become Apple customers? Apple is a company without ethics (in many areas), so this is morally wrong. Apple hopes to raise a generation of Apple ‘addicts’ using the help of state schools. Apple is not an alternative to Microsoft (Apple is trying to dodge antitrust actions in nefarious ways right now), it’s just another Microsoft. The alternative to both (the oligarchy) is freedom-respecting software, or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Troubling User Agreement for Grade School

   Today, my daughter had to sign an agreement to use a laptop for school. They are going to replace most of the paper flow and text books with Apple laptops, so she was unable to refuse.

2. FTC says Apple will pay at least $32.5 million over in-app purchases

   The federal government on Wednesday said Apple has agreed to pay at least $32.5 million in refunds to parents who didn’t authorize hefty purchases racked up by their children on their iPhones and iPads.

   The Federal Trade Commission’s settlement with Apple is the first punishment handed to a major tech company over the handling of children’s apps. It comes amid growing concern that as children clamor to use mobile devices, companies are doing little to protect their privacy or provide parents with the tools to supervise online behavior.

3. Apple Settles FTC In-App Purchasing Complaint

Photo by Agência Brasil

Summary: Android, which incorporates Linux, is truly unstoppable, so Microsoft resorts to desperate measures that it previously used to suppress GNU/Linux adoption

TO MICROSOFT, Android is no joking matter and not a platform to be ridiculed (Microsoft is well past the stage of ridicule). Microsoft now uses proxies such as Nokia (via additional proxies) for patent assaults and even antitrust assaults against Android (it’s not going to work in Europe because of obviousness and hypocrisy).

Why should Microsoft be so terrified and nervous about Android?

Well, Android is now moving up to the desktop, Microsoft’s main area of illegally-obtained domination. “HP takes Android PCs commercial,” said one ZDNet journalist [1] (journalists are rare at ZDNet, as most are trolls, moles, and even existing Microsoft staff), adding to what his colleague said about Lenovo [2]. Another article asked: “Could an Android desktop replace your Windows PC?” [3]

In addition, Android is getting huge traction inside cars [4-7] (Western companies), not to mention tablets [8], cameras [9], and smartwatches [10] (mostly east Asian companies). All that Microsoft can do is try to tax those companies (as it does especially in east Asia) and try dropping the price of Windows to zero [11], essentially rendering its bogus antitrust complaints against Android hypocritical.

It has been quite gratifying to see Microsoft resorting to desperate measures like these. When German cars run Linux (Android) [12-13], Acer turns to Android desktops [14], longtime Linux foes like NVIDIA shift attention to Linux (Android) [15] and “fragmentation” FUD becomes too weak to be used [16] (CyanogenMod is an alternative option for Android devices, not a fork [17]) it is clear that Android is only growing. There’s no turning back now. It even starts occupying desktops, cars, kitchens, living rooms, etc. It is already dominant in phones (new example in [18-20]) and in tablets (examples in [21-24]). Muktware covers a good range of new products [25-28] and on the applications side too there is a lot to be found [29]. The wide range of cutting-edge applications which are designed for Android would be probably the reasons that some companies now seriously consider Android a desktop-ready platform. There’s not much Microsoft can do now; it lost its inertia. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. HP takes Android PCs commercial

   The move, outlined at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014, comes just a few hours after Lenovo launched an Android all-in-one designed for the living room. HP’s Slate Pro AiO will run Android 4.3 with an Nvidia Tegra 4 quad-core processor. For good measure, HP is including Kingsoft Office Suite, Box storage and Citrix Receiver for Windows application support.

2. Android desktops arrive as Lenovo eyes your living room

   Lenovo on Sunday rolled out an Android all-in-one home computer designed to be a living room multimedia PC. Should Android-powered PCs do well it would further disrupt the PC market and splinter the operating system selection a bit more.

3. Could an Android desktop replace your Windows PC?

   Android as a PC operating system isn’t a new idea. Samsung announced a dual-boot Windows 8.x/Android convertible tablet, the Ativ Q, in June 2013. There are also rumors that Intel and its partners will be announcing “PC Plus” devices that will run Android apps on top of Windows 8.1, ala Bluestacks, at CES. HP and Lenovo have a more radical idea: Replace Windows entirely with Android on the desktop.

4. Google launches Android automotive consortium

5. Google creates Open Automobile Alliance to put Linux (Android) in cars

6. Google wants an Android in every Audi and Honda

   The search giant has created a new organisation, with the backing of several of the world’s largest car makers, to promote the Android operating system as a common standard for in-car computers

7. Google launches the Android-based Open Automotive Alliance with Audi, Honda, GM, and more

   Google and a number of automakers are planning to bring Android to cars with the launch of a new group called the Open Automotive Alliance. The alliance consists of Google, GM, Honda, Audi, Hyundai, and chipmaker Nvidia, and will focus on bringing the successful mobile operating system to in-car entertainment systems “in a way that is purpose built for cars.” The first cars with Android integration are planned for launch by the end of 2014.

