EditorsAbout the SiteComes vs. MicrosoftUsing This Web SiteSite ArchivesCredibility IndexOOXMLOpenDocumentPatentsNovellNews DigestSite NewsRSS

10.25.07

Mozilla ‘Pulls a Novell’, Distributes DRM-riddled Prizes

Posted in Apple, DRM, GNU/Linux, Novell at 11:36 pm by Roy Schestowitz

“We like you so much, so we give you competitors’ products”

Isn’t it troubling when a company which takes prides in open source actually distributes proprietary software products as awards while at the same time ignoring smaller players that thrive in open source? Well, Mozilla is now boasting an Apple Mac to earn this criticism, which is well ‘earned’.

And you do realize that other manufacturers offer laptops pre-loaded with Firefox and Linux, right?

Mozilla gives a proprietary, DRM-oriented software and hardware from a company that has it excluded from distribution and had it excluded from market share charts. Didn’t Mozilla slam Apple just a couple of months ago for promoting duopoly? This reminded me of Novell doing the same thing with iPods. I remember this because I criticised them at the time. That was long before the deal with Microsoft and also a time when I advocated SUSE. Bear in mind that Apple not only refused to port iTunes to Linux, but it also tried to block Linux software for iPods about a month ago. To make matters worse, its co-founder slammed open source about a month ago.

Let’s look at the bright side. Novell offered iPods, not Zunes, which were not even out in the market at the time.

Microsoft ZUN

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • co.mments
  • DZone
  • email
  • Google Bookmarks
  • LinkedIn
  • NewsVine
  • Print
  • Propeller
  • Slashdot
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • Webnews
  • YahooMyWeb

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channel. To use your own IRC client, join channel #boycottnovell in FreeNode.

Pages that cross-reference this one

13 Comments

  1. aw shit said,

    October 26, 2007 at 6:43 pm

    Gravatar

    Google gives out ipods in some contests.

  2. Roy Schestowitz said,

    October 26, 2007 at 8:08 pm

    Gravatar

    Yes, but Google is not a Linux and open source company. They only use that technology in house, so the “eat your own dogfood” argument does not apply. Eric Schmidt is also on Apple board.

  3. Asa Dotzler said,

    October 28, 2007 at 5:16 pm

    Gravatar

    There’s nothing stopping winners from putting Linux on their brand new MacBook Pro. Well, except that I doubt Linux still isn’t ready for the desktop (or laptop.)

    I suppose Mozilla could offer prizes that no one wants but that would satisfy free software zealots. That, though, I don’t think is a strategy that actually works very well.

    - A

  4. Roy Schestowitz said,

    October 28, 2007 at 6:49 pm

    Gravatar

    “Free software zealots”, eh? Thanks for reminding me how Mozilla perceives Free software, without which it would be nowhere. It was not long ago that a staff member of yours wanted to neglect Linux further and you then tried to pretend that his opinion did not reflect on that of the company as a whole.

    As for the hardware (MacBook Pro), paying the company which makes non-Free and non-Open Source software is the reason for criticism. Read my comments above again — the comments about the way Apple perceives open source, such as Firefox.

  5. Asa Dotzler said,

    October 30, 2007 at 2:35 am

    Gravatar

    “Free software, without which it would be nowhere.”

    Care to elaborate? Firefox is taking market share from Microsoft by offering a superior product, not by offering a software religion.

    I appreciate the one or two percent of Firefox users who are running on Linux or other FLOSS desktops, but they hardly constitute a force without which Firefox would suffer. Heck, there are considerably more Firefox users running Mac OSX than all flavors of FLOSS desktops combined. Not only that, but those Mac users are disproportionately responsible for writing Websites that work in multiple browsers and not just IE.

    It would have been more accurate if you’d said that without the Mac audience, Firefox would be nowhere.

