08.06.07
Another Major Victim of Microsoft’s Linux Deals? Linspire’s CEO Abandons the Ship.
After selling us some of Microsoft’s anti-Linux FUD and getting totally betrayed by Microsoft, Kevin Caromy, CEO of Linspire, decided to leave the company. Is Eric Raymond next?
Carmony also said his resignation, contrary to some rumors, had nothing to do with any disagreement with Linspire’s primary owner Michael Robertson, or with fallout from either of Linspire’s recent deals with Microsoft, which covered technology licensing and patent indemnification.
This sounds unlikely, but let us give him the benefit of the doubt.
Is it bad news for Linux as a whole? Au contraire, one mighty argue. To repeat what Groklaw stated about a month ago:
Mr. Carmony [of Linspire] asked a question, will Linux split in two factions? The answer is no. Some Linux distros will limp along a while and then die off, because they misunderstood what folks want when they choose GNU/Linux and FOSS. You can see that already. Red Hat, which refused to sign any such deal, is flourishing, for example. It’s not about code that “just works”. Apple offers that already. It’s the freedom. And we’ve proven willing to put up with some temporary frustration in order to get it. In time, FOSS will win, and all those proprietary codecs and everything else will be made available on pleasanter terms, because market share does that.
We feel sorry for Linux talent that grew inside Linspire and will probably face unpleasant consequences for months (maybe even years) to come. On several occasions we tried to warn Kevin, but he went for the money anyway.
When Linspire initially announced its deal with Microsoft, Christian Einfeldt, founder of Digital Tipping Point, let everyone know that Michael Robertson, founder of Linspire, probably would not have endorsed the deal. Christian once interviewed this man, whom I personally respect. Regardless of the direction Robertson and Linspire take, the distribution is stuck because of licensing issues.
Let this show the world why deals with Microsoft are always a bad idea.
No. More. Deals.
Please.
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
GNU/Linux said,
August 6, 2007 at 5:10 am
He took the money and resigned. We all knew this is all about money.
anonymous said,
August 6, 2007 at 10:57 am
Apropos Microsoft deals: The FSF plans an action against the deal between Microsoft and the BBC. Their internet broadcasting program is excusively for Microsoft customers, ie. their “iPlayer” is only available for Windows.
http://www.defectivebydesign.org/iPlayerProtest
Roy Schestowitz said,
August 6, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Yes, I know. I will help Matt organise the protest against the BBC at Manchester.
MattD said,
August 7, 2007 at 3:37 pm
If anything good has come out of the Novell/Microsoft deal (and all subsequent MS deals), is that weasels like Kevin Caromy are so quickly exposed for what they are.
This guy just finished wrapping up another money-making project for himself - which his personal history indicates as his only motive.
He did well for himself (again) and made it clear that users interested in freedom should stay clear of Linspire. It makes choosing a long-term dsitribution alot easier.
Felipe Alvarez said,
August 9, 2007 at 1:30 am
I don’t use freespire/linspire, but I’m so ashamed. I’m saddened by the greed, and the self-serving attitudes. Go FSF! Flourish! Go GNU/Linux, flourish. Bye-Bye money hungry bastards lacking sentiment, compassion, and respect.