11.23.08
CUSAT and Microsoft as Suppressors of Freedom
A former turncoat journalist, Peter Galli, joins the misleading hype about Novell's 2-year 'wedding' anniversary with his employer, Microsoft. How exciting.
It is two years this month since Microsoft and Novell struck their ground-breaking technical collaboration agreement, a move that has effectively ensured greater interoperability between Windows Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
This technical collaboration has already resulted in a number of milestones, including two new offerings announced today: the availability in the first half of 2009 of an Advanced Management Pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, and a free beta download of Novell’s Moonlight, a rich media application.
Ballnux is becoming more assimilated to that mythical “Microsoft Linux” every day and people who further the agenda of Port 25 are suppressing people’s freedoms for personal gain from an abuser.
Here is another new headline, “Novell and Microsoft in Celebratory Moods.” We wrote about this on Friday.
Microsoft and Novell have been busily intensifying market cooperation, whereby Microsoft sales executives are now selling SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) subscriptions.
Microsoft is not really “selling” SLES? It sells “patent royalties” as it calls them, mostly to companies that used to be using GNU/Linux that’s free.
Who could deny at this stage that Microsoft and Novell are almost a single entity in the sense that they share similar interests that stem in software patents? Novell is to Microsoft almost what Citrix is to Microsoft. It reinforces the Microsoft monopoly and secures Microsoft’s cash flow.
The Keralites are ahead of the curve on this one [1, 2, 3, 4] because they realise very well that Novell wants to just swallow the ocean that’s Free/open source software for the benefit of Microsoft and Novell. The reaction from CUSAT is almost infuriating.
Later, the FS [Free Software] activists, including myself, met in front of the main venue (for no other reason than that it was a convenient place) and decided to do a silent protest holding anti-Novell posters. After some time, we saw a van load of policemen arrive, and some of them even came to where we were sitting. Perhaps, this is just a normal security measure since the Chief Minister was expected there, but no one could be faulted if they thought that the police was brought to frighten the protesters. Of course, the police did not interfere or behave in any manner that we would have considered indecent. Some time later, one of the organisers approached Arun and told him that the Registrar of the University was there and we could speak to him if we so desired. Arun accepted the invitation and I was one of the persons who went with him to speak to the Registrar. The person who spoke turned out to be one of the Syndicate members who was also the Convener of the conference. He apparently saw this simply as a law and order problem and said, “We will decide what things can happen in this campus. We will not allow any protests here especially when the Hon’ble Chief Minister is coming” or words to that effect. He also heard our version of what happened and said that the complaint will be looked into. He was quick to point out that he cannot believe that a faculty member of CUSAT would “behave like that”. The approach of this person was full of arrogance and all of us were clear that he was simply incapable of understanding the situation and the nuances of the issue. It was apparent where the enquiry would reach. But all of us agreed to stop the protest and disperse. I had to leave immediately, anyway, since I had a programme at Palakkad the next morning.
[...]
The Convener of the conference behaved as though he was “the monarch of all he surveys”. His demeanor itself belied his arrogance and the value he had for the Free Software movement. Personally, I felt that I had intruded into a place where I was obviously not welcome. Of course, I would still go there if invited to speak on FS. But I would think several times before going for an FS conference organised by CUSAT, at least for some time to come. It is unfortunate that a conference on software freedom ended with the denial of freedom of speech.
This boded very badly for those who fail (or refuse) to see what’s wrong with digital slavery and, to make matter worse, gag those who do. █
“Value your freedom or you will lose it, teaches history. “Don’t bother us with politics,” respond those who don’t want to learn.”
–Richard Stallman
