05.11.08
Links 11/05/2008: Debian GNU/Linux Serves Millions, Linux Phones Extravaganza
- Debian GNU/Linux SuiteTelecentro: millions of users for the digital society every year
- Verizon Opens LiMo Door
- MIT students demonstrate their Android applications
- Deep, down and dirty PC repair
- The 25 Year Old BSD Bug
- Belgium Accuses China of Cyberattacks
- Application Security for Open Source - The New Frontier
- OSS powers SA’s fastest growing websites
- New open-source MMORPG engine released
- Open source IT surveyed
- Open source is more than free: The Untangle experience
- Chennai firm to sign [LAMP] pact with Anna University
- IBM Commits to Open Source
- Sun wants open source and profits
- Wireless mesh standard gets boost from OLPC, open source
- Startup Of The Week: Vyatta’s Open Source Router Takes On Cisco
- OpenSolaris gets its wings … but it requires a long, long time on the tarmac with 512 MB of RAM
- Sun Promises Regular Open Source Solaris Updates
- Sun xVM VirtualBox 1.6.0
- IE-only marketing campaign skewed Firefox, Safari numbers
- Lies, Damned Lies and Percentages
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.
David Heath said,
May 11, 2008 at 6:44 am
Y’know, I’m a little bit bothered being linked from a site called “BoycottNovell” especially since I’ve been so active in the support of the company over the last 15 years.
However, I need the hits! ~smile~
rub me said,
May 11, 2008 at 7:18 am
I love these link postings. Roy, your site is better than a lot of the Linux news sites with these postings.
Woods said,
May 11, 2008 at 7:37 am
I may have missed this already being in the summaries but…
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Microsoft-mobile-phone,news-28182.html
interesting, considering the Wintel-moves with OLPC…
Roy Schestowitz said,
May 11, 2008 at 7:48 am
@Woods:
Thanks, I saw that a few days ago and shared it elsewhere (putting things in perspective using related articles, which I append below). In the links postings I never include any excepts, so I thought adding it here would seem like (or even serve as) Microsoft promotion. I sent it for inclusion in Groklaw though, where bits that show Microsoft attaching strings get highlighted in the form of selective excerpts.
It’s very ironic that the same company which ridiculed the idea of computing for the poor (notably OLPC) hopes that we will suddenly forget this and accept its entrance into this market, provided there’s ‘addiction’ to Windows. Microsoft perceives these people as prospective clients and hopes that its obedient media will perceive and also present this as charity. It’s a win-win situation for Microsoft and at the end of the day it’s more unethical than ethical. To Microsoft it’s merely an investment which is bound to cost these people when they grow older. The same goes for donations to some schools. I ought to accumulate more links and present them sensibly in order to defend this view which is seen as controversial to those who don’t know better. Remember that people are brainwashed to believe all sorts of things, including: (1) software patents are crucial for innovation; (2) DRM defends musicians; (3) open source is, by definition, difficult to use; (4) Free software is about being cheap.
___
From: Roy Schestowitz
Subject: [News] [Rival] More ‘Windows Drugs’ for the Poor
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy
Date: Fri, 09 May 2008 02:42:16 +0100
Microsoft to Increase Focus on Handsets for Poor
,—-[ Quote ]
| It’s a subtle change from the past now that Craig Mundie, chief research
| and strategy officer at Microsoft, has taken over the company’s Unlimited
| Potential Group, which focuses on the developing world.
`—-
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145633/microsoft_to_increa…
The Unlimited Addiction Group is about getting people dependent on Windows, especially where Free software gets adopted. It’s an unethical program intended to identity areas of competition for Microsoft and then dumping dependencies onto them. The group’s leader recently ditched the company. No surprises.
Related:
Governments Must Reject Gates’ $3 Bid to Addict Next Billion PC Users
,—-[ Quote ]
| “Microsoft’s strategy of getting developing nations hooked on its
| software was clearly outlined by Bill Gates almost a decade ago,” said
| Con Zymaris, CEO of long-standing open source firm Cybersource.
|
| Specifically, Bill Gates, citing China as an example, said:
|
| “Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, but
| people don’t pay for the software,” he said. “Someday they will, though.
| As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours.
| They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to
| collect sometime in the next decade.”[1]
`—-
http://www.cybersource.com.au/press/gates_set_to_addict_next_billion.html