    - A

  6. Roy Schestowitz said,

    October 30, 2007 at 5:24 am

    Gravatar

    Asa,

    I am aware of your great work bringing Firefox to such an admirable position (a true David versus Goliath story). Please be aware, however, that a lot pf promotional force, such as people promoting Firefox in their Web sites and helping their friends migrate to a new Web browser, have come from people who suffered from being excluded from the Web. I was among those people.

    I apologise if my last message sounded rude, but stereotypes like “zealot” strike a nerve and they help nobody. It is best to avoid them.

  7. Yuhong Bao said,

    January 28, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    Gravatar

    In fairness, only one part of Mac is DRM-riddled, that is iTunes.

  8. Roy Schestowitz said,

    January 28, 2008 at 8:49 pm

    Gravatar

    Have you not seen the recent story about QuickTime and users being forbidden editing?

  9. Yuhong Bao said,

    January 28, 2008 at 10:08 pm

    Gravatar

    Yea, but that is probably it for the parts of OS X that have DRM.

  10. Roy Schestowitz said,

    January 28, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    Gravatar

    Apple came under the threat of lawsuits for failing to ‘protect’ those Hollywood studios. Make no mistake. Apple seems to be going down the path of Vista with that DRM suicide for all I can tell. There’s a liaison (media companies and software companies).

  11. Yuhong Bao said,

    January 28, 2008 at 11:56 pm

    Gravatar

    >Apple came under the threat of lawsuits for failing to ‘protect’ those Hollywood studios.
    So even if Steve Jobs do hate that, Apple have to impose DRM.
    >Apple seems to be going down the path of Vista with that DRM suicide for all I can tell.
    Fortunately, Vista’s DRM support also have a limited scope. Only if you play DRMed content will Vista activate it’s DRM support to protect the content.

  12. Yuhong Bao said,

    January 28, 2008 at 11:58 pm

    Gravatar

    I would not call it pulling a Novell, because the crucial part is missing. That part is that patent agreement.

  13. Roy Schestowitz said,

    January 29, 2008 at 12:03 am

    Gravatar

    Fortunately, Vista’s DRM support also have a limited scope. Only if you play DRMed content will Vista activate it’s DRM support to protect the content.

    Are you aware of the performance and security penalties?

    I would not call it pulling a Novell, because the crucial part is missing. That part is that patent agreement.

    Yes, of course. I do like Mozilla, but as the cited item suggests, it would be nice for an Open Source software company to support a product that does not snub (and almost sabotage) interaction with FOSS and GNU/Linux (mind the recent iPod-Linux incident).

What Else is New


  1. Eye on Microsoft: Signs of Game Over

    The press seems pessimistic about Microsoft, which is increasingly seen as unable to evolve and innovate; Microsoft's security problems (and security PR) persist in a major way



  2. Windows 'Battery Killer' (Vista 7) Also Has USB Data Transfer Issues and Stability Problems, Does Not Sell Well

    Vista 7 is plagued by serious bugs and new patches from Microsoft are said to be making things even worse; Microsoft is still unable to formulate a response to the new problems and Vista 7 sales continue to disappoint, so more vapourware and fake "leaks" are being used instead



  3. Norwegian Agency for Public Management and eGovernment Slams Microsoft OOXML

    The authorities in Norway justify the country's decision to reject Microsoft's standards-hostile ploy



  4. Steve Ballmer Visits Obama Once Again as His Fight Against Google Continues

    Updates on the competition between Microsoft and Google -- a rivalry that takes political form



  5. Microsoft's Hostile Takeover of the Healthcare System

    Microsoft wants to make medical records and management of patients a lot more dependent on Windows and its own private servers



  6. More Mono and Patent Poison from Novell

    “Pinta” comes from Novell staff and software patents tax (on SLE*) comes from Microsoft in the form of vouchers



  7. Patents Roundup: EFF Defends VoIP; Google, Apple, and Black Duck Stifle Progress; Microsoft Joins RPX

    A quick look at some patent news from the past week, ranging from defence to offence



