Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Forces Linux Phone Users to Use Bong [sic] Just Like it Forces Linux Users to Buy Windows With a New PC

Summary: Microsoft's strategy against rivals like Google and GNU/Linux is removal of choice, patent extortion, and public ridicule

CHEATING by limiting choice is the modus operandi at Microsoft. If users are left with no choice but to become clients of Microsoft, how can Microsoft possibly lose? It 'wins' by default.



It is common knowledge that Microsoft is losing in the mobile arena (market share low and steadily declining), so Microsoft is busy making threats with software patents [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] in order to make profit from Linux phones, which Microsoft wrote not a single line of code for.

One company that pays Microsoft for Linux phones is Samsung, which gives buyers no choice but to pay Microsoft for Android. Moreover, Samsung sells out again, this time by forcing buyers to use Microsoft's Bong [sic]. The source of this claim is this review which was analysed further by Android Guys. It's being compared to Verizon's half-a-billion-dollars deal with Microsoft [1, 2, 3]:

Samsung Fascinate Uses Bing Instead of Google Search (Updated)



[...]

I'm severely disappointed in Verizon and Samsung. The Samsung Fascinate, Big Red's version of the Galaxy S, has been reviewed by the folks over at Engadget. They were quick to point out that the search widget is BING, not Google Search.

[...]

UPDATE: More bad news. According to Engadget, there is no way to change the search engine to Google. You are stuck with Bing. Hopefully we will have something in the market. We will have to wait and see on this.


In a later post from Android Guys the author talks about the Verizon-Microsoft arrangement: "My guess is that this comes from some form of licensing or exclusive deal between Microsoft and Verizon. If I were to throw a dart, I'd say that there will be probably be a few months of releases like this. I really hope this doesn't become the norm for Verizon or any other carriers. Paying for Striking a deal to grow your market share is shady stuff and this only angers people."

He ends with a question: "I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter. What do you think of Verizon and Microsoft climbing into bed over the Fascinate? Is this a deal breaker for you?"

“My guess is that this comes from some form of licensing or exclusive deal between Microsoft and Verizon.”
      --Android Guys
More from the same author comes later. He is clearly unhappy about it (the title says "Verizon’s Bing Deal Could be a Very Big Deal").

The Bong deals are actually not such a big deal compared to the extortion Microsoft has got going with Asian distributors of Android. 'Microsoft tax' on Linux in phones affects not only Japanese and Korean companies but also HTC, which remains a Google Android front runner. In fact, many of the top Android phones are now taxed by Microsoft for their use of Linux. That's just inexcusable and the problem ought to be addressed, preferably by buying phones only from companies that do not pay Microsoft for Linux.

In his recent talks (e.g. [1, 2]) Professor Eben Moglen explained that Microsoft's products were not very good anymore and therefore Microsoft sought to make money from other people's products, using software patents of course.

Another disturbing trend we've noticed is that Microsoft is busy just attacking its competitors' products and publicly ridiculing them. How about making better products instead? Microsoft has launched a shameful publicity stunt and Engadget helps them by covering it. Basically, Microsoft is just mocking the competition, mocking a funeral as though their to-be phone with 0.00% market share is already burying phones which sell over 100,000 units per day. That's just ridiculous and it makes Microsoft look petty. OpenBytes responds as follows:

It is being reported that there’s been a “parade” (and I use that term loosely) to “celebrate” Windows Mobile 7 hitting RTM. Now normally parades are something to be celebrated, but remember this is a Microsoft product which is being celebrated, so you know it will go wrong. The organisers of this Windows Mobile 7 parade decided not to go down the boring, silly normal route and instead seem to believe that people would want to see a fake “funeral” of Apple and Blackberry in light of Windows Mobile 7.

[...]

Now it could be said that this is some clever PR stunt by Microsoft in order to get Windows Mobile 7 talked about, after all how many people do you know that have even heard of it, let alone want one? So I thought I would remind everyone of Microsoft’s previous phones and efforts just so you can keep it in the back of your mind if someone tries to sell you one of these devices later. These links can be found at the end of the article.

Earlier this year Chris Pirillo covered a video interview with Microsoft, “showcasing” Windows Mobile 7, and from what I saw the misfitting menu system that tries to copy Android’s slide feature with the titles of the menu not seeming to fit comfortably on the page, the “innovations” which we’ve seen for a long while with Android merely rebadged under a different name and the Microsoft salesman trying to say “people I care about” ten times a minute in relation to contacts on the phone to try and convince people that the “friendly”Microsoft wants people to enjoy its “friendly” phone. Side note: Microsoft, get yourself a new salesman, this ones more transparent than one of Steve Ballmer’s sweaty shirts. But none of this obvious selling could prepare anyone for the horror when the phones menu pans down and I see the two icons ”Internet Explorer” and “Zune”.


