Bonum Certa Men Certa

Jim Zemlin's Linux Foundation Still Does Not Care About Linux Desktops

Almost as though there's an implicit agreement to leave that space to Microsoft

Zemlin loves Microsoft
Zemlin loves Microsoft
Zemlin loves Microsoft. Photo sources [1, 2].



Summary: We are saddened to see that the largest body associated with Linux (the kernel and more) is not really eager to see GNU/Linux success; it's mostly concerned about its bottom line (about $100,000,000 per annum)

SEVERAL months ago I was persuaded by my wife to break the silence on the Linux Foundation (LF), seeing that they had sold out (it irritated even her, a full-time GNU/Linux user for over half a decade). The people who run the Linux Foundation do not themselves use GNU/Linux* and the Linux Foundation is hardly about Linux anymore. It hardly even defends Linux from patent attacks, such as those of Microsoft; to make matters worse, the Linux Foundation takes money from Microsoft (as it last did only weeks ago) and then praises Microsoft.



"...to make matters worse, the Linux Foundation takes money from Microsoft (as it last did only weeks ago) and then praises Microsoft."I don't want to name anyone (for privacy reasons), but various prominent people wrote to me regarding these articles. They agree. Some are relieved that someone is finally willing to air these matters and tackle them. So perhaps we shall persist.

One reader told us about the lack of support for actual advocates of GNU/Linux who spread GNU/Linux, e.g. on desktops. Ken Starks wrote about it nearly a decade ago, bemoaning Jim Zemlin's lack of interest in "Linux desktop" (Zemlin actually told him that directly after he had been invited to an otherwise-exclusive conference). "I got the skinny on the Linux Foundation claims to "support" these orgs for 'years'," the reader noted. "It may be years," the reader added, "haven't confirmed that but get this: I actually volunteer for [a charity that brings GNU/Linux to children] and they need $ and volunteers. So I asked how LF "supports" them and got this answer: No, not financial just advertising in its network. As I understand. And with nice discounts in courses and certifications. Meanwhile, every volunteer goes on their own dime, and [name redacted] is eating table scraps to survive when he brought the content server - Internet in a box... which we should have paid. At least his foooooood!"

The reader took note of "Diversity Programs" from the Linux Foundation, potentially a cynical corporate attempt to appear ethical while not doing anything/much to these ends.

"I reached out to another 10 organizations the Linux Foundation "supports"," the reader said.

Stay tuned. This is research in progress.

In the meantime we invite anyone with similar experiences to get in contact with us. We'll protect people's identities while doing the best we can to shed light on the LF's underlying agenda, which seems to overlap the collective agenda of the LF's sponsors rather than of GNU/Linux (many sponsors have nothing to do with Linux). ____ * There's a tendency to focus on Zemlin's use of Mac OS X [1, 2], but I know many of the colleagues use Microsoft Windows -- arguably worse. "Apparently, Jim Zemlin isn’t who he says he is. I think he should be impeached," one person argued a couple of years ago. "Essentially, he’s the Terry Colby (from Mr. Robot) of The Linux Foundation. He’s the head of a company that seems to know little about what they do. Remember, in order to become the best possible employee or user of something, you have to be using that product to fully understand it. Otherwise, you’ll be left behind when someone needs your help, or when it comes to truly understanding Linux." Or as Christine Hall put it minutes ago, "I agree that Zemlin is a traitor to all the early adopters who made Linux what it is today. However, Zemlin has never uttered "the year of the Linux desktop." He's never supported desktop Linux at all."

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Misinformation is Not Intelligence
It's low-grade plagiarism and it fails to show any signs of intelligence
'Tech' Gimmicks Are for Advertising, Not for Usability
In the case of Microsoft, they latched onto slop
BetaNews Sacked Brian Fagioli and Deleted His Comments, But He Still Tries to Use the "BetaNews" Brand for Self-Affirmation
Fagioli takes the work of other people
[Meme] Hard to Be a Better Person?
Sooner or later they'll realise that for each pound I spend they need to spend about 1,000 times more
New US Editor for The Register is a Microsoft Booster
"Avram Piltch has served as US editor for The Register since July 2025."
 
