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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

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