Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft/Novell/Linspire Deals: Shoot First, Then Try to Make Peace (or Ask Questions)

Novellsoft



Further to yesterday item about the OSC and OIN, it is now being claimed that Microsoft "regrets" its acts of so-called patent terrorism'.

Microsoft is regretting the way it handled the patent protection deal with Novell and other Linux vendors, according to open-source advocates.


"It's akin to a situation someone assassinates a father and then gives money to to the victim's child, purely out of guilt. "It this is true and Microsoft expressed "regrets", then it's truly a PR stunt. Novell did this too when it tries to extinguish opposition to its patent deal. It's akin to a situation someone assassinates a father and then gives money to to the victim's child, purely out of guilt. We have all seen this before, not just in technology.

Take for example another company that is notorious for monopoly abuse. Thy name is Intel. It used a great deal of FUD, sabotage, "dumping" techniques, and may have resorted to imposing production delays in its campaign to sabotage OLPC, which is a not-for-profit (i.e. charitable) project. Why? Because it used AMD chips and Linux. Intel's CEO does not encourage the use of Linux because he fears the wrath of Microsoft, according to the press.

One year goes by and Intel then says that it will actually help OLPC. Reason? It is probably because OLPC is no longer a threat. Intel has caused a lot of harm to it. By that stage, mass production cannot not be reached to sustain the low costs ($100 or less). Returning to the example of Microsoft, having already scared some CIOs with patent claims, the company wants to have it both ways and also make peace with those whom it deliberately hurt. Will this ever work out for Microsoft like it did (sadly enough) or Intel, which now sees itself as a 'partner' in OLPC and even considers stealing the role of AMD chips in the project? Hopefully not.

In case you are not aware of Intel's monopoly abuse, here are some articles from the past year:



Intel is a huge problem in its own right, but that goes beyond the scope of this Web site.

As another example, consider the story of how Kevin Carmony's premature and irresponsible actions drove away the Linspire community which later created KlikIt Linux.

I was as upset about this deal as many others were. I even had a phone call with Kevin Carmony regarding the matter.

Well, at one point on the forums, Kevin Carmony told some upset members that if they did not like the way things were, they can start their own distro and see how it goes. So, former Freespire Leadership Board member Chris Medico assembled a team, of which I was honored to be asked to be a part of, which he lovingly calls Freedom Force. Within weeks, this new project, based on Kubuntu, had an Alpha. The project is called KlikIt Linux.

We decided community is as important, if not more important, than technology.

Anyway, within a short time our community grew to 50, then 100, then more. It has not grown by us marketing. It has been organic word of mouth in Microsoft Software forums, Xandros Foums, Linspire, PCLOS, Mint, Kubuntu, etc. The word keeps spreading, people like it, and they like the community.


Destroying something and then trying to calm down the storm is a bad strategy. But that's just what Novell, Linspire, and Xandros have done. Don't forget that they by all means know they have sinned. but they were paid. They just want to buy back your affinity using the money they have earned from the betrayal.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Tons of Anti-Linux 'Articles' Published by Bots (LLMs), Maybe Microsoft's
Upon closer inspection, all this FUD turned out to be LLM garbage
Ubuntu Desktop Director of Engineering Has Only One Blog Post. It Promotes Microsoft Windows.
Remember that even 15 years ago (more or less, maybe 16 years ago) Canonical appointed a a 'former' Microsoft manager (Spencer) to lead Ubuntu on the desktop
IBM Red Hat on "era of cloud computing", pushing "hey hi" (AI) hype in Microsoft Azure
LLM slop might actually be more benign than Microsoft promotion
Corruption and Rule-Breaking Prevail at the European Patent Office (EPO), Europe's Second-Largest Institution
The law does not really exist at the EPO; it can be perceived as merely a "recommendation"
404 Media Says "Workers at NASA Told to Drop Everything to Scrub Mentions of Indigenous People, Women from Its Websites" But There's Also Accessibility in the Firing Line
In the case of abandoning accessibility, everyone stands to be hurt and proprietary software can be brought in to replace standards
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, February 06, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, February 06, 2025
Richard Stallman (RMS) Confirms Next Week's Talk in Europe
He gave at least 2 talks in Europe last month
Nationalism As A Service (NaaS) by Microsoft Azure, Gutting the US Government for Profit
Will Microsoft be receiving bailouts as a reward for all this?
Rumours of IBM Layoffs Apparently Confirmed Yesterday, IBM Canada Consulting Impacted (as Rumoured)
when IBM has layoffs we must also read it as Red Hat layoffs
Gemini Links 06/02/2025: Voicemail Sucks and Night of Lights
Links for the day
Links 06/02/2025: YouTube Takedowns Out of Control, 'DOGE' Breaking Laws
Links for the day
statCounter: More Countries Where Windows is Around 1% "Market Share" (People Have Moved to Android/Linux)
in some nations Windows is already 1% or less
When BetaNews Writes Real Articles About "Linux" They Promote Windows
The Web is in a bad state. We need to at least try to correct this.
Gemini Links 06/02/2025: Cynicism and "Real Magic on the C64"
Links for the day
Links 06/02/2025: New Sanctions, Layoffs, and Executive Orders
Links for the day
Distros and Desktop Environments, Devices
GNU/Linux focused
New Rumours of IBM Layoffs in 2025, IBM Consulting Still Struggles, Based on Management
"Hey hi" (AI) has been a common excuse for business failure
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, February 05, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, February 05, 2025
Links 05/02/2025: Kessler Syndrome and News Online
Links for the day
statCounter: Monaco Now 7% GNU/Linux ("Proper")
GNU/Linux, not counting Chromebooks, is on the rise
Many Parts of Google Lose Money
It's quite apparent that many parts of Google - even some that rely on ad revenue or push ads - aren't profiting
European Internet Forum (EIF) is Dominated by American Corporations and Microsoft Lobbyists, Staff Take the Lead
Should the officials over here or the European Parliament pay attention to these people?
Links 05/02/2025: Connection without Connectivity and Unionised Grocery Workers
Links for the day
Just Because People on Top of the Microsoft Pyramid Made a Lot of Money Doesn't Mean Microsoft is Wealthy
The bigger they are the harder they fall
Gemini Links 05/02/2025: Learning, Madman Ruling a Mad Country, Back in Geminispace
Links for the day
statCounter Shows "WIntel" Chasing a Dying Market
Microsoft acts as if it's running out of money
Free Software Foundation, Inc. (FSF) Still Raising Money, Richard Stallman Contributes
total exceeding $430k
A Lot of Stuff About "Linux" in Google News is LLM Slop, Fake 'Articles'
It seems to be getting worse
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, February 04, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, February 04, 2025