Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft is Killing Its Own 'Open Source' Projects as .NET Camp Loses and Resorts to Slog/FUD

Microsoft dirty tactics



Summary: FUD against Java is on the rise (Microsoft partly accountable), Miguel de Icaza receives another role from Microsoft, and more Microsoft projects which are complementary to .NET are now dead

SEVERAL weeks ago we wrote about signs that .NET is suffering, not Java. There are some new Microsoft hires that throw FUD at Java and Microsoft boosters who work as journalists lend their pen to this Slog, too (we prefer not to give examples as they would feed the FUD). Frankly, however, Oracle has supplied a lot of ammunition to those who are trying to injure Java. It's not deliberate and it's why Oracle is making a strategic mistake.



“IronPython and IronRuby get kicked out into the cold by MSFT.”
      --Jan Wildeboer
Anyway, this post is not so much about Java. It's actually about IronRuby dying. We saw the writings on the wall back in August [1, 2, 3, 4] (also see recent posts about IronPython, such as this one) and now there is almost a funeral. Jan Wildeboer from Red Hat writes: "#IronPython and #IronRuby get kicked out into the cold by MSFT. #RIP? http://is.gd/gcCON thinks so, http://is.gd/gcCQn doesn't. We'll see .."

The nymshifting CodePlex Foundation (this Microsoft front is now called Outercurve [1, 2]) has been used as somewhat of a basket for Microsoft in which to put projects 'externally' (it's about impression and appearance, not practice). Microsoft's MVP Miguel de Icaza has been part of it and at sight of the situation with Java at Apple he already throws FUD at Java using the news, as well as other recent Java news. According to this Microsoft employee, de Icaza et al. are supposed to try and rescue IronRuby and IronPython for the sake of greater .NET relevance. This is another Microsoft job for Miguel:

Today signifies a big step in Microsoft’s commitment to open-source: Jason Zander announced new leadership for IronRuby and IronPython, namely Miguel de Icaza, Michael Foord, Jeff Hardy, and myself. Since Microsoft has officially put the project in our hands, both languages will be open to contributions from the community, not just the core team members. Also, any previously unreleased work as been released, include the IronRuby tools for Visual Studio and groundwork towards IronPython 2.7 and 1.9. You can find the appropriate releases on both IronRuby and IronPython’s CodePlex sites.

[...]

Also, Miguel is a big-shot at Novell, but I’ll let him comment on how his company is supporting the projects. =)


He is a big-shot to Microsoft. They groomed him (e.g. with interviews and other publicity like this recent example) so that he can help Microsoft from outside Microsoft. His job at Novell (it's a team effort) is to promote Mono/.NET and apparently demote Java in the process (also with FUD in his blog and in Twitter).

“In Twitter, de Icaza speaks quite a lot with the mobbyists; like them, he pretends to be pro-FOSS whilst actually doing a lot of harm to software freedom.”Who is this man kidding? Just watch him blogging about Microsoft folks this week (Ozzie in this case [1, 2]). If he loves Microsoft so much, maybe it's time to reapply for that job he wanted.

It would be so much more appropriate if he just worked directly for Microsoft. In Twitter, de Icaza speaks quite a lot with the mobbyists; like them, he pretends to be pro-FOSS whilst actually doing a lot of harm to software freedom.

Anyway, based on this post from Microsoft MVP Jeff Hardy, we are adding IronPython to our list of dead projects from Microsoft (if someone continues it outside Microsoft, then that's not a Microsoft product, still). It symbolises the continued collapse of .NET, which also relates to Moonlight and other cancelled/failing parts of Microsoft's stack.

Well, the shoe has finally dropped: IronPython and IronRuby have been axed.


