02.25.08
Bullying, Intimidation and Smears, Courtesy of Microsoft
Over the past year, on several occasions in fact, we have covered several shocking incidents where Microsoft not only attacked individuals in a targeted fashion (it uses anonymous voices and/or business partner to better hide the trails). We have also shown that people lost their jobs and level of authority as a result of Microsoft smear campaigns.
“It wanted to see its insiders turn into decision-makers.”You might find yourself wondering if Microsoft only targets the weak and the feeble — that which cannot defend itself or respond with libel claims (which themselves become a considerable distraction). That is not the case however.
We have already seen coordinated attacks against State CIO whose decision rocked the Microsoft procurement boat. We have already seen international bodies, much like Yahoo Board of Directors at the moment, coming under attack from a corporation that wanted to see heads rolling. It wanted to see its insiders turn into decision-makers.
Today’s story comes from another person whom you may be familiar with: Tim Bray. Tim is a well-known trailblazer, much like Vint Cerf, whom Microsoft (ECMA) wishes to characterise as a ‘troll’ to be ignored ahead of the BRM in Geneva (Vint Cerf is from CERN, so join the dots). Here is Tim’s story that was pulled by Groklaw:
Those with long memories might suggest a parallel between Rick’s position and mine when in 1997, I was sitting on the XML Working Group and co-editing the spec, on a pro bono basis as an indie consultant. Netscape hired me to represent their interests, and when I announced this, controversy ensued. Which is a nice way of saying that Microsoft went berserk; tried unsuccessfully to get me fired as co-editor, and then launched a vicious, deeply personal extended attack in which they tried to destroy my career and took lethal action against a small struggling company because my wife worked there. It was a sideshow of a sideshow of the great campaign to bury Netscape and I’m sure the executives have forgotten; but I haven’t.
For information about Microsoft corruptions from ‘Netscape era’, see the Billwatch section of this Web site.
This seems like a rather typical mode of operation for Microsoft. By all means remember that Microsoft describes its marketing and promotion efforts as “Jihad” (holy war). This comes from internal memos and that appears to just be the way the company operates. To give similar examples in light of the recent developments around OOXML, consider:
- Heads flying at Massachusetts (see this more recent post which alludes to the smear campaign against Peter Quinn, State CIO)
- Possibly a strategic reappointment in Finland (having a head fired)
- ISO head-rolling (Microsoft seizes ISO)
On a less timely or relevant note, consider the smears against Richard Stallman. This isn’t science fiction. Microsoft has proven over and over again that its viciousness becomes a threat to one’s career. It’s a subtle — albeit sometimes severe — mode of intimidation and punishment. █
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.