Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft is Getting Utterly Desperate

Vista 10
These paid-for ads (from my timeline) show just how low Microsoft has stooped



Summary: An overview of Microsoft's strategy as of late, including the plot to devour the competition (e.g. GNU/Linux in servers)

THIS MONTH (and in previous months too) I spoke to someone from Microsoft and learned about more layoffs, which the company is apparently trying quite hard to hide from the media (and the public). I was apparently not supposed to know about this. Microsoft is saving face.

The severity of the problems inside Microsoft is sometimes only known to insiders. A few days ago Microsoft's friends at the BBC covered the XBox disaster. XBox has lost a lot of money over the years (Microsoft knows how to hide the losses) and now, according to this BBC report: "Encryption keys that secure Xbox Live accounts have been "inadvertently disclosed", Microsoft has said.

"Microsoft is saving face.""The keys in question are designed to be kept private so they can guarantee the authenticity of a digital certificate, invoked when users connect to xboxlive.com."

Who would ever trust Microsoft for security? IDG's Grimes (who is a Microsoft employee masquerading as journalist) is supposed to be a Microsoft security expert, but in this new article of his he deflects by speaking of an "almost foolproof way to check for malware". "Yes," iophk told us sarcastically, "if it is running Windows then it has / is malware" (increasingly the case with Vista 10, which is malware by definition).

Microsoft is having a lot of problems right now, both with security (giving the NSA back doors contributes to this) and with getting people to install malware like Vista 10 on their PCs. Hence the aggressive push, financial incentives, and ridiculous marketing (see above). Microsoft is clearly losing it; the common carrier/monopoly is dying, so Microsoft tries FORCING people to use spyware/malware (see this new article titled "Microsoft may ‘automatically upgrade’ Windows 7 and 8.x to W10"). Microsoft is literally trying to infect people's PCs with malware -- Microsoft's own malware, complete with a keylogger that broadcasts people's passwords for example. If it wasn't Microsoft behind such a software plot, police forces would come at daytime, raid their offices, and put in handcuffs engineers and managers who created such malicious software, then forcibly spread it to many PCs.

"Who would ever trust Microsoft for security?"Microsoft is in a very bad state, no matter how much it pays the media (via PR agencies) to claim otherwise. Even Mac Asay does marketing for Microsoft on the face of it, but all these claims about a Microsoft recovery overlook the massive losses, the stock buybacks, and many other factors. Even a Microsoft booster from IDG (IDG employs many such boosters, including some on Microsoft's payroll) is willing to acknowledge that quality of Microsoft's software patched is basically low. "Microsoft's Patch Tuesday update KB 3114409," he explained, "intended to help admins keep Outlook 2010 from starting in safe mode, has in fact done the opposite. Many Outlook 2010 customers report that installing KB 3114409 forces Outlook to start in safe mode."

Microsoft loses not just in phones and on the desktop. Its share in active sites keeps declining based on the latest figures from Netcraft. No wonder the company is now trying to devour GNU/Linux; it’s losing… well, everything. "See the chart at the end on "market share of computers"," iophk told us, "and note that IIS has a worse than 1:1 ratio of sites to hardware while Apache and nginx have a better than 1:1 ratio."

"Microsoft loses not just in phones and on the desktop."Microsoft will definitely do whatever it can to force ‘upgrades’ to the latest spyware from Microsoft, not just Windows (which is now malware). As The Register put it yesterday: "Microsoft is advising Windows users to update their browsers ahead of a new policy that will see some versions of Internet Explorer no longer supported.

"The Redmond software giant said that beginning January 12, 2016, it will only support the newest version of its browser available in each operating system."

People don't need Internet Explorer. It is still a very low quality Web browser and it is spying on users' browsing habits and more. Firefox does not do this.

"Microsoft's history serves as a warning sign and the company still attacks Linux with patents."Microsoft's booster Todd Bishop, in this older bit of spin, tries to equate Google to Microsoft. "Google has jumped the shark," iophk told us regarding this article, but the views of a person or two (Google hired some people from Microsoft) hardly represent Google's views as a company.

One should proceed with caution amid Microsoft's demise because the company is now trying to just devour the winner, which is GNU/Linux. See the news about ARTIK below [1] and also the Linux Foundation relationship, in [2-23] below (links not already mentioned in our daily news). We have already responded to the Linux Foundation's approach, which is risky. Microsoft's history serves as a warning sign and the company still attacks Linux with patents.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. ARTIK is Now Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT
    ARTIK, the Internet of Things (IoT) Samsung hardware platform has had some very Interesting developments recently, it is now Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT! This translates to the ARTIK 5 and ARTIK 10 boards being tested for readiness, compatibility, and usability with the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite.