In weeks to come we'll be covering a lot more stories about Apple. Microsoft is just growing irrelevant like Novell. The upsurge of FUD, the lobbyists, and the mobbyists are just a symptom.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Social Control Media Relies on Advertisers, So It'll Always Be Hostile Towards Free Software
Sales, sales, sales
Fragmentation of Data
Life is too short to "hoard" data
 
New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers
Links 21/07/2025: Hardware, Health, and Imperialism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2025: "When Buying Isn't Owning" and "CMS Special Edition"
Links for the day
Links 21/07/2025: Indie Web and Toxic Politics
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft Lawyers Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
threatened me with bankruptcy
Google "AI Overview" is Not AI and Not Overview
do not be misled; what Google does isn't smart, it's just ripping off the sites it already crawled for as long as 27 years
Making the Case to Dump Microsoft and GAFAM for National and Digital Sovereignty
"Sovereignty is difficult"
The Tactics of the Opposition (Microsoft Lunduke): Associate With K00ks, Throw in Vaccines to Muddy the Water
Who stands to gain from this?
Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) and Largest Patent Monopoly Office Needs More Transparency, Not Less Transparency
In the EPO, what good are elections when one candidate literally bribes all the voters?
How Not to Report News About Microsoft
This pattern of misreporting is so widespread that it's hard to believe it's not intentional
Computer Science is Under Attack, They Want Everyone to be a Consumer
If people can no longer acquire Computer Science education and real Computer Science experience, they will not know how to control their own digital destiny or emancipate the very same universities that now control the syllabus and instead of teaching Computer Science encourage the outsourcing of systems
The Best Tools Are the Simplest Tools
There's a hidden message here about the merits of sticking with X
Ofcom Online Safety Group Speaks of Protecting Women Online, Will Brett Wilson LLP Ever Listen?
They've essentially became like the Taliban's "burka police"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 20, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 20, 2025
In Defence of "Spinning Rust"
Just because something is "old" (or older) doesn't mean it ought to become extinct
Using Free Software to Prepare Legal Documents
LibreOffice is openly complaining about OOXML as an obstacle
Tech and Technology Are Not the Same Anymore
"Are you into tech, Sir?"
Our Articles About SLAPPs Receive Recognition and Interest
This week we shall continue writing about the 3 lawsuits we filed
Are You Served?
For many people, advocacy of Free software and GPL enforcement are assumed to be happening
Conspiracy or grooming? Alex Jurado, Voice of Reason compared to Outreachy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 20/07/2025: Security Breaches and Former 'Open' 'AI' Engineer on Hype and Culture Issues
Links for the day
Links 20/07/2025: Fending Off BRICS and US Government Attacks Its Own Media (Like China and Russia)
Links for the day
Framed by social control media: Alex Belfield, Voice of Reason
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 20/07/2025: Summertime and OCC25 Wrap-up
Links for the day
Jamie Zawinski Complained About Wayland, Then Decided to Give It a Go, Now Complains Again About Wayland
Ask IBM (Red Hat) why it's worth throwing so much away just for Wayland fanaticism
Slopwatch: Planet Ubuntu, LinuxSecurity, and More
former "Linux" blogs which basically became slopfarms
Russia Set to Ban Facebook?
If WhatsApp is made to "leave", that means Facebook or "Meta".
Links 20/07/2025: More GAFAM Lawsuits, Layoffs, and SLAPPs
Links for the day
Taking Stock of a Good and Productive Week
We shall now be taking a break, unpacking the new hard drive (8 TB), and making backups of everything
Nice Recovery (From Actual Fire) by PCLinuxOS, New Version of PCLinuxOS Released, Now Top of DistoWatch
PCLinuxOS is a community-driven distro
More Microsoft Shutdowns That Mostly Slipped Under the Radar
Remember what happened to books 'sold' by Microsoft?
