06.19.09
Posted in FOSS, FUD, GNU/Linux, GPL, Marketing, Microsoft, Virtualization, Xen at 6:31 am by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Microsoft-tied entities brushing shoulders amongst people in the Free(dom) software world
“Microsoft” is not a company, it is an ecosystem. It is a network of connected businesses that share the same goals and thus help one another. The role of Citrix is clear to see based on the XenSource story. The short story is that Citrix took Xen away from GNU/Linux, which is gradually gravitating towards KVM, probably as a direct result. Unsurprisingly, one of the only remaining supporters of Xen in the enterprise-oriented space is Novell, which is part of Microsoft's linked interests.
As we pointed out several days ago, an investment from Citrix in Vyatta may be cause for concern [1, 2]. On the surface, it sure seems rather innocent and virtualisation guru Dan Kusnetzky opines that this may be a strategic move against Cisco (Cisco and Microsoft don't get along so well anymore).
Dell, HP, IBM are you watching? I believe you would gain some important ground in your emerging competition with Cisco by also becoming buddies with Vyatta.
Dana Blankenhorn believes that “It’s a delicate dance, especially at times like this when growth capital is so scarce. Time will tell whether Vyatta tilts toward, say, Xen in helping craft customer solutions. Or whether it starts pushing Novell’s Suse Linux over, say, Red Hat.”
Considering the fact that Microsoft promotes SUSE and vilifies Red Hat, how likely is it that some gentle pressure might come from Citrix so that Vyatta leans towards Microsoft’s patent ploy? This hopefully will never happen.
Moving on a little, last month we noted that Black Duck (created by a Microsoft employee, who is still on the Board of Directors along with Roger Heinen from Microsoft) had invited Microsoft to FOSS ‘on our behalf’ [1, 2]. It is almost as though they act as a gateway. Gavin Clarke, a Microsoft spinner/PR person for the most part, passes on Black Duck’s latest praise of Microsoft:
A home-cooked Microsoft license has carved out a small but growing following among the open-source community in less than two years.
[...]
That’s according to license and code watcher Black Duck Software, who attributed the rise in MS-PL to Microsoft’s efforts to increase the appeal of its CodePlex project-hosting site. MS-PL is one of 1,577 software licenses from 200,000 projects analyzed by Black Duck.
It is important to be reminded that these are licences whose goal is to attack Free software and give Microsoft greater control over a much more confused and diluted 'community' (of Windows developers who give their code away for free).
“It is very dangerous to allow Black Duck to become (or be perceived as) a sort of spokesman for “open source”.”It is also important to remember that Black Duck is a proprietary software company (and marketing puppet at times, for press exposure that leads to shameless self-promotion). Black Duck talks a lot about “open source ” while selling proprietary software and nothing which is Free (libre) software at all, not to mention Black Duck’s ripoff of Palamida’s good *GPLv3 database (but that’s old news).
It is disappointing to see Matt Asay parroting a message of this company which ushers Microsoft into embrace & extend of “open source”. There is more in SD Times, following another Black Duck press release about open source in healthcare last week.
It is very dangerous to allow Black Duck to become (or be perceived as) a sort of spokesman for “open source”. But some people allow this to happen, not just Microsoft proponents with prominent positions in the press. █
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06.10.09
Posted in Finance, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Windows, Xen at 3:04 am by Roy Schestowitz
Hopefully not.
Summary: Shades of Xen/Ignition Partners/Citrix maneouver in Vyatta’s round of funding
AS a quick recap, Microsoft employees in Ignition Partners had put money in XenSource and put it on route to acquisition by Microsoft’s other half, Citrix. As a result, Xen’s future on GNU/Linux became uncertain, Red Hat bought KVM, and Xen was used mostly to promote Windows and Microsoft, so the Linux Foundation abandoned it.
Having identified such patterns before, it’s not so encouraging to hear that Vyatta is now borrowing money (in a sense) from Citrix.
Open Source Networker Vyatta Raises $11 Million, Led By Citrix
Today, the company has announced that it has raised $10 million in Series C funding, led by Citrix.
Why would Citrix, a company that is all about Windows, be interested in routers running GNU/Linux? This gives Microsoft — through Citrix — a lot of leverage power.
For some background, appended below are some of the more recent stories about Vyatta and what it’s all about. █
_____
[1] Vyatta Open Source Routing and Security Software
It has been a very long time since I had the chance to speak with someone from Vyatta about their open source routing and network virtualization technology. After rummaging through my files, it seems that the last time I spoke with them was in June 2007 (see Vyatta - changing the world of routers, firewalls and VPNs.) They’ve been on my mind ever since and I’ve often spoken about their approach and their technology to Kusnetzky Group LLC clients.
[2] Vyatta - a fortnight in review
Well this is really simple, its managment interface (not the WebGUI) its awesome, some of our guys are cisco nuts, vyatta manages to deal with those guys - I have yet to dig into it too much but vyatta seem to have replaced bash with their own shell. The upshot of this ? you can type “configure” and it takes you into config mode like a cisco, it then will autocomplete router style commands like “run show bpg summary” its very clever - to really understand what i mean here try it.
