Bonum Certa Men Certa

When Compromise Means Surrender

Item for sale



Summary: Succumbing to Microsoft managers and selling them influence inside Free software-centric organisations is suicidal because Microsoft's campaign against GNU/Linux continues, albeit it's thinly and strategically disguised as "love"

NEGOTIATION skills and diplomacy are good things. They help bridge gaps between otherwise-unwilling parties, where irreconcilable differences prevail, harming collaboration opportunities.



This isn't to say that all distrust is unwarranted and undesirable. One must assess underlying facts and establish whether one is trustworthy or not. Regrettably, the FSFE's leadership decided that it is somehow OK to take money from Microsoft, which as recently as one year ago leveraged software patents against companies that distribute Linux. As Benjamin Henrion (FFII) put it [1, 2]: "FSFE now sponsored by Microsoft, which is still applying for software patents [...] And FSFE is also sponsored by Ericsson, one of the most aggressive software patent supporter and patent troll..."

"The idea that Microsoft is somehow "Acceptable" or "Reformed" all of a sudden is absolutely laughable. Unless one falls for the PR (lying) campaigns..."We actually have more of an issue with money coming from a company that loathes Free software and attacks it constantly (e.g. with a "free" jail called GitHub). Ericsson's role in patent trolling was explained here many times before; but unlike Microsoft they never attack Linux or Free software directly.

"Microsoft hates GNU/Linux."The idea that Microsoft is somehow "Acceptable" or "Reformed" all of a sudden is absolutely laughable. Unless one falls for the PR (lying) campaigns...

Or unless one looks for excuses to pick up corrupting funds...

Microsoft hates GNU/Linux. It really does. It 'loves' it in the same sense HIV patients love their 'cocktail'.

See how their managers truly feel about GNU/Linux. We recently learned from a reliable and involved source that the WSL adoption numbers are rather laughable (maybe just hundreds of thousands of active users worldwide). The project is an utter failure, so it's being rebranded the "2.0" way. After almost half a decade 'out there', combined with loads of PR and puff pieces from Microsoft boosters inside the media.

Reaching out to corporate partners isn't in itself (or in its own right) evil; it's who you reach out to that counts.

"This isn't helping Free software "win" or become "mainstream"; it's a surrender, or a handover of Free software's soul to corporations most hostile towards Software Freedom."The FSFE was already in hot waters for a number of recent scandals/blunders, which could be traced back to its leadership. This one isn't going to help. The perception is that today's FSFE is basically far too German (like the EPO) and too often in bed with corporate interests, far more so than the FSF. No wonder many members are said to have left. If they hope to replace individual members (and their membership fees) with corporate sponsorships, then the identity of the FSFE too will change. This isn't helping Free software "win" or become "mainstream"; it's a surrender, or a handover of Free software's soul to corporations most hostile towards Software Freedom. Some people profit handsomely from this handover; see the Linux Foundation, the "market leader" in such handovers. It even outsources the code to Microsoft, just like Apache did after ASF has been taken by a Microsoft mole.

“Microsoft has a master plan for open source and it’s not good. Open Source is about Freedom, not control. Don’t you all think it’s a little suspicious what Microsoft paid for GitHub?”

--Eren Niazi, Creator of Open Source Storage



Item sold

Recent Techrights' Posts

Misinformation is Not Intelligence
It's low-grade plagiarism and it fails to show any signs of intelligence
'Tech' Gimmicks Are for Advertising, Not for Usability
In the case of Microsoft, they latched onto slop
BetaNews Sacked Brian Fagioli and Deleted His Comments, But He Still Tries to Use the "BetaNews" Brand for Self-Affirmation
Fagioli takes the work of other people
[Meme] Hard to Be a Better Person?
Sooner or later they'll realise that for each pound I spend they need to spend about 1,000 times more
New US Editor for The Register is a Microsoft Booster
"Avram Piltch has served as US editor for The Register since July 2025."
 
