05.01.08

Gemini version available ♊︎

Fear and Loathing at INTEROP, Anti-Linux FUD Peaking

Posted in Boycott Novell at 10:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Wow! Just wow. Watch this breaking news story.

Interop : Open Source Panel Heckled and Walked Out On

[...]

About 15 minutes into the session an attendee shouted out,

“When are you going to talk about risk instead of just going back and forth talking about risks and benefits of open source?” the attendee shouted. “We’re not here for the benefits, I don’t want to insult you but that’s not why I’m in here and if you’re not going to take my question I’m going to walk out.”

[...]

I’ve personally never seen anything like this. To be fair though the panel did seem to be all ‘open source is great’ but they did (Doug Levin in particular) talk about the risks that may exist.

Also to be fair though, all the panelists were in the open source business. That’s how the program was listed in the program guide. If Interop really wanted a more robust/competitive session they could/should have added Microsoft to the panel.

Need anything more be said? More and more people have become fed up with the art of selling fear.

“More and more people have become fed up with the art of selling fear.”Fear mongering, such as yesterday’s write-up from Paul at Disinformation Week (no direct link, as intended), is also far too shallow. We could go further by highlighting some of the iffy business that we bring up every now and then. No need for names to be called because we then get E-mails from unhappy companies that perceive it as bad publicity… well, talk about hypocrisy.

Anyway, in addition to this, as already mentioned earlier today, the level of AstroTurfing seems to have increased significantly in the past month. Remember our dear old ‘friend’ Jeff Gould? He is back for another cheap & quick stab at GNU/Linux (no direct link to the article in question).

Speaking about it to a familiar friend, we hear: “That is an example of the increase of astroturfing I’m seeing. Several (all?) forums are getting hit hard and often. I guess the upside is that the Microsoft movement is on the ropes and if everyone presses on, business can be rid of the Microsoft menace.

There are two spots or auditors that systematically pick up Gould’s FUD pieces: Slashdot editors (whom we don't trust so much anymore) and LinuxToday. I pointed this out to the managing editor of the latter before, but the response was mixed.

With regards to the former, namely Slashdot, an anonymous reader says in private: “At least metamoderate so as to mitigate the damage. It takes 5 minutes twice a day.”

For some more information about Gould’s piece you can see this rebuttal. The opening says it all.

I don’t want to say that Jeff Gould is an idiot, but I may be forced to. By his idiocy. Before posting this or commenting on it, I thought I’d better find out who he is.

There is some other cheeky stuff in the ‘press’ at the moment. This includes some fluff from Erwin and Inquirer.net, which we complained about in the past. A commenter had it sort of confirmed that they probably just serve corporate agenda and in this case deliver lies from Oracle and Microsoft (promotion of their posturing, for benefits of non-standards). Consider this just a headsup and a warning. Very inaccurate articles appear in the press and they seem more like advertisements than informative pieces.

“Working behind the scenes to orchestrate “independent” praise of our technology, and damnation of the enemy’s, is a key evangelism function during the Slog. “Independent” analyst’s report should be issued, praising your technology and damning the competitors (or ignoring them). “Independent” consultants should write columns and articles, give conference presentations and moderate stacked panels, all on our behalf (and setting them up as experts in the new technology, available for just $200/hour). “Independent” academic sources should be cultivated and quoted (and research money granted). “Independent” courseware providers should start profiting from their early involvement in our technology. Every possible source of leverage should be sought and turned to our advantage.”

Microsoft, internal document [PDF]

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Reddit
  • email

Decor ᶃ Gemini Space

Below is a Web proxy. We recommend getting a Gemini client/browser.

Black/white/grey bullet button This post is also available in Gemini over at this address (requires a Gemini client/browser to open).

Decor ✐ Cross-references

Black/white/grey bullet button Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time.

Decor ▢ Respond and Discuss

Black/white/grey bullet button If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

DecorWhat Else is New


  1. Apple 'Porn' Filter

    Guest post by Ryan Farmer: Apple and US State Governments Developing System to Require People to Report Themselves for Watching Porn.



  2. 3.5 Years Later Gemini Protocol and Geminispace Are Still 100% Community-Controlled

    Community-centric alternatives to the World Wide Web have gained traction; one of them, Gemini Protocol, continues to grow in 2023 and we're pleased to report progress and expansion



  3. Windows Falls to 16% Market Share in India (It was 97% in 2009), Microsoft Layoffs Reach India Too

    This month’s picture from the world’s most populous nation does not look good for Microsoft (it looks good for GNU/Linux); anonymous rumour mills online say that Microsoft isn’t moving to India but is actually firing staff based in India, so it’s a case of shrinking, not offshoring. When even low-paid (much lower salaries) staff is discarded it means things are very gloomy.



  4. Links 22/03/2023: GNOME 44 “Kuala Lumpur”

    Links for the day



  5. Microsoft Has Also Infiltrated the OSI's Board of Directors After Rigged Elections

    Weeks ago we warned that this would happen and for the third or fourth time in 2 years the OSI’s election process broke down; today the Open Source Initiative (OSI) writes: “The polls just closed, the results are in. Congratulations to the returning directors Aeva Black…” (Microsoft employee)



  6. Links 22/03/2023: Official Thunderbird Podcast Starts

    Links for the day



  7. IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 21, 2023

    IRC logs for Tuesday, March 21, 2023



  8. Many More Microsoft Layoffs Later Today

    Yesterday we shared rumours about Microsoft layoffs being planned for later today (there were 3 waves of layoffs so far this year). There are several more people here who say the same. How much noise will Microsoft make in the “media” in order to distract? Will the chaffbot "ChatGPT" help create enough chaff?



