Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Openwashing Propaganda Effective in Blocking Government Use of Free/Open Source Software

Wiper



Summary: Microsoft is trying to wipe FOSS off the agenda of the United Kingdom by essentially labeling its proprietary software "open" and claiming it to be cheaper (perhaps using bribes/predatory discounts)

AS ONE who works with the public sector in the UK, I know a lot of managers who grasp the value of Free/libre software and proudly speak about it. Only a minority seems to be dogmatic about proprietary software. The British corporate press, however, is more interested in talking to Microsoft minions and partners. Perhaps that's where the money is (for the press). Selective quoting and selective approaches sure serve the agenda. Based on many years of reading the British press (especially on the subject of FOSS), I hold a strong conviction and certainty that the press is very much complicit in Microsoft propaganda whose purpose is to push back against ODF and Free software.



Recently we saw lots of the British media quoting only a man or two men (in suits, e.g. a local CIO), extrapolating/generalising their words to come up with sensationalist pro-Microsoft headlines, alleging quite weirdly that Microsoft is cheaper than Free software. Well, Microsoft sure seems to have infiltrated Newham, as we showed repeatedly for many years when Mr. Steele was the CIO there. Now we're dealing not with a Microsoft MOU but with suits who claim Microsoft to be "open" (shared), spreading TCO FUD as well (see [1] at the bottom for a little portion of the propaganda). This is a disgrace.

In the previous post we showed Microsoft's latest attempt to derail GNU/Linux in the Middle Kingdom by openwashing Windows (there has been a lot of Microsoft-coordinated openwashing this year [1, 2, 3, 4] and there are many older examples [1, 2]). We are saddened to see that this trend is growing as the Microsoft booster Darryl K. Taft is back to eWeek for some of the Mirosoft propaganda of "cross-platform" .NET. Now, here is a pattern to watch out for: what does the current CIO of Newham say about Microsoft? According to the article, "Microsoft’s Shared Source Initiative, which sees qualified customers licensed with product source for debugging and reference purposes, is one example of this says Connell."

This is utter nonsense. It's marketing and hogwash. Everyone in the FOSS world knows this. Then it continues: "Regardless of the provenance of any underlying code in a service, cost will always be the key factor in sourcing it, he claims."

So now we are told that not only is Microsoft "cheaper" but also "open". Yes, it's only make believe. Read this article from one year ago. Connell is contradicting even himself. To quote: "Local authorities are faced with a choice of either forking out for costly software licence upgrades or keeping staff, Geoff Connell, CIO at Newham Borough Council, has told Computer Weekly."

To quote the company that brought this contradiction to our attention: "Didn't Geoff Connell said the opposite last year? ... Is Stockholm syndrome slowing #opensource adoption?"

Watch what he says a year later. To quote: "London authorities are working together to look at how they can procure best. “We’ve got support from the Government Procurement Service to help us buy collectively and improve the deal that way," said Connell.

"“However, with the likes of Oracle and Microsoft the prices are set, so they are not so open to discussion,” he added."

And yes, Connell advocates paying Microsoft for spyware with back doors. In the public sector! This is beyond dangerous, it's vandalism.

"*If* this is true," writes Mark Taylor, "Newham's 'Proprietary cheaper than Open Source' claim looks a little shaky... what are the facts?"

Ask Microsoft. It ran a "Get the Facts" campaign, with figures paid for by Microsoft.

Taylor also asks: "what kind of special deal would make this true?"

We already know that Microsoft is trying to kill the threat of FOSS selectively, e.g. with bribes (or special discounts) in places such as Munich. This is monopoly abuse and Newham is now part of the problem, helped by the British (corporate) press.

Related/contextual items from the news:


  1. Use of money saving open source software skyrockets
    One London CIO has claimed to the UK press that in cases where the public sector can no longer provide competitive cost savings with proprietary systems, it may choose to adopt open source alternatives.

    According to Geoff Connell, Havering and Newham joint head of ICT, despite the government’s open source drive, even after all this time open source tends to only be used for niche solutions.

    TCO (total cost of ownership) is the biggest problem in adopting open source technology and software in the public sector, Connell contends.




Recent Techrights' Posts

Security Isn't the Goal of Today's Software and Hardware Products
Any newly-added layer represents more attack surface
Godot 4.2 is Approaching, But After What Happened to Unity All Game Developers Should be Careful
We hope Unity will burn in a massive fire and, as for Godot, we hope it'll get rid of Microsoft
Purge of Software Freedom and Its Voices
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
 
