10.06.08
Fool Us Once, Shame on Microsoft, Fool Us Twice…
“There’s no company called Linux, there’s barely a Linux road map. Yet Linux sort of springs organically from the earth. And it had, you know, the characteristics of communism that people love so very, very much about it. That is, it’s free.”
–Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO
Dana Blankenhorn is one among several people who responded to Microsoft’s latest ‘open source’ scam. Matt Asay spotted this too and there are many comments in Slashdot. We expanded on this yesterday.
This time they are offering Windows-only code on their “open source” CodePlex site. It’s not that this is technically impossible. It’s just prohibited by license.
[…]
Last time they played this game they were pushing OOXML as an ISO standard. Before that they were promising to bury open source in patent suits.
Now they’re trying to sneak semi-proprietary code on their own site.
It’s like a crime boss getting arrested for pickpocketing. Lex Luthor gets a parking ticket, and pays it. Godzilla has become Reptar.
So instead of taking deep umbrage, I’m just sad. You want a super villain to be, well, super. Not silly.
This was far from the first ‘open source’ scandal from Microsoft [1, 2, 3]. They keep trying to attack, violate the rules and then apologise, only to repeat the cycle of abuse later . The boy who cried “Wolf!” or “Fool me Once” come to mind as allegories that ought to teach us all a lesson.
One reader sent us an E-mail yesterday just to say: “If I may, I’d like to add one more comment.
“The biggest risk to the success of open source is having a bad memory re the behavior and actions of microsoft.
“My personal feeling is that Redmond should never be trusted. They have consistently demonstrated unethical (if not criminal) behavior.
“We might never be rid of microsoft. But people will continue to be attracted to open source because of it’s freedom, it’s quality, and it’s community.” █
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.
Needs Sunlight said,
October 6, 2008 at 12:24 pm
There’s a lot of shilling for MS’ imitation of Java lately, even on nominally standards- and open source-oriented sites. For example:
http://www.tectonic.co.za/?p=3282
Most of it is probably a reaction to the FSF growing a pair and rejecting it (internal link):
http://boycottnovell.com/2008/10/05/dotgnu-mono-cloning-priority/
Other projects, ones that actually contribute rather than detract, are being prioritized:
http://www.linux.com/feature/149424
Besides, Java, unlike the MS competitor, is cross platform and more productive
http://www.it-eye.nl/weblog/2006/06/13/it-eye-programming-contest/
Roy Schestowitz said,
October 6, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Yes, I’ve noticed. Krill’s folly continues:
Mono 2.0 lets .Net apps run on Linux
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/06/Mono_2_lets_Net_apps_run_on_Linux_1.html?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.c
Krill does a lot of ‘Microsoft boosting’. He’s also the one behind “Linux Foundation would like to talk to Microsoft” (or something along those lines).
He recently promoted (through coverage) things like Silverlight, IronRuby/.NET, Moonlight and other ‘dangerous intersections’.
IIRC, he writes quite a lot about how Microsoft is ‘changing’ for open source.
Let’s keep an eye.