05.19.10
Gemini version available ♊︎Microsoft-Dominated Yahoo! Deletes the Linux/Open Source Section (Updated)
Summary: GNU/Linux Web sites are being starved a bit now that Yahoo! removes a section which represents its roots; Hotmail demotes PDF and KIN is a disaster that cannot compete against Linux
EARLIER THIS year we provided a lot of evidence to show that Yahoo! had been hijacked by Microsoft executives and their partners. One just needs to look at the new staff. It is therefore possible to explain Yahoo’s removal of the “Linux/Open Source” (sub)section from Yahoo!’s “News/Tech” section. The people who are operating Yahoo! right now apparently decided that Linux and Open Source no longer matter, despite the fact that both are growing rapidly.
OK, I’m not sure what’s going on in the minds of the geniuses over at Yahoo but just today they removed the Linux/Open Source link under News/Tech is gone. Its replacement? Social Media. Thanks Yahoo. That’s really clever. NOT! In the realm of things dumb, that takes second place right under iPad early adopters. But that’s OK. We still have lxer.com, linuxtoday.com and lwn.net where we can get our news. Thanks Yahoo, you helped us.
Yes, helped us.
[...]
Dear Yahoo:
Reinstate the Linux/Open Source category under News/Tech or else. Or else, all the Open Source and Linux nerds in the world will say, “Nee.” And, we’ll continue to say, “Nee” until you submit.
“Nee!”
There, I said it.
What do you think of Yahoo’s obvious faux pas of removing Linux/Open Source from their News/Tech area and replacing it with the ultra lame Social Media?
All along we expected that Microsoft would possibly poison Yahoo's Free software slant. Yahoo relied on Free software (or “Open Source”) to exist in the first place.
In other news, there is a lot of coverage about changes at Hotmail, which is growing increasingly irrelevant over time (Yahoo! or Gmail rule, depending on the assessment criterion) and turns out to be abolishing PDF!
Hotmail Shoots Foot
[...]
An e-mail system that will not work with PDF won’t work for us.
One of the things I do with PDF is to attach my resume. I have only once encountered an employer who could not deal with that. A few say they want .DOC but I send PDF anyways and I get the job. I doubt Gmail will exclude PDF any time soon. With GNU/Linux I can produce PDFs easily in my word-processor and I can convert almost any document to PDF.
What was Microsoft thinking?
Microsoft is not only struggling to stay relevant on the Web (despite hijacking Yahoo!) but it also struggles to matter in the mobile space. “KIN” is a disappointment [1, 2, 3] and one of our readers told us yesterday that “for some real fun, check out the threads on the Kin tech support forum.. soooo many bugs. it is really truly pathetic. [...] and here’s what’s really strange. if you Google (or Bing, I checked both) for “kin tech support” and related queries, the MSFT official forum is not showing up in the results that I could see! (not sure how I found it originally) [...] this thread has a good punchline”
KIN’s biggest rival is Linux, so how come Yahoo! decided to purge Linux from its “News/Tech” section? Could Microsoft influence have something to do with it? █
Update: Yahoo appears to have reversed this removal (see comments).
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saulgoode said,
May 19, 2010 at 7:34 am
It may be that the missing link was a temporary glitch — or perhaps it was restored owing to complaints. Regardless, as I write this there is a Linux/Open Source link in Yahoo News’ Tech section, in addition to the Social Media link.
Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:
May 19th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Interesting, I’ll update this post.