04.23.08
It’s Official: Epic Censors GNU/Linux Amid Rumours About Predatory Microsoft Takeover
from the still-a-rumour dept.
Whether this has anything to do with Microsoft or not (let alone whether negotiations with Microsoft take place at all), it’s now confirmed that queries about the anticipated and belated GNU/Linux port simply get deleted. You are encouraged to read the background story, which we told just a couple of days ago.
Last week we shared the sad reality about Unreal Tournament 3 that it’s been 5 months and there’s still no Linux client. There’s not even any sign that the game client will still be made available for Linux once their “legal” problems are resolved. It was mentioned in the news posting that forum moderators for Epic Games, the company behind the Unreal franchise, had been deleting posts of users who had inquired about the status of this game for Linux. There is now confirmation that they are taking such actions to suppress the UT3 Linux talk.
None of the details about Microsoft are confirmed, but it seems possible that a hostile tactic is involved. We might find out soon. █
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.