  9. Links 21/03/2023: JDK 20 and GNOME 43.5

    Links for the day



  10. Germany's Lobbyists-Infested Government Sponsors the War on Ukraine via the European Patent Office (EPO)

    The chief UPC ‘judge’ is basically seeking to break the law (and violate constitutions, conventions etc.) to start a kangaroo court while dodging real courts, just like Vladimir Putin does



  11. [Meme] The Meme That Team UPC (the Collusion to Break the European Laws, for Profit) Threats to Sue Us For

    António Campinos and Team UPC are intimidating people who simply point out that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) is illegal and Klaus Grabinksi, shown above, strives to head a de facto kangaroo court in violation of constitutions and conventions (the UK does not and cannot ratify; Ireland hasn’t even held a referendum on the matter)



  12. Microsoft is Sacking People Every Month This Year, Even Managers (While Sponsored Media Produces Endless Chatbot Chaff)

    Lots of Microsoft layoffs lately and so-called ‘journalists’ aren’t reporting these; they’re too busy running sponsored puff pieces for Microsoft, usually fluff along the “hey hi” (AI) theme



  13. 3 Months Late Sirius 'Open Source' Finally Deletes Us From the Fraudulent 'Meet the Team' Page (But Still Lists Many People Who Left Years Ago!)

    Amid fraud investigations the management of Sirius ‘Open Source’ finally removed our names from its “Meet the Team” page (months late); but it left in the page about half a dozen people who left the company years ago, so it’s just lying to its clients about the current situation



  14. Amid Fraud at Sirius 'Open Source' CEO Deletes His Recent (This Month) Past With the Company

    Not only did the Sirius ‘Open Source’ CEO purge all mentions of Sirius from his Microsoft LinkedIn account; he’s racing against the clock as crimes quickly become a legal liability



  15. Web Survey Shows Microsoft Falling Below 15% Market Share in Africa, Only One Minuscule African Nation Has Windows Majority

    A Web survey that measured Microsoft Windows at 97% in Africa (back in 2010) says that Windows has become rather small and insignificant; the Microsoft-sponsored mainstream media seems to be ignoring this completely, quite likely by intention...



  16. Rumours of More Microsoft Layoffs Tomorrow (Including Managers!), Probably Azure Again (Many Azure Layoffs Every Year Since 2020)

    Amazon is laying off AWS staff and Microsoft has been laying off Azure staff for 3 years already, including this year, so it seems like the “clown computing” bubble is finally bursting



  17. [Meme] EPO's Management Brainstorm

    The story behind a misleading slogan told above



  18. The Photo Ops Festival of the Funky President António Campinos and Revolt From the Patent Examiners Whom He Perpetually Oppresses

    European Patents are being granted for no reason other than application and renewal fees, awarding European monopolies to companies that aren't even European (only about a third are actually European); staff of the EPO is fed up as it regards or views all this as an extreme departure from the EPO's mission (and it's also outright illegal)



  19. Links 21/03/2023: Trisquel GNU/Linux 11.0 LTS

    Links for the day



  20. Back Doors Proponent Microsoft Infiltrates Panels That Write the Security Regulations, Press Fails to Point Out the Obvious

    Cult tactics and classic entryism serve Microsoft again, stacking the panels and basically writing policy (CISA). As an associate explained it, citing this new example, Stanford “neglects to point out the obvious fact that Microsoft is writing its own regulations.”



  21. IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 20, 2023

    IRC logs for Monday, March 20, 2023



  22. Links 20/03/2023: Curl 8.0.0/1 and CloudStack 4.18.0.0 LTS

    Links for the day



  23. Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings): Three Weeks to Merely Start Investigating Pension Fraud (and Only After Repeated Reminders From the Fraud's Victims)

    As the phonecall above hopefully shows (or further elucidates), Standard Life leaves customers in a Kafkaesque situation, bouncing them from one person to another person without actually progressing on a fraud investigation



  24. Standard Life Paper Mills in Edinburgh

    Standard Life is issuing official-looking financial papers for companies that then use that paperwork to embezzle staff



  25. Pension Fraud Investigation Not a High Priority in Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings)

    The 'Open Source' company where I worked for nearly 12 years embezzled its staff; despite knowing that employees were subjected to fraud in Standard Life's name, it doesn't seem like Standard Life has bothered to investigate (it has been a fortnight already; no progress is reported by management at Standard Life)



  26. Links 20/03/2023: Tails 5.11 and EasyOS 5.1.1

    Links for the day



  27. Links 20/03/2023: Amazon Linux 2023 and Linux Kernel 6.3 RC3

    Links for the day



  28. IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 19, 2023

    IRC logs for Sunday, March 19, 2023



  29. An Update on Sirius 'Open Source' Pensiongate: It's Looking Worse Than Ever

    It's starting to look more and more like pension providers in the UK, including some very major and large ones, are aiding criminals who steal money from their workers under the guise of "pensions"



  30. Services and Users TRApped in Telescreen-Running Apps

    TRApp, term that lends its name to this article, is short for "Telescreen-Running App". It sounds just like "trap". Any similarity is not purely coincidental.


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Home iconSite Home: Background about the site and some key features in the front page

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts