Bonum Certa Men Certa

Desperate Microsoft Too Busy Attacking the Competition (Primarily GNU/Linux), Not Creating Products

The sinking ship tries to pull FOSS down with it

Rodrigues island



Summary: Some of the latest examples of Microsoft disruption (interfering with the competition) rather than Microsoft production

Earlier this week we showed how Microsoft (through CIS) was recruiting moles to help fight FOSS by confusion and infiltration. It is typical and very routine an exercise for Microsoft. Nokia is one recent example. Microsoft is actively recruiting moles who would come across to the public as pro-FOSS while also pro-Microsoft (while on Microsoft's payroll), contributing -- covertly -- to a false perception that Microsoft is now accepted by FOSS and is a FOSS player. It is a bit like the strategy of undercover spies; it's how the CIA infiltrates humanitarian groups (such as HRW) and pushes its agenda as pro-human rights, or commending the CIA (from supposedly humanitarian groups) for its aggressive action under the guise of "pro-rights" (women's rights, democracy, freedom and so on).



Microsoft is not genuinely changing. It hardly changes anything at all. It is definitely not honest about changing its attitude towards FOSS. All it does is send AstroTurfers to critical sites like Techrights (as Microsoft did with horrible insults) while running attack ads against FOSS projects. All that Microsoft is trying to change (and barely succeeds at doing) is the public's perception. Microsoft's ads that seek to recruit moles state this explicitly. Under the supposed leadership of Satya N. Microsoft continues to extort FOSS using patents. Ballmer seems to be moving further away from Microsoft, but Gates who is the bigger bully (always has been) recrntly increased his role at Microsoft. Wired (Condé Nast) helps openwash Gates these days, but this is clearly part of the marketing charade. People like Mozilla's CEO get pushed out with much help from Microsoft-linked press (never mind the bizarre nature of these tactics [1]), but a longtime criminal like Gates gets portrayed as a Saint. He buys media companies and pays many off, including a lot of blogs.

Speaking of marketing, watch Samsung's actions and this news about what Microsoft does to Android and Linux:

Microsoft sends astronauts to troll Samsung’s “Terminal Galaxy 5”



[●●●]

With that said, Microsoft, you could’ve done better, though this is still a class above your ill-fated Scroogled campaign against Google.


Microsoft won't get far with this strategy, but it sure can cause a lot of damage.

Related/contextual items from the news:


  1. Bill Maher rails against political correctness
    A few weeks ago, the CEO of Mozilla was forced to resign because it was revealed that in 2008, he supported Prop. 8, California's ban on gay marriage. A bad law, yes, but 52% of Californians voted for it. Do they all have to resign? Obama was against gay marriage in 2008! Does he have to resign? Hillary came around just last year. Can she be President?


Recent Techrights' Posts

Perpetual Strikes to Begin at European Patent Office (EPO), Large Majority Votes for Strikes Any Day of the Week
Approved industrial actions [...] Notice how none of the media or even so-called 'IP' blogs write about it
 
