10.31.07
Appalling. Absolutely Appalling.
Remember Mandriva's message to Microsoft when the so-called racketeering schemes took place and gained steam with Xandros and Linspire caving in? Well, get a load of this open letter to Steve Ballmer:
So we closed the deal [17,000 laptops with Mandriva] , we got the order, we qualified the software, we got the machine shipped. In other word, we did our job. I understand the machine are being delivered right now.
And then, today, we hear from the customer a totally different story: “we shall pay for the Mandriva Software as agreed, but we shall replace it by Windows afterward.”
Wow! I’m impressed, Steve! What have you done for these guys to change their mind like this? It’s pretty clear to me, and it will be clear to everyone. How do you call what you just did Steve, in the place where you live? In my place, they give it various names, I’m sure you know them.
Hey Steve, how do you feel looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning?
Of course, I will keep fighting this one and the next one, and the next one. You have the money, the power, and maybe we have a different sense of ethics you and I, but I believe that hard work, good technology and ethics can win too.
Will Microsoft go this far to choke everyone Linux distributor that does not liaise with the Patent Mafia? We have observed and recorded a pattern here and we shall continue to have it documented. If François made this open accusation, then he probably knows something that many of us do not.
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.
Felipe Alvarez said,
November 1, 2007 at 12:41 am
Shame. MS totally lacking innovation. They will soon blunder, and fall heavily, mightly, as all giants do.