04.05.23
Posted in Deception, GPL, Microsoft, OSI at 7:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Two years before bagging bribes from Microsoft the OSI published this: [PDF]
Of course it has gotten a lot worse since then. For example, consider this overt case of OSI lobbying for Microsoft in the class action lawsuit over GitHub Copilot (GPL violations). This is MICROSOFT funded. This is MICROSOFT staff. This is MICROSOFT propaganda. All this for MICROSOFT GPL VIOLATIONS. Hosted by a MICROSOFT-BRIBED OSI. They buy the OSI’s platform and we know whose bank account nets those salaries.
Sometimes it feels like there’s no greater foe or enemy to Open Source than the OSI itself (because of the misleading name, which complicates matters; it’s a powerful lobbying instrument). It literally works against its original mission, as last witnessed yesterday.
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02.10.23
Posted in GPL, Law, Microsoft at 12:17 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Series parts:
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part I — Inside a Den of Corruption and Misogynists
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part II — The Campaign Against GPL Compliance and War on Copyleft Enforcement
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part III — A Story of Plagiarism and Likely Securities Fraud
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part IV — Mr. MobileCoin: From Mono to Plagiarism… and to Unprecedented GPL Violations at GitHub (Microsoft)
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part V — Why Nat Friedman is Leaving GitHub
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part VI — The Media Has Mischaracterised Nat Friedman’s Departure (Effective Now)
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part VII — Nat Friedman, as GitHub CEO, Had a Plan of Defrauding Microsoft Shareholders
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part VIII — Mr. Graveley’s Long Career Serving Microsoft’s Agenda (Before Hiring by Microsoft to Work on GitHub’s GPL Violations Machine)
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part IX — Microsoft’s Chief Architect of GitHub Copilot Sought to be Arrested One Day After Techrights Article About Him
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part X — Connections to the Mass Surveillance Industry (and the Surveillance State)
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XI — Violence Against Women
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XII — Life of Disorderly Conduct and Lust
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XIII — Nihilistic Death Cults With Substance Abuse and Sick Kinks
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XIV — Gaslighting Victims of Sexual Abuse and Violence
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XV — Cover-Up and Defamation
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XVI — The Attack on the Autonomy of Free Software Carries on
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XVII — Backsliding Into 1990s-Style Digital Slavery by Microsoft
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XVIII — The Story of NPM
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XIX — The Collapse of Team Mono
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XX — Entering Phase II
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XXI — Rumours About How Microsoft Plans to Actually Make Money (Not Losses) From GitHub
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XXII — ‘Mr. GitHub Copilot’ Balabhadra (Alex) Graveley Pleads Guilty After Assaulting Women
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XXIII — CoPlagiarist: Microsoft’s GPL Violations and Plagiarism Tool Created by Serial Plagiarists
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XXIV — Using Microsoft Money as ‘Get Out of Jail’ Card After Suffocating Women
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XXV — Microsoft Employs Serial Strangler as a Manager, Running GitHub Copilot in Spite of Arrest for Assault on Women
- Microsoft GitHub Exposé — Part XXVI — The Layoffs Era Begins
- YOU ARE HERE ☞ The Future of OpenAI May Depend on the Fate of GitHub’s Copilot in Court ($9 Billion in Damages)
Summary: Microsoft has poured billions of dollars into mindless, fact-free marketing of Plagiarism-as-a-Service; Copilot might be a crucial test case because there is now a class action lawsuit
WE still have literally thousands of lines in notes about Copilot and stuff related to the people behind it. Expect a lot of coverage to come. It seems like now is the perfect time to continue with that series, seeing there are lots of layoffs. The bubble is bursting; GitHub as a business isn’t viable.
So what will Microsoft make of all the GitHub ‘data’?
“There has been little coverage of Microsoft plagiarism of copyrighted code via their “OpenAI” scam Copilot,” an associate recently said. “The DMCA, which they have abused extensively both directly and via their marketing arm the BSA, has provisions for severe penalties for their stripping of both licenses and attribution from the code they are plagiarizing.”
Having focused on EPO and the openwashing pandemic (this has gone global and Sirius ‘Open Source’ is among the culprits) we’ve not had much time (also very limited human capacity) to cover the “OpenAI” scam. Now that the paid-for Microsoft hype has died down a bit, let’s consider what’s at stake.
“How much plagiarism can Microsoft get away with?”“The stripping of licenses affects software patent coverage,” the associated explained, “since some licences address software patents and some don’t.”
“Then there is the question of what kind of software patent scams “OpenAI” itself is trying to pull?”
