Oh Loh! SourceForge Buys Former Microsoft Employees

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2009-05-29 10:10:10 UTC
Modified: 2009-05-29 10:12:43 UTC

Summary: SourceForge buys a company with a roots in Microsoft

SourceForge has just announced that it is buying Ohloh, a company with more people and data than actual hard assets.

For those who are not aware, Ohloh is a company created by Microsoft folks and it exists inside the territories of Microsoft's #1 rival, which Microsoft is trying to assimilate. Other such companies include LikeWise, for example. Another one is Black Duck, which was created by an ex-Microsoft staffer (he later left) and now endorses Microsoft as part of "open source". That is the company which is actively attacking open source using software patents.

Here is a statement from SourceForge regarding its latest acquisition:

"We expect that the acquisition of Ohloh and the integration of its technology to significantly improve our insights about the open source development community and our ability to target advertising," said Jon Sobel, SourceForge's group president of Media, in announcing the deal. The acquisition is one of very few advertising-centric deals being made in this economic environment, and is evidence that open source continues to have momemtum during the downturn.

On several occasions last year we noted that SourceForge had adopted a softer stance on Microsoft [1, 2]. There was also a major change in leadership, but it's hard to tell just how much of a role this had, if any.

As a side note, Google too had some more Microsoft people join its staff, which may explain Windows bias (think Chome) and use of software like ActiveX (think Google Maps) and DirectX (think Picasa). Recruiters and acquirers should be careful. ⬆

"Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches."

--Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO

"Open source is an intellectual-property destroyer [...] I can't imagine something that could be worse than this for the software business and the intellectual-property business. I'm an American; I believe in the American way, I worry if the government encourages open source, and I don't think we've done enough education of policymakers to understand the threat."

--Jim Allchin, President of Platforms & Services Division at Microsoft

Comments

amd-linux

2009-05-29 11:29:18

A court decision has just stopped Micro-Softs illegal business practices in Sitzerland:

http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/schweiz/open_source_microsoft_gericht_1.2640703.html
amd-linux

2009-05-29 11:31:50

"Sitzerland" --> Switzerland, of course....
Roy Schestowitz

2009-05-29 11:55:38

Thanks. I was just about to write about it.
Needs Sunlight

2009-05-29 12:58:43

The human resources departments of these companies have to be far more careful about what they're letting in the door. The managers who are letting 'Softers though the hiring process really need to sharpen their collective act or risk taking the company down. Everywhere the 'Softers and Microserfs end up, they take their poxy products (ActiveX in place of Javascript, DirectX in place of OpenGL) and shove them where they don't belong or fit.

Heck, it may be the case that it's not even possible for a 'Softer or Microserf to reform. Usually people with no tech skills, tech knowledge or tech ambition end up at Redmond. From there it's just a political climb up the ladder until they can spread out and infect other businesses.

What on earth do these companies think that the 'Softers can bring to the table?

Roy Schestowitz

2009-05-29 13:03:24

Ohloh gives the false impression is given that everything but C# is declining.

Needs Sunlight

2009-05-29 16:23:51

Thus it rules out any good intentions on the part of either Ohloh or Sourceforge. Slashdot is part of Sourceforge. Can the rot be spreading via Slashdot, upwards into the parent?

Roy Schestowitz

2009-05-29 16:47:57

I long ago dumped Slashdot from my reading list.

Yuhong Bao

2009-06-09 05:58:07

BTW, there was a reason why I asked you to compare two links, both claims that slashdot is unreadable but the difference is the reason.
Yuhong Bao

2009-06-08 07:25:42

"I long ago dumped Slashdot from my reading list. " Personally, I read slashdot knowing that it has MS astroerrfers out there. It does have some useful stuff.
Yuhong Bao

2009-06-08 07:29:11

For example, slashdot recently reported on the Swiss court action against MS dominance in procurement.
Yuhong Bao

2009-06-08 07:32:56

BTW, one thing I often do on slashdot is to try to get all of the comments by repeatly clicking the "Get n More Comments" link. My other favorite news site is Ars Technica, BTW. I once read CNET but stopped reading it long ago.
Yuhong Bao

2009-06-08 07:37:43

BTW, on slashdot's devolution, after someone mentioned on IRC about being modded up for talking about a "slashdot groupthink", I found this that might be interesting: http://meta.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=345907&cid=21186633
Yuhong Bao

2009-06-08 07:50:38

In fact, compare the link I just posted with this on Boycott Novell: http://boycottnovell.com/2008/03/10/slashdot-tagging-tweak/
Yuhong Bao

2009-06-09 00:39:34

In fact, read the parent article, it is interesting too, in fact it should be at least mentioned on BN but aren't. It led me to wonder what Rob Melda thinks of all this.

Roy Schestowitz

2009-06-09 05:18:15

What specifically?

Yuhong Bao

2009-06-09 05:19:17

I was talking about the SourceForge-MS relationship and how it affects slashdot.

Roy Schestowitz

2009-06-09 05:21:32

We wrote about this many times a year ago.
Roy Schestowitz

2009-06-09 05:23:03

Oops. Wrong link, pardon me. Try this.
Yuhong Bao

2009-06-09 05:25:37

I know, I was wondering about what does Rob Melda think about SourceForge-MS relationship.
Roy Schestowitz

2009-06-09 05:29:27

Search the Web. Maybe he wrote about it.

Yuhong Bao

2009-06-09 05:28:00

And by the "parent article", I was referring to this: http://meta.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/31/1631213 You should read it.

Oh Loh! SourceForge Buys Former Microsoft Employees

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