Links 25/09/2023: Patent News and Coding
some remaining links for today
Steam Deck is Mostly Good in the Sense That It Weakens Microsoft's Dominance (Windows)
The Steam Deck is mostly a DRM appliance
SUSE is Just Another Black Cat Working for Proprietary Giants/Monopolies
SUSE's relationship with firms such as these generally means that SUSE works for authority, not for community, and when it comes to cryptography it just follows guidelines from the US government
IBM is Selling Complexity, Not GNU/Linux
It's not about the clients, it's about money
Birthday of Techrights in 6 Weeks (Tux Machines and Techrights Reach Combined Age of 40 in 2025)
We've already begun the migration to static
Linux Foundation: We Came, We Saw, We Plundered
Linux Foundation staff uses neither Linux nor Open Source. They're essentially using, exploiting, piggybacking goodwill gestures (altruism of volunteers) while paying themselves 6-figure salaries.
Linux Too Big to Be Properly Maintained When There's an Incentive to Sell More and More Things (Complexity and Narrow Support Window)
They want your money, not your peace of mind. That's a problem.
Modern Web Means Proprietary Trash
Mozilla is financially beholden to Google and thus we cannot expect any pushback or for Firefox to "reclaims the Web" a second time around
GNU/Linux Has Conquered the World, But Users' Freedom Has Not (Impediments Remain in Hardware)
Installing one's system of choice on a device is very hard, sometimes impossible
Another Copyright Lawsuit Against Microsoft (or its Proxy) for Misuse of Large Works by Chatbot
Some people mocked us for saying this day would come; chatbots are a huge disappointment and they're on very shaky legal ground
Privacy is Not a Crime, Reporting Hidden Facts Is Not a Crime Either
the powerful companies/governments/societies get to know everything about everybody, but if anyone out there discovers or shares dark secrets about those powerful companies/governments/societies, that's a "crime"
United Workforce Always Better for the Workers
In the case of technology, it is possible that a lack of collective action is because of relatively high salaries and less physically-demanding jobs
GNOME and GTK Taking Freedom Away From Users
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
GNOME is Worse Today (in 2023) Than When I Did GTK Development 20+ Years Ago
To me it seems like GNOME is moving backward, not forward, mostly removing features and functionality rather than adding any
HowTos Are Moving to Tux Machines
HowTos (or howtos) are very important in their own right, but they can easily distract from the news and howtos are usually quite timeless or time-insensitive
Proprietary Panda: Don't Be Misled by the Innocent Looks of Ubuntu (and Microsoft Canonical)
Given the number of disgruntled employees who leave Canonical and given Ubuntu's trend of just copying whatever IBM does in Fedora, is there still a good reason to choose Ubuntu?
Debian GNU/Linux is a Fine Operating System, But What if People Die Making It for Somebody's Corporate/Personal Gain?
Will companies that exploited unpaid volunteers ever be held accountable for loss of life, caused by burnout, excessive work, or poverty?
Links 24/09/2023: 5 Days' Worth of News (Catchup)
Links for the day
Leftover Links 24/09/2023: Russia, COVID, and More
Links for the day
Forty Years of GNU and the Free Software Movement
by FSF
Gemini and Web in Tandem
We're already learning, over IRC, that out new site is fully compatible with simple command line- and ncurses-based Web browsers. Failing that, there's Gemini.
Red Hat Pretends to Have "Community Commitment to Open Source" While Scuttling the Fedora Community (Among Others)
RHEL is becoming more proprietary over time and community seems to boil down to unpaid volunteers (at least that's how IBM see the "community")
IBM Neglecting Users of GNU/Linux on Laptops and Desktops
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Personal Identification on the 'Modern' Net
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Not Your Daily Driver: Don't Build With Rust or Adopt Rust-based Software If You Value Long-Term Reliance
Rust is a whole bunch of hype.
The Future of the Web is Not the Web
The supposedly "modern" stuff ought to occupy some other protocol, maybe "app://"
YouTube Has Just Become Even More Sinister
The way Google has been treating the Web (and Web browsers) sheds a clue about future plans and prospects
Initial Announcement of GNU (for Gnu's Not Unix) on September 27, 1983
History matters
Upgrade and Migration Status
Git is working, IPFS is working, IRC is working, Gemini is working
Yesterday in the 'Sister Site', Tux Machines (10 More Stories)
Scope-wise, many stories fit neatly into both sites, but posting the same twice makes no sense logistically
The New Techrights Will be Much Faster
A prompt response to FUD is important. It's time-sensitive.
Slanderous Media Campaigns Trying to Link Linux to 'Backdoors'
Backdoors are typically things that exist by design or get added intentionally (ask Microsoft!), but when it comes to "Linux" in the media the rules are different
The Spamification of GNU/Linux News Sites (or the Web as a Whole) and Why It's Time to Move on, Writing More Stories and Analysis
If you are an enthusiastic Free software user, consider setting up a blog or GemLog (Gemini log)
Techrights is Upgrading
Over the next few days Techrights will be archiving over 40,000 older pages
YouTube Was Never Free Hosting and It Turns Hard-Working People Into Hostages
An accusation, with presumed guilt, seems sufficient for some
The Right to Strike Underutilised by Workers in the Technology Sector
Geeks need to learn how to strike, too.
Welcome to the New Techrights
Looking ahead, we'll probably produce more stories than before because lessening the underlying complexity lets us focus on substance
A Short History of Content Management Systems or Data Shuffles in Boycott Novell and Techrights
In 2006 the site was 'purely' WordPress
GNU Turns 40 This Coming Week
4 decades of "4 Freedoms" show the world that the original definition withstood the test of time