  2. Microsoft’s week: Final Patch Tuesday for 2015, open source Chakra engine and Linux certification for Azure


  3. Microsoft and Linux Foundation Create 'Linux on Azure' Cert Program


  4. Microsoft offers new certification for Linux on Azure
  5. Microsoft offers Linux certification. Do not adjust your set. This is not an error
    The new Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Linux on Azure teaches you how to do Linux on Azure by making you do an Azure course and a Linux course.


  6. Linux Foundation and Microsoft Partner on New Azure Cloud Certification


  7. Microsoft and Linux are offering a joint certification for Azure
  8. Microsoft continues to embrace Linux with new Azure certification
  9. Microsoft and Linux Foundation Create ‘Linux on Azure’ Cert Program
  10. Linux Foundation and Microsoft offer new Azure certification program
  11. Microsoft announces Azure certification program for Linux
  12. Microsoft Partners With Linux Foundation On Azure Certification
  13. Microsoft introduces new Certification for Azure on Linux
  14. Microsoft readies Linux on Azure certification
  15. Microsoft Adds Linux Certification For Azure
  16. Microsoft introduces Linux certification
  17. Microsoft is now offering Linux on Azure certification once you pass two exams
  18. Now Linux will be available on Azure Certification as announced by Microsoft
  19. This Is Not Your Or Bill Gate’s Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
  20. Microsoft further embraces Linux with IT professional certification for Azure
  21. Microsoft to offer a Linux-based cert for Azure admins
  22. Microsoft Announces Linux on Azure Certification


  23. Microsoft embraces Linux with Azure certification




Recent Techrights' Posts

Synthesised Voices Aren't a New Technology (the Hype Might Be, They Call It "Hey Hi" Now)
I still consider this an extension of the "hey hi" (AI) hype
 
gemini.techrights.org and techrights.org (Same Server, Not the Same Protocol)
We're reminding readers that everything in this site is fully accessible via gemini.techrights.org in Gemini Protocol
X Has Axed Itself. This is Great News and Further Affirmation of Everything We've Said About Social Control Media.
Don't waste any more time on social control media
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 07, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, October 07, 2024
Gemini Links 08/10/2024: Contingency Begets Complexity, Playing With Bezier Curves
Links for the day
Almost Half the Web Users Connecting to Your Site Are Using Linux
almost 1 in 2 Web-connected devices runs Android and about 2% run "proper" GNU/Linux
The Web Has Severe Amnesia Problems, But We Still Remember How Gilberto Gil Promoted Free Software in Brazil
The Digital Tipping Point (DTP) is years behind us now
LLM Hype is Already Descending, Apple Stopped Investing in the Money Furnace
Wall Street is a perverse force in the technology market, incentivising the most harmful (and mostly useless) things
Change Control and What Will Come After Git (If That's Still Possible at All)
It would be wrong to believe (at least misguided) Git can be a "standard" skill 30 or 50 years from now.
On the Web, HTTPS Has Actually Become a Privacy Problem (Broadcasting Usage/Access to the All-Seeing CA Eye). Geminispace Doesn't Have This Problem.
Down to 23 capsules: the rapid demise of Certificate Authority (CA) Let's Encrypt in Geminispace
Links 07/10/2024: Politics, Education, Wars, Financial Crunch
Links for the day
Munich Was Having Real Difficulties Moving From GNU/Linux to Windows
How many are still using GNU/Linux?
Links 07/10/2024:China’s 'Deflation' (Price Decreases), Brazil Still Bars Twitter ("X")
Links for the day
Links 07/10/2024: "Creative Computing" Turns 50, Long War in Middle East Turns 1
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/10/2024: Luck and Dishonesty, Gaming Getting Worse
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 06, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, October 06, 2024
EPO: We Give Recognition to Frauds
Good to see some frank recognition right there in the EPO's own Web site
Even Though We Don't Focus on statCounter for Now (Not Our Top Priority) GNU/Linux Reaches New Highs This Month:
We caught GNU/Linux at 4.86% before, but only temporarily
Links 06/10/2024: Ham Radio for Recovery, Health Problems Worldwide
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/10/2024: Special Interest Galore and Religion
Links for the day
Keeping Control Out of Dictators' Hands
When people are just "numbers"...
Links 06/10/2024: Misinformation Growing on the Web, "Hey Hi" Hype Waning for Lack of RoI
Links for the day
[Meme] Years Have Passed and EPO Management Still Isn't Obeying a Ruling From a Court Regarding Communications Between Staff
Representatives talking to their staff is "privacy violation"?
Presentations of the Staff Union of the European Patent Office in Its Headquarters Tomorrow After Work
Annual General Meeting and reports
Gemini Links 06/10/2024: SSH Keys and Hobby Game Development
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 05, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, October 05, 2024