  8. United Nations and World Bank Help Bill Gates and Microsoft Colonise Africa

    Microsoft's and Gates' incursions in Africa are backed by self-serving Western agenda of patents and proprietary software



  9. IRC: #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: February 8th, 2010

    IRC Log for February 8th, 2010



  10. Links 8/2/2010: Linux 2.6.33 RC7 and Parsix GNU/Linux 3.0r2 Released

    Links for the day



  11. Xbox 360 Still Under Many Lawsuits

    Lawsuits from many fronts add to the trouble that Microsoft's Xbox 360 already faces



  12. Facebook and Microsoft Revisited; New Examples of Microsoft Entryism

    A look at Facebook's relationship with Microsoft in 2010; Microsoft employees have an effect in competitors of Microsoft, so this issue is addressed too



  13. Microsoft Still Exploits the Taxpayers-Funded NASA to Spread Silver Lie and Close Down Research

    Microsoft-imposed corruption of NASA's obligation to the public carries on as it strives to capture academia too



  14. Microsoft 'Cloud' Falls Offline for a Quarter of a Day, Zune 'Cloud' Deletes Music, Microsoft Shop Also Kaput

    Microsoft continues to give online operations and online storage a bad name because of its sheer incompetence



  15. Ubuntu Perspectives: Signs of Change

    Analysis of Canonical's latest moves, which are being defended by some and severely criticised by others



  16. Apple's Newton Executive Negative About Apple's Latest Attempts at a Shinier Newton

    Apple's iPad still faces sometimes-overwhelming criticism, even from the company's own supporters and existing/former staff



  17. Microsoft Loses Another Vice President, Management Vacuum Alarms the Press

    Another Microsoft Vice President has just left Microsoft, joining the ranks of many more



  18. IRC: #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: February 7th, 2010

    IRC Log for February 7th, 2010



  19. Links 07/2/2010: Linux Mint 8 KDE, Linus on Nexus One

    Links for the day



  20. Patents Roundup: Extortion, Protection Rackets, Patent Trolling, and Small Victory for Mozilla

    Johnson and Johnson's multi-billion-dollar patent fine, patents' harms to real science and life, patent trolls thrive, and Mozilla's opposition to patent-encumbered codecs gradually pays off



  21. The Microsoft Apologists and Boosters Really, Really Like Novell!

    A complete list of news articles about Moonlight 3.0 preview shows that its biggest fans are Microsoft fans



  22. iPad is Like Zune

    iPad -- like Zune -- might not reach the European Union (EU), possibly due to lukewarm reception and lack of appeal, not trademarks



  23. Microsoft Shows Yet Again That It is Allergic to GNU/Linux

    Microsoft's hatred of GNU/Linux, as demonstrated in this weekend's news



  24. Michael Arrington a Hypocrite: Bribed by Microsoft Yet Fires Bribed Bloggers

    Another fine example of an influential blogger who sells out to Microsoft yet does not apply to himself the same standards that he applies to colleagues



  25. Microsoft Refuses to Comment About (Deny) the Sex Parties, Drug Use

    No denial from Microsoft in the face of very strong allegations



  26. Another Misdirected Response from the Government to the Company “Not Engineered for Security”

    Another terrible month for Microsoft insecurity and the government is still unable to respond sensibly to the threat



  27. IRC: #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: February 6th, 2010

    IRC Log for February 6th, 2010



  28. Links 6/2/2010: GNOME Journal Released, ARM CEO Sees Bright Future

    Links for the day



  29. Novell Executives Still Cannot Write Blog Posts?

    New evidence of ghostwriters in Novell's own Web site



  30. Microsoft Wants More Licensing Instead of Windows Bans

    At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Microsoft super-lobbyist Craig Mundie requests new laws that complicate the Internet and ignore the real problem (Microsoft negligence)


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts