03.26.08
Guess Who Invited Microsoft to the Open Source Business Conference? Matt Asay.
Okay, this is new to us. Watch the opening paragraph:
Tonight Brad Smith, general counsel for Microsoft, delivered the “footnote” address at the Open Source Business Conference 2008. I asked Brad to speak because I figured it was the shortest path to getting clarity from Microsoft vis-a-vis open source and the nettlesome legal issues that have plagued Microsoft’s relationship with open source.
Well, regardless of all the chatter and Asay even offering compliments to Brad “Patents for Sale” Smith, this also explains why he so immediately defended Smith’s presence. Have a look at his comments here and here. He regularly defends Microsoft employees like Bill Hilf as well. They befriend him.
“Microsoft just needs the key or the charmers with enough allure to tempt key figures to look the wrong way.”That puts in proper light Matt Asay’s acceptance of Microsoft in the OSI, as well as the rather vain (if not rude) response to Bruce Perens’ desire to join OSI.
Asay is no Microsoft admirer, but I believe the problem is that he has too much trust in the company’s words, including the promises and the sweet talk. He absolutely must learn from history because they systematically lie to their partners and even their own employees. He his also easily fooled by the company’s relentless attempts to buy his love. In private, he pretty admitted to me that this happened just a month ago, but I won’t go into details and specifics.
We ought to identify the village residents — so to speak — who open up the gates for Gates to enter. It’s a Trojan horse really. Microsoft just needs the key or the charmers with enough allure to tempt key figures to look the wrong way. Most destructive jobs are typically carried out from the inside, in an only seemingly friendly manner [1, 2, 3, 4]. █
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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.