01.17.08
Quick Mention: Attacking by Proxy
“I thanked Rose for all of his trips to Seattle and his willingness to distract a lot of time for the lawsuit.”
–Bill Gates
If you have some minutes to spare, you are strongly encouraged to read this article that was mentioned a few hours ago.
If you think Microsoft has an aversion to Article 82 of the European Treaty, the anti-monopoly law that forced it to open some Windows server APIs and also to live with others’ media players on desktops, think again. Microsoft is backing Platform Solutions (PSI) in an Article 82 action that could loosen IBM’s grip on the mainframe. If PSI is given the keys to every glass house in Europe, Microsoft will be one of its principal guests. In fact, PSI could get more from IBM than it wanted when it first announced mainframe-compatible systems.Last November 27, PSI announced that it had raised more than $37 million in additional capital, and that one of the companies in the deal was Microsoft. Other investors in PSI include Intel, Blueprint Ventures, Goldman Sachs, InterWest Partners, and InvestCorp.
Microsoft does not want IBM with GNU/Linux in the mainframes, so it appears to be using a proxy, just as we recently suspected. █
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.
Finland calling said,
January 17, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Hello, once again. Could it be possible to drop you notes/tips here or elsewhere without e-mail, since I really don’t want to use that?
Anyways, here’s the latest from our nordic corner of the world.
Please grab it away from this thread and make a new article about this, if you think it’s necessary.
Quick translation of the text from “The Finnish News Agency” aka STT going rounds in web already and being published in all of the major and also most of the minor newspapers tomorrow. (Friday)
In the meeting between prime minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen and Bill Gates, the software giant Microsoft promised to donate tailored tools for finnish schools.
Microsoft will offer finnish basic education and general upper secondary schools and their students free Windows live services selection.
It includes f.ex Hotmail, electronic timetable, discussion forum and a bulletin board.
Microsoft told about the new collaboration on Thursday in Seattle.
It is the first project for both basic- and secondary schools. It can also be used in finnish vocational, polytechnic and university schools.
“This project supports very well the development of finnish information society also in educational system and corresponds well with our aims in information society”, Vanhanen praised Microsoft.
http://yle.fi/news/id79777.html has some background about his visit to the US.
Roy Schestowitz said,
January 17, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Thanks, ‘Finland calling’. This is quite a deja vu (done in other countries as well). I’ll post about it later today.