Microsoft Lunduke Still Fighting Cancel Culture With... Cancel Culture
There will be no "winners" in such 'debates'
The History of Daily Links and Politics
"I support Wayland, but I also support abortion..."
Ageism in Tech
Your protocol is "old"...
Microsoft is at 0% "Market Share" in Most Areas
Depending on the taxonomy chosen, there may be dozens of categories other than desktops and laptops
"The moment MSFT stock fails to start tumbling, that’s the beginning of another corporate giant going under."
There are far more layoffs at Microsoft than at Intel, but you would not get this impression based on Wall Street media
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 19, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 19, 2025
Gemini Links 19/07/2025: Git For Authors and Filtered Antenna
Links for the day
UEFI 'Secure' Boot Abuses by Microsoft to be Brought Up in the UK High Court in 3 Months
we'll seek compensation
Next Year It'll Be Half a Decade Since the Fall of Freenode (and IRC is Still Doing OK)
Our IRC network is still accessible using the exact same software that ran in Windows 3.x
Lupa Will Soon Know of 3,100+ Active Gemini Capsules
And some people in the "Small Web" try to tell us that Gemini is dying?
The Slopfarms Are Taking Real News Articles and Replacing Them With Lies Generated by Machines
Bluntly speaking, Fagioli is nothing short of an online scammer
Links 19/07/2025: Techtarget to Cull 10% of Staff, New Threats to Free Press in the US (Home of Dangerous and Violent Stranglers From Microsoft)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/07/2025: "Climate Justice” and Forking Programs
Links for the day
What Wayland and Microsoft/IBM systemd Have in Common
focus on what IBM (Red Hat) is pushing while running over critics.
Linux Already Has About 60% of the "Market"
"When mentioning the client side," opines an associate, "it is essential to recite the list of other markets where Microsoft is negligible or a no-show. It is repetitive to do so, but it needs saying -- often."
In Norway, Android/Linux Has Just Hit All-Time High (First Time Since 2020), GNU/Linux Already Very Prevalent
Despite its small population size, Norway gave us Qt and many other things
Finland (and NATO) Must Move to GNU/Linux and Dump Microsoft Even Faster
"Microsoft is not a technology problem, it is a staffing problem."
Microsoft's Mass Layoffs Very Wide-Ranging, Media Focused on Gaming Though Microsoft Mass-Firing Lawyers and "AI" Staff (Contradicting Its Supposed "Investment" in "AI")
Microsoft plans to fire almost half a thousand people in legal roles
2012 Article About the Free Software Foundation Blasting Canonical/Ubuntu Over Adoption of "Secure" Boot (Microsoft's Remote Control Over GNU/Linux Since PCs' Power-on)
By Katherine Noyes (article has since then became 404, not found)
The Microsofters We Sued Helped Microsoft Make GNU/Linux 'Expire' This Year
"Linux and Secure Boot certificate expiration"
linuxconfig.org Joins linuxtechlab.com and Others, Becomes a Slopfarm With Fake Linux 'Articles' (LLM Slop)
They contain "linux" in their domain names, but they are just slopfarms
Links 19/07/2025: Microsoft Cuts in China and Wall Street Journal Sued for Reporting on Jeffrey Epstein
Links for the day
Debian Can Dump Blind Users Because I am Not Blind
the sort of mentality we're up against
Fascistic Policies Got 'Normalised' in 'Public Office'. Let's Not Let the Same Happen in 'Tech'.
Political discourse typically guides what's "normal" and what "good citizens" should believe/feel
The European Patent Office Cannot Attract Proficient Patent Examiners Who Master Their Domain
They are enablers and facilitators of corruption
Yes, Your Mastodon Instance Will Also Shut Down
Few people run a one-person instance in the Fediverse
The Demise of GAFAM Necessitates Greater and Broader Awareness
Morale at Microsoft is really bad
Free Software Foundation Reaches 75% of Funding Goal
Not bad for this "Fosschild"
Slopwatch: 7 New Examples of Fake 'Linux' Slop Pieces (Plagiarism With Misinformation)
Serial Sloppers need to be shunned
Links 19/07/2025: Kapo-berg Settles, Software Patents Challenged
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 18, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 18, 2025