Here is a recent explanation of where we stand now, as per the latest legal developments; ever since then it was only reported that Microsoft tried very hard to have this entire lawsuit tossed out, perhaps knowing that all the “OpenAI” modus operandi is at stake, with precedents counting. To quote the outline:
As projected here back in October, there is now a class action lawsuit, albeit in its earliest stages, against Microsoft over its blatant license violation through its use of the Microsoft GitHub Copilot tool. The software project, Copilot, strips copyright licensing and attribution from existing copyrighted code on an unprecedented scale. The class action lawsuit insists that machine learning algorithms, often marketed as “Artificial Intelligence”, are not exempt from copyright law nor are the wielders of such tools.
The $9 billion in damages is arrived at through scale. When Microsoft Copilot rips code without attribution and strips the copyright license from it, it violates the DMCA three times. So if olny 1% of its 1.2M users receive such output, the licenses were breached 12k times with translates to 36k DMCA violations, at a very low-ball estimate.
“If each user receives just one Output that violates Section 1202 throughout their time using Copilot (up to fifteen months for the earliest adopters), then GitHub and OpenAI have violated the DMCA 3,600,000 times. At minimum statutory damages of $2500 per violation, that translates to $9,000,000,000,” the litigants stated.
Besides open-source licenses and DMCA (§ 1202, which forbids the removal of copyright-management information), the lawsuit alleges violation of GitHub’s terms of service and privacy policies, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other laws.
The suit is on twelve (12) counts:
– Violation of the DMCA.
– Breach of contract. x2
– Tortuous interference.
– Fraud.
– False designation of origin.
– Unjust enrichment.
– Unfair competition.
– Violation of privacy act.
– Negligence.
– Civil conspiracy.
– Declaratory relief.
Furthermore, these actions are contrary to what GitHub stood for prior to its sale to Microsoft and indicate yet another step in ongoing attempts by Microsoft to undermine and sabotage Free and Open Source Software and the supporting communities.
This series about Copilot may seem small compared to all the media “garbage” (paid-for Microsoft hype that disguises or distracts from a Bing crisis, including many Bing layoffs). But irrespective of size/scale/reach, this is an important test case. How much plagiarism can Microsoft get away with? Plagiarism-as-a-Service isn’t a legitimate business model (Copilot subscription for proprietary Visual Studio). █
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01.31.23
Posted in Deception, Free/Libre Software, FSF, GNU/Linux, GPL at 6:04 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Video download link | md5sum 8dee6747c29ac8a73083f75a14c2882b
PR Stunt Doctorate for the Wrong Person
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0
Summary: The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and its founder, Richard M. Stallman (RMS), along with the SFLC one might add, have been under a siege by the trademark-abusing FSFE and SFC; Belgium helps legitimise the ‘fakes’
A few years ago we joked about FOSDEM USA/America, seeing that sponsors, panels, and keynotes were usually American rather than European. FOSDEM also took money from Microsoft.
“FOSDEM also took money from Microsoft.”We previously wrote about how the SFC was censoring critics of American companies. Even in FOSDEM (Europe). SFC seems to be weaponising some online mobs, as we already explained in “Free as in Finance/Money: Salary of SFC’s Chief Rose to $216,000 Per Year ($18,000 Per Month), or More Than Twice the FSF’s Chief” and commentary about the more recent IRS filings (finances) of SFC. It seems profitable to do the posturing and then cancel the original thing (which you try to mimic and then replace). Yes, the FSF and RMS are the “Real Deal”. SFC is basically like the GNU hoarder, exploiting the project’s good name and reputation like Linux Foundation exploits the “Linux” brand.
“It seems profitable to do the posturing and then cancel the original thing (which you try to mimic and then replace).”RMS has got honorary degrees, but he actually pioneered many things and helped inspire others, for no financial (monetary) gain, unlike Karen Sandler. It’s therefore a bit sad to see this self-praising press release, stating: “Sandler was nominated by the student body in recognition of her outstanding work at Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC), her many years of FOSS leadership, and her advocacy and pursuit of software freedom and rights for all.”
So that’s what it takes now? Being nominated? People in the student body nominating you to be called “doctor”? I say a lot more in the above video, but the accomplishments of Sandler are too few; she’s in it for the money. █
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01.18.23
Posted in Deception, Free/Libre Software, GPL, Humour, Microsoft at 1:34 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Microsoft: What’s Yours is Ours, Too
Summary: Microsoft is very strict about copyright law when enforcing its monopolies; when it comes to the competition, however, Microsoft gleefully violates copyright law
“It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not.”
–Bill Gates
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11.17.22
Posted in Deception, GPL, Microsoft, OSI at 3:03 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Earlier this month: Open Source Initiative (OSI) Continues to Cover Up for Microsoft’s GPL Violation Machine (Spiced Up as ‘HI’)
Moments ago:
And not too shockingly, OSI and ‘Linux’ Foundation nowadays get promoted by many of the same people who promote Microsoft. Not a coincidence at all. Follow the money.