Slides From the Presentation Discussing EPO Strikes Until End of June or Until End of 2026 (Maybe Next Year Too)
More to come soon (later today)
IBM Cuts Are Everywhere (Global), the Aim is to Lower the Pay
Because the revenues keep falling (IBM buys other companies' revenues using borrowed money)
Mozilla is Not a Privacy Company, Mozilla is Run by GAFAM Executives and Managers Who Came From American Surveillance Companies
Would you trust a VPN they claim to be "free"?
SLAPP Censorship - Part 25 Out of 200: That Time Matthew J. Garrett Got Temporarily Banned/Suspended From Twitter
That he gets banned from large social control media platform is hardly surprising given his combative communications
Ubuntu Started as Free With ShipIt, Now It Becomes Payware That Exploits Debian Volunteers (Slaves)
"Ubuntu" the distro now replaces the GNU components inherited from Debian with a bunch of Microsoft GitHub (proprietary) things that reject reciprocal licences
Last Night The Register MS Published a Fake Article. It Mentioned "AI" 27 Times.
Paid-for nonsense! [...] What's left of once-respectable news sites actively harms society
Links 27/03/2026: Google Executive (GAFAM, US, Surveillance) "Named the New BBC Head", Prominent Climate Scientist Resigns From NASA
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/03/2026: "Being Busy" and "Posting Again"
Links for the day
GNOME Has No "Real" Executive Director, Only an IBM (Perma)'Interim' One With No Openings in Sight
GNOME is having financial problems
Microsoft Experiencing "Leadership Exodus"
Microsoft's current position is no better than Meta's (Facebook)
GNU/Linux Distros Should Reject "Age Verification" and Uphold Software Freedom for Users
It's not about protecting children
Slop Plunge
we can already "smell the blood" of the so-called 'AI industry'
IBM Media Puff Pieces While Layoffs Go On and On
Has the PR industry absorbed the press?
Media Says Microsoft Hiring Freezes, But There Are Already Microsoft Layoffs
They want the public to talk about Microsoft as if it's just not hiring when it is actually firing
Richard Stallman lynchings: Sruthi Chandran splitting Debian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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The number of IBM layoffs can be as large as tens of thousands per year
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Microsoft Lost 31% Of Its Alleged "Value" in Five Months, Then It Got Downgraded
In 2026 Microsoft focuses on keeping the layoffs silent
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pretend XBox did not die
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This is lawfare
Official New Figures Show That Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Sees Rise in Dishonesty Among Law Firms Forcibly Shut Down ('Euthanised' Due to Misconduct)
It's rather if in our little country as many as 16 law firms were found to be so dishonest that they needed to be shut down
Back to Normalcy
In our datacentre at least
IBM is "Increasing Its Temporary and Part-time Headcount" While Net Headcount Falls (Despite Buying Many Companies and Their Workforce)
Headcount is a rather superficial yardstick.
Confluent Insiders: IBM Laid Off Over 800 at Confluent, Not Just 800
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EPO Union Decides to Continue Industrial Actions, Next Strike in Four Days
The latest strike had the highest participation rate
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"AI-powered transformation" is just a euphemism for mass layoffs
Where and How to Spot LLM Slop
Many people correctly perceive LLMs as a site's downfall, a step towards the abyss
Public Talk by Richard Stallman in Half a Day "at the Engineering and Architecture Campus of Cesena of the University of Bologna"
He'll probably attract a fairly large crowd
Gemini Links 26/03/2026: Buying a House, Stargazing, OFFLFIRSOCH 2026
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Fedora Maintainer-ship Using Slop (Mistakes) Would Make Fedora Less Reliable
It won't produce reliable code or stable systems one can rely upon
IBM's "Legacy Employees" (Experienced Workers, IBM Management Dubs Them 'Dinobabies')
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EPO's "Current Industrial Actions Are Likely to Intensify Further."
There is another strike in 5 days
This Morning The Register MS Published Slop Promotion With the Term "AI" 15 Times In It. The Register MS Was (As Usual) Paid to Do This
This is not a serious publisher
SLAPP Censorship - Part 23 Out of 200: We Were Right All Along (for 2 Years) About Third Party Funding and Willingness to 'Break the Bank' in Pursuit of "Revenge"
How much damage can a person do to oneself in pursuit of cover-up of legitimate technical concerns?
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the agenda is set GAFAM and IBM rather than donors
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Gemini Links 25/03/2026: Blogging Fright and Absolutely Useless 'Apps' Made by Slop Machines
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Rise in Energy Prices Will Significantly Accelerate the Death of So-called "AI Companies"
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It's Always a Question of Trust
There's a widespread stigma of lawyers being manipulative and chronically dishonest
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We'll cover this in depth in the future
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An Open Admission Profits Depend on Addiction
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