Watch Chris Pirillo serving Microsoft again. A lot of coverage about Vista Phone 7 is fake (made up, paid for through 'compensation'), for reasons we named last week. Microsoft is said to be spending half a billion dollars just seeding blogs, seeding the press, and probably manipulating social networking sites too. It's no secret that this is where marketing money goes at Microsoft.

As for that mock funeral, the one to eventually have real a funeral is Vista Phone 7. Several years ago Microsoft put an "amnesty bin" in campus, advising staff to "bury" their hypePods in there (very few employees did). A number of years later we discovered that all the "KIN" units ever sold can comfortably fit one such bin (or coffin). So who had the last laugh?

Amnesty bin
From fimoculous



Recent Techrights' Posts

With 9 Mentions of Azure In Its Latest Blog Post, Canonical is Again Promoting Microsoft and Intel Vendor Lock-in, Surveillance, Back Doors, Considerable Power Waste, and Defects That Cannot be Fixed
Microsoft did not even have to buy Canonical (for Canonical to act like it happened)
Links 28/03/2024: GAFAM Replacing Full-Time Workers With Interns Now
Links for the day
Consent & Debian's illegitimate constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Time Our Server Host Died in a Car Accident
If Debian has internal problems, then they need to be illuminated and then tackled, at the very least in order to ensure we do not end up with "Deadian"
China's New 'IT' Rules Are a Massive Headache for Microsoft
On the issue of China we're neutral except when it comes to human rights issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WeMakeFedora.org: harassment decision, victory for volunteers and Fedora Foundations
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 27/03/2024: Terrorism Grows in Africa, Unemployment in Finland Rose Sharply in a Year, Chinese Aggression Escalates
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: Ericsson and Tencent Layoffs
Links for the day
Amid Online Reports of XBox Sales Collapsing, Mass Layoffs in More Teams, and Windows Making Things Worse (Admission of Losses, Rumours About XBox Canceled as a Hardware Unit)...
Windows has loads of issues, also as a gaming platform
Links 27/03/2024: BBC Resorts to CG Cruft, Akamai Blocking Blunders in Piracy Shield
Links for the day
Android Approaches 90% of the Operating Systems Market in Chad (Windows Down From 99.5% 15 Years Ago to Just 2.5% Right Now)
Windows is down to about 2% on the Web-connected client side as measured by statCounter
Sainsbury's: Let Them Eat Yoghurts (and Microsoft Downtimes When They Need Proper Food)
a social control media 'scandal' this week
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Windows/Client at Microsoft Falling Sharply (Well Over 10% Decline Every Quarter), So For His Next Trick the Ponzi in Chief Merges Units, Spices Everything Up With "AI"
Hiding the steep decline of Windows/Client at Microsoft?
Free technology in housing and construction
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
We Need Open Standards With Free Software Implementations, Not "Interoperability" Alone
Sadly we're confronting misguided managers and a bunch of clowns trying to herd us all - sometimes without consent - into "clown computing"
Microsoft's Collapse in the Web Server Space Continued This Month
Microsoft is the "2%", just like Windows in some countries
Links 26/03/2024: Inflation Problems, Strikes in Finland
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Losing Children, Carbon Tax Discussed
Links for the day
Mark Shuttleworth resigns from Debian: volunteer suicide and Albania questions unanswered, mass resignations continue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/03/2024: 6,000 Layoffs at Dell, Microsoft “XBox is in Real Trouble as a Hardware Manufacturer”
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Microsofters Still Trying to 'Extend' Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Look What IBM's Red Hat is Turning CentOS Into
For 17 years our site ran on CentOS. Thankfully we're done with that...
The Julian Paul Assange Verdict: The High Court Has Granted Assange Leave to Appeal Extradition to the United States, Decision Adjourned to May 20th Pending Assurances
The decision is out
The Microsoft and Apple Antitrust Issues Have Some But Not Many Commonalities
gist of the comparison to Microsoft
ZDNet, Sponsored by Microsoft for Paid-for Propaganda (in 'Article' Clothing), Has Added Pop-Up or Overlay to All Pages, Saying "813 Partners Will Store and Access Information on Your Device"
Avoiding ZDNet may become imperative given what it has turned into
Julian Assange Verdict 3 Hours Away
Their decision is due to be published at 1030 GMT
People Who Cover Suicide Aren't Suicidal
Assange didn't just "deteriorate". This deterioration was involuntary and very much imposed upon him.
Overworking Kills
The body usually (but not always) knows best
Former Red Hat Chief (CEO), Who Decided to Leave the Company Earlier This Month, Talks About "Cloud Company Red Hat" to CNBC
shows a lack of foresight and dependence on buzzwords
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Discord Does Not Make Money, It's Spying on People and Selling Data/Control (38% is Allegedly Controlled by the Communist Party of China)
a considerable share exists
In At Least Two Nations Windows is Now Measured at 2% "Market Share" (Microsoft Really Does Not Want People to Notice That)
Ignore the mindless "AI"-washing
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Still Has Hundreds of Thousands of Simultaneously-Online Unique Users
The scale of IRC