[3] Vyatta Aims Higher
Belmont, Calif.-based open source router maker Vyatta has issued a flurry of press releases since the start of the year. The most significant news was the most recent: the release of its Community Edition 4.
[4] Vyatta: A high-end Linux-based firewall and router
Let’s play a Linux word association game. Red Hat is to Microsoft as Vyatta is to Cisco.
[5] Free x86 Linux router distro rev’d
Vyatta Community Edition 2.2 (”Camarillo”) features security and flexibility enhancements to the BGP (border gateway protocol) stack, and usability enhancements related to NAT (network address translation) and DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol).
[6] Enterprise router runs open Linux OS
Vyatta has spun a branded hardware “appliance” version of its dual-licensed Linux and open source software-based router and firewall stack. The first in a “Series 2500″ line of “Open Networking Appliances,” the Vyatta 2501 targets data centers requiring up to 10Gbps of throughput.
[7] Vyatta Enterprise Router Runs Linux
Vyatta has bundled its dual-licensed Linux and open source software-based router and firewall software into a branded hardware “appliance” version for the enterprise market.
[8] Vyatta gives Nortel the half-Nelson
Nortel became dependent on phone companies, outfits like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon. After DWDM brought the benefits of Moore’s Law to fiber, these companies stopped buying. And they’re still not buying.
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05.27.09
Posted in GNU/Linux, Google, Microsoft, Search, Xen at 9:13 am by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: New rumours about Citrix and Yahoo!
BACK in September it was argued that Microsoft would buy Citrix, which had already been assisting Microsoft in its battle against GNU/Linux [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. According to Mary-Jo Foley, old speculations are back but she opines that a Yahoo! deal is more likely:
Microsoft quietly registered a limited liability company (LLC) last week, which points to the company being poised to make an acquisition or joint venture.
While some are speculating the new company could have something to do with Microsoft buying Citrix, I think all the signs, not to mention the timing, are pointing to a Microsoft-Yahoo hook-up. After all, this week is the “All Things D” D7 confab, where Microsoft is slated to show off to attendees its newest search release. And both Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz are on the guest list….
Whatever Microsoft does with its search engine, it is a lost battle from the get-go and also sheer hypocrisy because Microsoft blocked a deal between Google and Yahoo! █
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05.18.09
Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, OLPC, Virtualization, Windows, Xen at 6:09 pm by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Senior Microsoft employees who come to other companies are named
ACCORDING to the following report, Bruce Jaffe, who quit Microsoft not so long ago, brings Microsoft roots to the veins of this startup.
Take a moment to learn about Bruce Jaffe's role in the hijack of OLPC.
A new company called Digiting has done just that. The Seattle-based startup claims from Microsoft acquisitions chief Bruce Jaffe and former Twitter vice president Lee Mighdoll among its new employees.
Microsoft influence can now be found in Bruckheimer as well. From the news:
Jim Veevaert, formerly an executive producer at Microsoft, and Jay Cohen, previously senior vice president of publishing at Ubisoft, will lead Bruckheimer Games as president of production and president of development, respectively.
Most important, however, is the following appointment, which puts a former Microsoft executive in a chairman’s position. That company is DoMedia.
Little more than two months after bringing on a new CEO, online advertising database DoMedia has a new face in the chairman’s seat.
Here is the the corresponding press release.
In order to understand what impact former Microsoft employees can have, taking a look at Ignition and Xen might help. Citrix grabbed XenSource and thus essentially took it from GNU/Linux. Now it’s mostly about Microsoft, Windows, and Hyper-V. Here is a new press release which shows this and also an article. It was a good lesson in Microsoft’s ability to grab competitive threats using its ecosystem that absorbs the threat.
Speaking of ecosystem, here is something to watch out for: Intel, Microsoft, Dell band together for WiGig
Computer and home entertainment industry leaders, including Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc. and Panasonic Corp., said Wednesday that they’re forming a new association to create an even faster wireless technology for zipping large files around the home.
What about Linux? No word about it. This is a triangle (and sometimes collusion) that we wrote about before [1, 2]. Intel pays Dell billions of dollars in kickbacks to avoid them stocking AMD, Dell and Microsoft share a bed, Intel and Microsoft conspire against consumers and so on and so forth. █
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05.08.09
Posted in FOSS, FUD, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Virtualization, Xen at 3:39 am by Roy Schestowitz
“Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.”
–Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO
Summary: Citrix-controlled Xen keeps bending towards Microsoft, which misuses “open source”
THAT Microsoft manipulates the virtualisation market is something that we last summarised a couple of months ago and now there is more supportive evidence.
Citrix dazzles market — and Microsoft — with new Xen products
[...]
But the lack of Linux desktop support is disappointing from the pen source virtualization vendor.