8. Samsung said to unveil Galaxy Pro tablets in early 2014

   Based on a tidbit from an unnamed insider, SamMobile said on Friday that Samsung is prepping three Pro tablets as well as a lite version of the Galaxy Tab 3. The pro lineup would include the Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, the Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1, and the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2.

9. Samsung’s Galaxy Camera 2 starts to refine the Android point-and-shoot

   Samsung is unveiling the Galaxy Camera 2 today, its second take on the idea of a truly smart point-and-shoot. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy Camera 2 runs Android, has wireless connectivity, and is operated primarily through controls on a large, 4.8-inch touchscreen. It’s still designed around making photos easy to share and edit using Android apps, but this time around, Samsung is promising a camera that can take even better photos in the first place — potentially making up for one of its predecessor’s weakest points.

10. ZTE to showcase its smartwatch among other devices in CES

11. Will Microsoft make Windows free to defeat Android?

    This can only be viewed as a seriously desperate attempt by Microsoft to grasp at any straw left within reach. Google and Apple have both hit Microsoft hard by providing free operating systems, and Microsoft is flailing around trying to figure out how to become relevant again.

12. Google and Audi plot new front in Android vs. iOS war

13. Android will power Audi cars

    Android is everywhere, it is currently powering lot of other electronic devices. The OS that started with mobile devices, is now slowly making it’s way into automobiles. Google has joined hands with german automaker, Audi to develop in car entertainment and information system based on Android for their cars.

14. Why Acer’s new Android desktops are a game-changer

    This year at CES, Acer is introducing two new desktops – yes, you read that correctly, desktops – running the wildly successful variant of Linux known as Android. They’re cleverly positioning these exactly as I’ve been predicting for a long time: as monitors. They’re monitors with video inputs that the luddites can connect to a computer running Windows 8, complete with touchscreen input. But they also have a full Android stack available, which will operate independently with no external computer attached.

15. Nvidia’s Tegra K1 tablet shows a beautiful future for Android gaming

    Nvidia’s big announcement for CES 2014 was, as expected, the fifth generation of its Tegra mobile processor. It’s such a momentous step forward for the company, however, that it’s getting a whole new designation in being called the Tegra K1. That’s because it implements the Kepler architecture, which underpins Nvidia’s desktop graphics card lineup, meaning you’re literally getting desktop-class graphics technology in your mobile processor.

16. Balky carriers and slow OEMs step aside: Google is defragging Android

    Android 4.3 was released to Nexus devices a little over a month ago, but, as is usual with Android updates, it’s taking much longer to roll out the general public. Right now, a little over six percent of Android users have the latest version. And if you pay attention to the various Android forums out there, you may have noticed something: no one cares.

17. CyanogenMod Source Code for Samsung Galaxy Note 3 now available

    CyanogenMod is going strong, the team has brought support to all major flagship devices of 2013 from different manufacturers. Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, LG G2, Moto X and Nexus 5 makes the list of supported devices. You might have noticed Samsung Galaxy Note 3 missing from the list; well, not anymore, a recent post on the official Google+ page of CyanogenMod says that CyanogenMod source code for Note 3 is now available for download, nightlies are coming soon.

18. Rugged Android phone surprisingly thin, light

    The Handheld Group launched the Nautiz X1, a rugged, 4-inch smartphone with Android 4.0, a 15mm profile, 180-gram weight, and IP67 water- and dustproofing.

19. Gift Guide: Our Favorite Android Phone

20. Top 10 Android phones (January 2014 edition)

21. DreamWorks will release its own ‘Dreamtab’ Android tablet this spring

    DreamWorks has partnered with Fuhu, the company responsible for the Nabi line of tablets, to produce an Android tablet for kids. The 8-inch Dreamtab will cost “under $300,” according to the New York Times, and will feature regularly updated original content based on DreamWorks characters. The content will be tailored for tablets, and will automatically arrive on Dreamtabs ready for consumption. Unlike many mobile games based on movies and TV, the content isn’t being created by a third party, but instead is being produced in-house.

22. 27-inch Android all-in-one sports 2560 x 1440 pixels

    The Android computer within the TA272 HUL runs on an Nvidia Tegra 4 quad-core processor, which is still one of the fastest ARM SoCs around. The Tegra 4 features four Cortex-A15 cores and a 72-core GeForce GPU (graphics processing unit). Other TA272 HUL features include 16GB of internal storage, dual-mode WiFi, HDMI and DisplayPorts, and a USB 3.0 port for game controllers and other peripherals.