Summary: The Linux Foundation (LF) has joined Microsoft’s anti-GPL agenda, yet again; As can be seen only hours ago in an LF- and Microsoft-aligned site of LPI, Microsoft-centric lobbying is everywhere, including Linux Foundation ‘Europe’; this is promoted by Frederic Lardinois, a longtime propagandist of Microsoft (about a decade already), in a site that amplified marketing/advocacy for GitHub just earlier this week; they all eat from the same palm (Microsoft) and promote proprietary software
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11.03.22
Posted in Deception, GPL, Microsoft, OSI at 2:15 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Published a short while ago in the Open Source Initiative’s Web site:
Summary: As noted last week, the OSI’s “voices of Open Source” is sponsored by proprietary GitHub/Microsoft to push anti-Free software misinformation, in effect helping the attack on Free software
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10.28.22
Posted in GPL, Microsoft, OSI at 2:17 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Hours ago: (“voices of Open Source”… sponsored by proprietary GitHub/Microsoft)
Summary: The corrupted OSI is once again doing "HEY HI" (AI) nonsense sponsored by Microsoft, which borrowed the term “HEY HI” to 'perfume' GPL violations at unprecedented scale
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10.08.22
Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, GPL, Microsoft at 10:32 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
GNU/Linux up to ~10% in India as PC sales plunge
Summary: Low-budget and low-energy computing will favour GNU/Linux; Microsoft Windows is far too bloated to remain competitive as prices of energy soar and supply chain woes translate into low sales
TWENTY hours ago we mentioned how Vista 11 had gained only 2.61% market share in 15 months, according to one survey. To put things in perspective, 15 months after it arrived at the scene (summer) and after billions of dollars spent on “marketing” (fake articles), plus bundling/preinstalls on new PCs, the market share of Vista 11 is similar to that of GNU/Linux, not even counting ChromeOS. The world’s dominant operating system is now Android and Linux is running inside it.
In Africa, Android is the dominant operating system in almost every country [1, 2]. And also in Africa, GNU/Linux has grown on the desktop/laptop this month (and in recent months). Android is the dominant platform there, but Windows is waning even in its form factor of ‘choice’ (it could simply not capture other markets).
Africa’s significance here is that it illuminates the impact on poverty at a time when more and more country enter a crisis of poverty, which means no more $1000 laptops with the latest Vista or whatever Apple markets to insecure people with a new credit card.
“Africa’s significance here is that it illuminates the impact on poverty at a time when more and more country enter a crisis of poverty, which means no more $1000 laptops with the latest Vista or whatever Apple markets to insecure people with a new credit card.”It seems like a safe prediction that GNU/Linux will continue to grow and the Linux Foundation‘s role will be attacking the community while handing over GNU/Linux to monopolistic corporations.
Not many people noticed it, but the licence of the code connecting Linux to Rust is not GPL. This highlights some of the potential dangers of adding Rust to Linux. There are many such dangers. A reader recently suggested an article that might praise the benefits the GPLv2 and GPLv3 have provided and that they were adaptations to changing situations; now with the tsunami of Microsoft lobbyists the situation is moving yet again and GitHub is basically a massive attack on the GPL.
One associate noted that “[t]he GPL in and of itself is a clever hack of copyright law and has provided great benefit. Linus Torvalds himself has mentioned many times that very thing and once, right before he got abused, even stated in a video that it was his best decision ever to use the GPLv2.”
Microsoft hates the GPL so much that its CEO publicly compared it to a cancer and went out of his way to lie about it, to demonise it, and to attack people who had come up with it. Entire companies were set up by Microsofters for the sole purpose of attacking the GPL.
So what is the GPL? It’s a legal ‘hack’ that ensures people don’t turn Free software into proprietary software. They need to give back changes that are made and delivered.
GPL is a key thing. The media barely mentions it, but it is the cornerstone of the movement. Aside from the lawsuits, it’s one of the reasons why GNU/Linux grew so popular so fast, whereas the BSDs remained smaller (in relative terms; BSD is also a success story).
“Entryism has long been on the cards.”Right about now Microsoft is trying to use secure [sic] boot as a GPL evasion tool. It’s already using it to prevent GNU/Linux from even booting. Microsoft is trying to hire the man who did this and his current employer wishes to be acquired by Microsoft. There should have been an antitrust complaint, but instead we got sold cheaply to the abuser. Around the same time Microsoft made a plan to use GitHub as an anti-GPL weapon (that was in 2014) and “UEFI / restricted boot is a means of license evasion / violation,” an associate explains. You may modify your operating system, but then it might not boot on your computer. It’s a bit like TiVoization, which GPLv3 sought to tackle.
Either way, expect Microsoft to play “hardball” and do anything it can to sabotage GNU/Linux, including bribing the Linux Foundation to lie to us like Jim Zemlin constantly does. Entryism has long been on the cards. █
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