Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft to Rent the Software It's Already Renting to Fight GNU/Linux Adoption



Summary: Microsoft's lowering of the cost of Windows and Office is a sign that GNU/Linux is gaining

LAST night we wrote about Microsoft's dumping of Office and Vista 7. They are trying to block GNU/Linux and OpenOffice.org adoption [1, 2, 3, 4] in all sorts of nefarious ways.



The Microsoft boosters from ZDNet and CNET have just stated that Microsoft will allow "renting" of Office and Vista 7, but perhaps they fail to understand that this already is rental; that's what proprietary software with licences to run binary code is all about. They should read the EULA.

Here is what Directions on Microsoft (which we mentioned yesterday for its Microsoft boosting) had to say about this development:

Until Microsoft added this option, DeGroot said, Microsoft really only had the option of threatening to shut down a business or potentially pushing rental businesses toward Linux and OpenOffice.


That seems like a symbolic move which shows just how concerned Microsoft has become about significant gains of Free software on the desktop. Here is another new story (from yesterday) about a man who rejects Vista 7 and decides to abandon Microsoft altogether. He will be moving to GNU/Linux, not the Hype Company.

Freeing myself from the vile clutches of Microsoft



I’ve decided that Windows 7 holds absolutely no appeal for me. According to what I’ve heard, most of the new and “improved” features gear more towards people who couldn’t handle Vista or otherwise just don’t know how to use a PC. Plus, I’ve also read that it has the same software compatibility issues as Vista does, so that’s no good. And, lastly, $120 USD for an upgrade to the HOME version is friggin’ ridiculous, especially in this economy. So, I’m officially working on leaving Microsoft.


It is stories like this which make Microsoft nervous. It knows better than anyone else what is really happening because Windows reports to Microsoft which programs are installed (that's a verified fact), maybe even which partitions.

"I'm not one of those who think Bill Gates is the devil. I simply suspect that if Microsoft ever met up with the devil, it wouldn't need an interpreter."

--InfoWorld Editor Nicholas Petreley

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Wikipedia - Funded by Slop-pushing Companies and 'Broligarchs' - Gave Benefit of the Doubt to Slop, Then Regretted It
Wikipedia sucks. Without slop it'll suck a little less.
Passage of Wealth Upwards, Blaming the Victims
Tim Sweeney's net worth is 5.1 billion USD according to Forbes
EPO Strike Begins Today and It's the Longest One Yet (Can Last a Year)
Where's the media?
People Discuss Rumours of Mass Layoffs at IBM Becoming Public in 1-2 Weeks
IBM is killing its brand or its "goodwill"
 
Did IBM Pay thestreet.com for Puff Pieces? (Like It Did With Forbes)
If so, there is no disclosure
Payoffs of Lifelong Commitments
"The Lifelong Activist"
Links 30/03/2026: "We Can’t Income-Tax Ultra-Elites"; "The Pirate Bay’s Oldest Torrent Turned 22"
Links for the day
Today, Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) Goes on Strike That Can Last Until 2027. Nobody in the Media Covers This!
"We stand with the protesters"
When the Cost (or Time) of Maintenance Exceeds the Value
In recent years it seems like more people learn to remove things from their lives, not add more things
More Media Needs to Tell the Public Slop is a Giant Bubble, It Should Stop Taking "Sponsorship" Money to Inflate This Bubble
If enough of (what's left of) the media changes its tune and quits being a parrot of GAFAM, then we can debate slop like grown-ups
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 29, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, March 29, 2026
Trying to Hide One's Abuses by Imposing Silence on Critics ("My Profile Was Private")
With enough daylight, sooner or later everyone knows you are a vampire
Fedora Badges System Shows the Demise of Fedora Under IBM
IBM isn't good at keeping what it buys
IBM is Sunsetting Red Hat, It Only Uses the Brand and the Shell
IBM buys or spins off companies as containers for "toxic assets" and debt
Cisco Systems is a Still Weak Spot With Bug Doors
nothing to offer except storytelling
Gemini Links 30/03/2026: Approaching April and Arvelie Calendar
Links for the day
No Daylight Saved
Is there still any practical reason for this ritual?
Microsoft Azure Does Not Have "Hiring Freezes", It Has Had Mass Layoffs Every Year Since 2020
Things are always a lot worse than Microsoft formally or publicly acknowledges
SLAPP Censorship - Part 27 Out of 200: Using the Tor Network to Hide From Consequences
Only 1-2 weeks after the countersuit the Canadian attempted to deplatform several Web sites
The Limits of Inclusion
Inclusion with caution isn't "opinionated"; it's a defence mechanism, sometimes a survival instinct
Almost 20 Years After Microsoft/Novell
The mission has not changed, but the priorities evolve all the time
LLM Slop Kills Sites, as Sites That Adopt Slop Are Doomed
People won't subscribe to such sites and visit them if they recognise it's just slop
Links 29/03/2026: Indonesia Cracks Down on Social Control Media Addiction, China Becomes World’s Scientific Superpower
Links for the day
Fedora at the Mercy of Microsoft Because of Back-Doored Kick-Switch Boot
We'll soon revisit the defamation attacks on Torvalds
Links 29/03/2026: Water Shortages and No Kings Rallies
Links for the day
The Old Days
In the early days of this site (2006) it was mostly just a couple of people, plus comments
Gemini Links 29/03/2026: Return to Gopherspace, "Zen of Marking Playing Cards"
Links for the day
The Real XBox is Dead, So Microsoft is Calling Everything "XBox" Now
It even wanted to run a campaign to convince everybody that XBox is not actually a console
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 28, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, March 28, 2026
Open Web Destroyed by Centibillionaires, Says Anil Dash of Blogging Fame
Blogging was going through its 'prime years' about 20 years ago
"Linux" Slop Going Away, Microsoft et al Pay 'Linux' Foundation to Promote Slop
It's a timely reminder that the Linux Foundation exists to promote whoever pays the Linux Foundation, even pedophiles and companies that attack the GPL
Links 28/03/2026: Microsoft's LinkedIn a National Security Risk, Microsoft's Slop "Ambitions Face Investor Scrutiny Amid Soaring Costs"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/03/2026: "Finding My Base Tone", "Astrobotany", and BugoutBack/OFFLFIRSOCH
Links for the day
Links 28/03/2026: More Worldwide Bans on Social Control Media (Harms to Adolescents), Protests in US Against Dictatorship
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 26 Out of 200: Asking for Documents and Information You Already Have, Even Letters and E-mails That You Yourself Sent!
barristers are expensive
Gemini Links 28/03/2026: Echo Delay and 0x0.st
Links for the day
Rumours of More IBM Mass Layoffs at Beginning of April
IBM is not doing well
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 27, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, March 27, 2026