Bonum Certa Men Certa

Raspberry Pied in the Face -- Part V: Raspberry Bye? The Lost of Trust is Pervasive and the (Un)Official Response Unhelpful

Video download link



Summary: The perception that the Raspberry Pi is compromised (by Microsoft) is hurting all the momentum (and reputation) it has built for nearly a decade; we heard from developers close to these affairs

THE media coverage about the blunder has entered its second week (we broke the story more than a week ago) and this morning we found several more articles about it, never mind comments and social control media. The Foundation hoped that the anger would die out just because queries from the community and from customers were being censored. This is a case of bad judgment on top of bad judgment.



Remember that the Foundation works with various GNU/Linux developers and projects, including Debian Developers. One of them wrote about Pi images only hours ago. We too spoke to some developers. They lost faith or lost truth in the Foundation. Much damage has been done by working with Microsoft behind their backs. "Microsoft repos installed on all Raspberry Pis," one developer told us, asking: "have you seen the news about the Raspberry Pi Foundation forcibly and without notice installing a Microsoft repo in all machines running Raspberry Pi OS? Here's more context. This implies that at every update you are pinging Microsoft's servers, and as the repo is PGP-signed by the developers, Raspberry Pi OS users can unadvertedly install Microsoft software, pull it as a dependency or even having it installed in an update. This is a tremendous breach of trust for millions of users and an attack by Microsoft, IMO. Also, in a typical corporate dictatorship style, the critics in the Raspberry Pi forums were quickly censored for "Microsoft bashing"."

"Remember that the Foundation works with various GNU/Linux developers and projects, including Debian developers.""I know about this," I responded, "because we (Techrights) are the ones who actually broke the story." (We are also being credited at the site raspbian.io ... in the front page)

It is clear, based on what we've heard, that many developers are pissed off, even partners. They feel betrayed. The breach of trust impacts not only customers (Pi users).

One reader told us that it's "awesome that TLG [The Linux Gamer] showed Techrights, about that Pi OS maintainer snooping in the Microsoft repo/gpg key... reading a thread about it also, the maintainers said that won't change, and it's to make sure life is easy for those wanting to install vscode... sounds like money talking, to me! Wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft aren't a major sponsor (similar to Google/Firefox), or a total buyout announcement on the cards."

They already tried, several years ago in fact, to put Windows on the Pi (we wrote several articles about it back then and again several days ago... in prior parts of this series).

"It is clear, based on what we've heard, that many developers are pissed off, even partners."It's a travesty because the Foundation betrayed users, customers, media, developers, strategic partners, and even hardware suppliers (there's a whole chain of extensions for Pi devices). It would likely be the end of the Pi 'monopoly' as they have many competitors now (some with the word "Pi" in their name). People would vote with their wallets and we heard of some who started exploring alternatives. Was it worth it for the Foundation? Microsoft has ideas...

We've also just received some truly disturbing E-mails related to this. It seems like this series will end up being a lot longer than we first anticipated, so we might split it apart into other (separate) series.

"Trojan horses are not really gifts, even if they come with ribbons and a greeting card that says "Microsoft loves Linux"...""And with the way this has been mishandled by both Microsoft and RPF," an associate told us a few days ago, "there is even less reason to trust Microsoft. A question with a very interesting answer would be, why the offending software was not added to the official repositories and in the right category? The category "main" is not the right one."

Some Debian Developers are really unhappy about this. It damages the reputation of their project/s as well. But Microsoft is of course just trying to interfere with GNU/Linux from the inside (pacifying or demonising opponents by claiming that it "loves" them) -- same thing it always did to undermine and kill rivals. Latest target? It seems to be this. Not the first time, either. Trojan horses are not really gifts, even if they come with ribbons and a greeting card that says "Microsoft loves Linux"... (that greeting card is just a gate opener)

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