23. Intel’s 2014 Android ambitions embrace 64-bit, more tablets

    Intel has big Android ambitions for 2014. The chipmaker’s points of focus for the year ahead include 64-bit processing power and more tablets.

24. The bumpy road ahead for Android tablets in 2014

    When you look at existing Android tablets, they are all basically the same with the exception of Lenovo’s Yoga 8 and 10. They are thin, light slates with roughly equivalent processors and memory. They have memory slots to augment system storage, and the typical audio/video ports.

25. You can boost the speed of your Nexus devices, thanks to Moto X

26. Motorola now selling Moto X for $399

27. $100 Moto G launched on Verizon Wiresless

28. Samsung’s Galaxy Camera 2

29. 50 best Android apps of 2013

2013, as we’ve pointed out throughout that year, was an excellent year for GNU/Linux (others agree [1]). Even Microsoft boosters realise that the world is leaving Windows behind, mostly because Google (with Chrome OS and Android) is occupying more and more segments, enjoying huge market share (by some criteria higher than Windows’). As an example of one Microsoft booster in a stage of acceptance, see “Facing the Biggest Problem with Windows in 2014″ (written by a famous Windows booster).

The last thing we need right now is technology that helps keep Windows around. It is baffling to see Ubuntu, which is now managed by former Microsoft staff, wasting everyone’s time with UEFI (this is counter-productive). Here is the latest: “An Ubuntu developer has proposed 32-bit UEFI support within new Ubuntu Linux install images to support the new “Bay Trail” laptops and other hardware that requires 32-bit UEFI support.”

Ubuntu’s Mark Shuttleworth says that Ubuntu Linux on track for full convergence before Microsoft [2], but why is he following Microsoft’s ‘lead’ (in antifeatures)? This is not necessary. He would be better off joining antitrust complaints. Shuttleworth is correct in pointing out that we’re moving towards mobile and servers (pundits agree with him [3] and so do sales numbers [3-6], which demonstrate Linux domination [7]).

GNU/Linux is doing just fine without following Microsoft’s footsteps. Canonical should rethink its UEFI strategy at this stage. It’s never too late. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. 2013 REVIEWED – FROM A LINUX USER’S POINT OF VIEW

   2013 was one of the most dramatic years of my life-time. The Edward Snowden revelations made this year the most remarkable year in the history. As a Gnu/Linux user (where privacy and control of data is prime objective) this year was quite promising as Gnu/Linux rose as the dominant player in the consumer space.

2. Shuttleworth: Ubuntu Linux on track for full convergence before Microsoft

   Microsoft is widely expected to converge its operating systems across desktops, mobile phones and tablets. However, according to Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu Linux is on track to achieve full convergence first.

3. What Happened In Desktop Linux In 2013? Not Much

   Much like the overall IT industry, the Linux community shifted its focus to mobile and cloud computing.

4. Amazon Delivers Quick 9 Second Kindle Fire HDX Mayday Response

5. Amazon’s Kindle Fire blazed new trails over the holidays

6. Amazon Kindle Smartphone to launch in 2014?

7. Linux dominates Amazon’s Christmas tablet sales

   While I’m happy to see Android doing so well, I’d really like to see other Linux-based products topping the charts too. Perhaps an Ubuntu based tablet or phone might also be a good option for consumers. I’d very much prefer that customers had another choice besides just Android, iOS or Microsoft Windows based products.

Summary: Gummiboot developers continue to weaken the case for abolishing UEFI, which we now know is a serious security risk, not a feature

EARLIER this year I advised the managers of UEFI to withdraw ‘secure’ boot support — an unnecessary addition which is basically an antifeature that can remotely brick hardware (rendering it unbootable, as has been attempted before based on an NSA programme).

There is some project called Gummiboot (inflatable dingy in German) which acts as a boot manager for UEFI. This package is developed by Red Hat, but “Red Hat’s Fedora Project does not use gummiboot for booting UEFI systems,” according to Wikipedia and other sources. This package, unlike GRUB, is not GPLv3-licensed. Gummiboot 42 was released some days ago and as Nathan Willis put it a year and a half ago “the biggest question that remains is whether it is wise to tacitly endorse secure boot by playing its games in first place.”

The answer is no and as we approach 2014 (the article above is from June 2012) it is clear that Microsoft got away with this Intel-backed antifeature, which has not been widely abolished as we hoped. Vista 8 was a massive failure (exceptionally poor adoption), so it will be more constructive to urge OEMs to shun UEFI (saying it proved to be Linux- and GNU-hostile), not adopt it. This is not a goal that’s unachievable and it is too late to work on in. Any effort, such as the above, simply weakens the antitrust complaint over Microsoft and UEFI. It has been very disappointing to see Red Hat joining NSA allies like Intel, IBM, and Microsoft, first tacitly promoting TPM and now treacherous/restricted boot. █