Bonum Certa Men Certa

Where Do Gartner's and Fortify's Attacks on Free Software Come From?

“Analysts sell out - that’s their business model… But they are very concerned that they never look like they are selling out, so that makes them very prickly to work with.”

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]



WE RECENTLY showed Microsoft's attacks on NC, as demonstrated very clearly using internal communication. This was practically done by the Gartner Group at Microsoft's behest and with Microsoft's invocation.



There are many other such cases where Microsoft uses the Gartner Group against Microsoft's rivals (including GNU/Linux), typically using Microsoft funding. Gartner also negotiates its coverage of Microsoft products... with Microsoft. We gave plenty of examples like these before, but the following new example sure resembles the group's attack on NC, which is a paradigm shift (away from the 'desktop') that Microsoft simply cannot allow. Is the following man yet another 'attack dog' of Microsoft?

Analyst: SaaS and open source ‘won’t happen’ in 2009



Software as a service, the model by which software is hosted and delivered over the network, “will not happen” in 2009, according to Gartner research director, Andrew Rowsell-Jones.


Was this opinion bought? Did he truly believe what he said with a subconscious bias?

Another known 'attack dog' of Microsoft is Fortify, a Microsoft ally that's currently attacking messengers who promote Free software, including the conservative party in Great Britain.

Microsoft's past talking point was that Free software is more expensive, but having realised that the public no longer buys this FUD, the company and its partners proceeded to attacking using "security" as ammunition, not "cost". Here is some more analysis which contradicts the latest FUD:

First, Conservative shadow chancellor George Osborne no less put out another chapter in his tech emerging manifesto, extolling the wonder of open source and berating the Government for its inability to see the light. His job is to berate governments, which tend to be easy targets, and open source software makes a hard bat.

That, predictably, prompted one vendor with an axe to sharpen, Fortify Software, to remind the media, to remind the media of a report released last July by the company that found security patching fault in 11 Java packages. Disclaimer: Fortify sells software assurance products.

Inevitably, a number of sources have slated Fortify in turn, and one, Coverity, has even come up - hey presto! - with its own report showing that, on the contrary, open source programs had fewer flaws than closed source, not more.


It sure seems as though Fortify was lying or bending truths to promote itself and vilify its ally's nightmare. It's easy to make up supportive numbers while hiding the rest [1, 2, 3].

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

BetaNews Appears to Have Fired All Of Its Staff
Even serial sloppers
 
"Told You So": Another Very Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Now Confirmed in Mainstream Media
So we were right to believe the rumours, based on the credibility of prior such rumours
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 18, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Gemini Links 18/06/2025: Magit and Farming
Links for the day
Slopwatch: BetaNews is Now a Slopfarm (Like Linuxsecurity) and Google News is Overwhelmed by Slopfarms
The Web is bad
Links 18/06/2025: SCOTUS Decision on Fentanylware (TikTok) Still Ignored, 4.5-Day Work Weeks
Links for the day
Links 17/06/2025: Windows TCO and G7 Rifts
Links for the day
The Right to Know and the Freedom to Report on Crime (at the Higher Echelons)
I'd like to do the same thing for the next 20 years
After the Web Becomes Slopped to Death
A lot of people are rightly fed up with the "modern" Web
Gemini Protocol Turns 6 on Friday
Active (online) Gemini capsules are estimated by Lupa at over 3,000
Microsoft's Windows is a Niche Operating System in Africa
African nations aren't a large contributor to Microsoft's income, but if many African nations move away from Windows, then the monopoly is at risk
Like Most Social Control Media, Microsoft LinkedIn is Collapsing
One reason for Microsoft acquisitions is debt-loading, i.e. offloading and burying its debt
Microsoft is Losing Its Richest Clients
Unlike some very poor countries, Germany and the EU are a considerable source of income to Microsoft
Proprietary Means Not Secure
Proprietary software tends to rely on secrecy, not good design
Slop in 'AI' Clothing is a Passing Fad, We'll Get Past It (Like Blockchain Before That)
Many people cheat in exams using slop and there are professionals that try using slop as a "shortcut"
GNOME Does Not Campaign Against Microsoft, KDE Does
It's good to see that KDE is still active in promotion of Free software - a term that it uses
Slopwatch: BetaNews, Linuxsecurity, and Other Prolific Slopfarms
name and shame the sites that establish such proliferation of slop
Gemini Links 18/06/2025: Birch Lake and Loon Pond
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Links 17/06/2025: "The Grift Economy" and Kubernetes Does Proprietary
Links for the day
Microsoft's "FUD-as-a-Service" (Against Linux) Not Functioning Well
This is the kind of contribution companies like Microsoft and Google have to offer to society
Betanews Becoming a Slopfarm is "Betanews Growing Alongside You", According to Betanews
Their first 'article' in over two weeks is 52% "AI-generated" (slop), 33% mixed (edited slop), 18% human-written, says an advanced scanner.
Coffee Day and LLM Sloppers
The LLM slop "bros" are a lot like fake-money bros; they lie to people, they boast that they lie to people, and they're generally bad people, BS artists in colloquial terms
Double-Dipping the Docket for Microsoft Glory and Censorship of Microsoft Critics
same lawyer, same barrister, all US, all Microsoft
TheLayoff Censorship of IBM Threads Has Gone Truly Ludicrous
we do not argue that TheLayoff should not cull LLM slop
More Stallmanites Added to FSF Board and Summer Fundraiser Commences
There's some good news from the FSF
Gemini Links 17/06/2025: Consistency and Notes About NixOS
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 16, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 16, 2025