IBM's Debt Rose by Almost 10 Billion Dollars in the Past 6 Months Alone
The "hey hi" circus is coming to an end
Yes, Master
Gaslighting by actual racists
Microsoft Bribes and Buys Politicians to Tell Europe What to Do About Free Software (Which It's Attacking)
Microsoft: we speak for the thing that we are attacking! Follow the money...
Making Backups Quickly and Reliably
Backups are imperative, more so in an age of uncertainty, unpredictable weather, and worsening standards (quality of products going down while prices go up)
Techrights Investigation: Estimating the Point in Time LinuxIac Turned Into LLM Slop (Part of the Time)
Bobby Borisov got lazy
10th Month, Ten Weeks From Now, at Ten AM
In Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 24, 2025
A Nadella Memo Distracts From Microsoft's Cheapening Of the Workforce
Right now the "MSM" (mainstream media) is flooded/overwhelmed by garbage pieces that relay lies for Nadella
Vanishing Faces of GNU/Linux
Free software projects do not depend on any one person or company to still exist
Microsoft Says It Lost 400 Million Windows Users, Now It's Waiting for GNU/Linux to Stop Booting on 'Old' PCs
When it comes to Windows, Microsoft is fully aware of the issue and statements it made earlier this summer suggest it lost 400 million Windows users
Slopwatch: LinuxTechLab, linuxsecurity.com, LinuxIac, and More
Also: The Register's Microsoft agenda (new editor)
Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Gemtext Aware Titan Editor and Gemini Protocol Comeback
Links for the day
Links 24/07/2025: Convicted Felon Quits UNESCO, "Vibe Coding Goes Wrong", and Signalgate Gets Worse
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/07/2025: Forgejo Woes and Smolnet Directory Week
Links for the day
Links 24/07/2025: Storage Tapes Still Kicking, Windows TCO 'on Steroids' (Microsoft-Induced Catastrophes)
Links for the day
Bobby Borisov (LinuxIac) Has Apparently Begun Experimenting With LLM Slop, So We Cannot Trust LinuxIac Anymore
So did LinuxIac become a slopfarm? Maybe not yet, but it's getting there
Informa TechTarget's ITProToday is Becoming a Slopfarm Generated by Microsoft Chatbots
Busted.
The LLM Con Artists Are Highly Destructive
Who will ever be held accountable for this scam?
Too Bribed by Microsoft to Move to Free Software?
Microsoft lies and Microsoft bribery (in politics)
Microsoft Hiring European Politicians is Another Form of Bribery; There Should be a European Investigation
When Microsoft bribed people in Europe for OOXML (there's no denying this!) a European government delegate said that Microsoft operated like a cult
Reda Demanded That FSF Removes Its Founder, Now Reda Works Directly for Microsoft
A sellout and a traitor, first working for GAFAM, now Microsoft
PCLinuxOS is Raising Money to Support Development After Fire Incident at the Host
PCLinuxOS has not had announcements lately
Speed of the Site Should be Better Now
The "bot attacks" impact the speed of the sister site too
Getting More From AnalogNowhere
Recently we used many images from AnalogNowhere
Microsoft, Microsofters and 'Secure' Boot Shills Already Storming the LWN Report About Expiring Certificate, Shooting the Messenger
LWN has clearly stuck a nerve
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Disable "Secure" Boot Today (the Only Better Time to Do So Was Yesterday)
Don't trust anything Red Hat tells you about security
Links 23/07/2025: Windows Killed Company After 150+ Years, US Government Mimics Russia's Attacks on the Media
Links for the day
Freedom Generally Wins at the End, History Shows (But It's Constantly Attacked, Too)
At the moment people realise "Linux" (e.g. Android) isn't enough to guarantee any freedoms
Over 3 Months Later Brett Wilson LLP Still Unable to Recruit a Media Lawyer?
"Immediate start", but not found... still unfilled
“Inhumane” and “Disgusting” Mass Layoff Execution, According to Microsoft Staff
The workers are looking for other places to work
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has a New Slogan for Its 40th Anniversary
The freedoms are what's most important
Microsoft is Trying to "Pull a Nokia" on GNU/Linux as Desktop/Laptop Platform
We all remember that rather well, don't we?
LLM Slopfarms gbhackers.com, "Cyber Press" and CyberSecurityNews Are Drowning Google News (and Shame on Google for Feeding and Facilitating Them)
All are run by the same people
Links 23/07/2025: Droplets GUI Patent Monopoly Challenge, Nokia Leverages Illegal Patent Court Against Rivals
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/07/2025: Community in Geminispace and Challenges With Old Computers
Links for the day
Links 23/07/2025: Slop Patents Tackled, Slop Copyright Misuses Tackled by Politicians
Links for the day
Our Three Lawsuits Against Microsofters Are About to Become a Lot More Relevant to GNU/Linux
The Master will easily understand why Garrett has been attacking me since 2012
Links 23/07/2025: Retreating From Transparency on Jeffrey Epstein, We No Longer Have Press Freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/07/2025: Piano and Food
Links for the day
New and Old
On Ageism in Tech
Slop Is Not Intelligence and It Does Not Enhance Productivity
Like voice dictation, which cannot tell the difference between "sheet" and "shit"
EPO Crimes Are Spreading to the British Court System
Society is now paying the price for failing to tackle crimes at the EPO
It's Time to Dump SharePoint and Here's What to Use Instead
Nextcloud, ownCloud, Bookstack, MediaWiki, and MediaGoblin
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Has Gone Silent
Sometimes silence says more than nothing at all
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Planet Ubuntu, and LinuxTechLab
some slopfarms show no remorse and they don't value their reputation at all
Links 23/07/2025: Book Bans, Storms, and Kangaroo Court for Patents Commits More Unlawful Acts of Overreach
Links for the day