Microsoft Bribes and Buys Politicians to Tell Europe What to Do About Free Software (Which It's Attacking)
Microsoft: we speak for the thing that we are attacking! Follow the money...
Making Backups Quickly and Reliably
Backups are imperative, more so in an age of uncertainty, unpredictable weather, and worsening standards (quality of products going down while prices go up)
Techrights Investigation: Estimating the Point in Time LinuxIac Turned Into LLM Slop (Part of the Time)
Bobby Borisov got lazy
10th Month, Ten Weeks From Now, at Ten AM
In Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 24, 2025
A Nadella Memo Distracts From Microsoft's Cheapening Of the Workforce
Right now the "MSM" (mainstream media) is flooded/overwhelmed by garbage pieces that relay lies for Nadella
Vanishing Faces of GNU/Linux
Free software projects do not depend on any one person or company to still exist
Microsoft Says It Lost 400 Million Windows Users, Now It's Waiting for GNU/Linux to Stop Booting on 'Old' PCs
When it comes to Windows, Microsoft is fully aware of the issue and statements it made earlier this summer suggest it lost 400 million Windows users
Slopwatch: LinuxTechLab, linuxsecurity.com, LinuxIac, and More
Also: The Register's Microsoft agenda (new editor)
Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Gemtext Aware Titan Editor and Gemini Protocol Comeback
Links for the day
Links 24/07/2025: Convicted Felon Quits UNESCO, "Vibe Coding Goes Wrong", and Signalgate Gets Worse
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/07/2025: Forgejo Woes and Smolnet Directory Week
Links for the day
Links 24/07/2025: Storage Tapes Still Kicking, Windows TCO 'on Steroids' (Microsoft-Induced Catastrophes)
Links for the day
Bobby Borisov (LinuxIac) Has Apparently Begun Experimenting With LLM Slop, So We Cannot Trust LinuxIac Anymore
So did LinuxIac become a slopfarm? Maybe not yet, but it's getting there
Informa TechTarget's ITProToday is Becoming a Slopfarm Generated by Microsoft Chatbots
Busted.
The LLM Con Artists Are Highly Destructive
Who will ever be held accountable for this scam?
Too Bribed by Microsoft to Move to Free Software?
Microsoft lies and Microsoft bribery (in politics)
Microsoft Hiring European Politicians is Another Form of Bribery; There Should be a European Investigation
When Microsoft bribed people in Europe for OOXML (there's no denying this!) a European government delegate said that Microsoft operated like a cult
Reda Demanded That FSF Removes Its Founder, Now Reda Works Directly for Microsoft
A sellout and a traitor, first working for GAFAM, now Microsoft
PCLinuxOS is Raising Money to Support Development After Fire Incident at the Host
PCLinuxOS has not had announcements lately
Speed of the Site Should be Better Now
The "bot attacks" impact the speed of the sister site too
Getting More From AnalogNowhere
Recently we used many images from AnalogNowhere
Microsoft, Microsofters and 'Secure' Boot Shills Already Storming the LWN Report About Expiring Certificate, Shooting the Messenger
LWN has clearly stuck a nerve
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Disable "Secure" Boot Today (the Only Better Time to Do So Was Yesterday)
Don't trust anything Red Hat tells you about security
Links 23/07/2025: Windows Killed Company After 150+ Years, US Government Mimics Russia's Attacks on the Media
Links for the day
Freedom Generally Wins at the End, History Shows (But It's Constantly Attacked, Too)
At the moment people realise "Linux" (e.g. Android) isn't enough to guarantee any freedoms
Over 3 Months Later Brett Wilson LLP Still Unable to Recruit a Media Lawyer?
"Immediate start", but not found... still unfilled
“Inhumane” and “Disgusting” Mass Layoff Execution, According to Microsoft Staff
The workers are looking for other places to work
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has a New Slogan for Its 40th Anniversary
The freedoms are what's most important
Microsoft is Trying to "Pull a Nokia" on GNU/Linux as Desktop/Laptop Platform
We all remember that rather well, don't we?
LLM Slopfarms gbhackers.com, "Cyber Press" and CyberSecurityNews Are Drowning Google News (and Shame on Google for Feeding and Facilitating Them)
All are run by the same people
Links 23/07/2025: Droplets GUI Patent Monopoly Challenge, Nokia Leverages Illegal Patent Court Against Rivals
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/07/2025: Community in Geminispace and Challenges With Old Computers
Links for the day
Links 23/07/2025: Slop Patents Tackled, Slop Copyright Misuses Tackled by Politicians
Links for the day
Our Three Lawsuits Against Microsofters Are About to Become a Lot More Relevant to GNU/Linux
The Master will easily understand why Garrett has been attacking me since 2012
Links 23/07/2025: Retreating From Transparency on Jeffrey Epstein, We No Longer Have Press Freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/07/2025: Piano and Food
Links for the day
New and Old
On Ageism in Tech
Slop Is Not Intelligence and It Does Not Enhance Productivity
Like voice dictation, which cannot tell the difference between "sheet" and "shit"
EPO Crimes Are Spreading to the British Court System
Society is now paying the price for failing to tackle crimes at the EPO
It's Time to Dump SharePoint and Here's What to Use Instead
Nextcloud, ownCloud, Bookstack, MediaWiki, and MediaGoblin
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Brett Wilson LLP Has Gone Silent
Sometimes silence says more than nothing at all
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Planet Ubuntu, and LinuxTechLab
some slopfarms show no remorse and they don't value their reputation at all
Links 23/07/2025: Book Bans, Storms, and Kangaroo Court for Patents Commits More Unlawful Acts of Overreach
Links for the day