This is part of the trend we’ve been seeing ever since Citrix, one of the closest allies of Microsoft, bought (and overpaid for) XenSource. It was partly about causing harm to GNU/Linux.
Microsoft dips its fingers in many wells which are “open source”, but in the case of Xen there was the GPL, so Microsoft could not acquire it directly (antitrust was another important issue). And speaking of which, Microsoft’s sponsorship of SourceForge.net 2008 Community Choice Awards turned it rather hostile towards open source [1, 2, 3], but there are no anti-FOSS prizes from this year’s contest, unlike last year’s. Microsoft does, however, still misuse the word “open” and thus dilutes it:
It’s Open, Gov, Honest
Interesting to see Microsoft jumping on the openness bandwagon again - specifically, on the open government bandwagon…..
If only more people knew what Microsoft means by “open”. █
“More Open Than Open [...] I am constantly amazed at the flexibility of this single word.”
–Microsoft’s Jason Matusow, integral part of the ‘Open’ XML corruptions (further background in [1, 2, 3])
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04.19.09
Posted in GNU/Linux, HP, Microsoft, Virtualization, Windows, Xen, vmware at 6:06 am by Roy Schestowitz
Company CEO: running a company or taking orders from another?
Summary: Companies promote Microsoft’s agenda after accepting Microsoft executives as CEOs
IT IS hardly deniable that Microsoft has — to an extent — hijacked the agenda at VMware. It put no less than three of its employees at the very top of the company. VMware was very hostile towards Microsoft prior to that; in fact, it was going to take it all the way up to the top with antitrust complaints. In 2007 Microsoft used a similar strategy against XenSource, which probably began with the Redmond relocation, a special deal, an the involvement of former Microsoft employees (Ignition Partners). The Linux Foundation is already willing to take Xen to the cleaners.
A longer-term ally of Microsoft is H-P. To give just a couple of examples (although there are many more), H-P lobbied for Microsoft OOXML and it also promotes Silverlight through a toolbar.
Putting two and two together, who would have guessed that a Microsoft-dominated VMware management may join forces with H-P to advance Microsoft? Watch this news report. It’s all about Windows, probably competing against GNU/Linux-based thin clients.
HP is adding three new thin-client devices to its family of systems that will support Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard. HP also is incorporating software enhancements to improve the overall user experience in VMware View environments, and is working with VMware to enable improved performance for remote desktop sessions. In adddition, HP is offering its Client Automation management software as an option with the new thin clients.
Hewlett-Packard is expanding its thin-client offerings with new devices, greater collaboration with VMware and enhanced manageability.
Here is a way to put it more clearly, in the words of Dana Gardner: “HP teams with Microsoft, VMware to expand appeal of desktop virtualization solutions”
“It sure seems like another new alliance which is hostile towards GNU/Linux.”Wow. It sure seems like another new alliance which is hostile towards GNU/Linux. Is anybody surprised?
The new article which is titled “Virtualization: VMware vs. Microsoft vs. Xen, 2009″ neglects to point out that all three options are now pretty much controlled by Microsoft (through its allies, partners, and/or former employees).
There’s more in this week’s news however. Remember Juniper Networks, which had a Microsoft executive put in charge of it? The following was published some days ago by Associated Press and it is serving as a reminder that Microsoft’s Kevin Johnson is now the CEO of Juniper.
Juniper Networks Inc. Chief Executive Kevin Johnson received a compensation package for 2008 valued at $36.1 million, according to an Associated Press analysis of figures released in a filing last week.
Look what they are doing right now at Juniper, becoming defenders of Windows.
It is important to realise the dangers of Microsoft employees landing in other companies. A European government delegate compared this company's methods to "Scientology cult". █
“He [Bill Gates] is divisive. He is manipulative. He is a user. He has taken much from me and the industry.”
–Gary Kildall
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04.18.09
Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Red Hat, Virtualization, Xen at 5:24 am by Roy Schestowitz
What Microsoft wants Microsoft buys
Summary: It’s time to standardise on KVM, decides the Linux Foundation
For those who are new to this discussion, here is necessary background on Ignition Partners, XenSource, Citrix, and Microsoft. It’s reassuring to see that not only Canonical and Red Hat (in that order) realised what was going on. The Linux Foundation too is now urging in favour of a move towards KVM and a Windows site complains about it, which indicates that the Linux Foundation is doing the right thing (what Microsoft hates is typically good for GNU/Linux).
At the Linux Foundation’s Collaboration Summit in San Francisco last week, executive director Jim Zemlin encouraged vendors and developers to standardize their virtualization activities around KVM—not Xen. This whole Xen vs. KVM debate is getting annoying, but first off, this “news” isn’t news: there shouldn’t be any shockwaves from this late-in-coming statement.
KVM has already been acquired by Red Hat, so it cannot be hijacked by Microsoft via one of its allies/de facto subsidiaries. █
“Pamela Jones [...] has told Infoworld that Microsoft will be the next SCO Group”
–Heise
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04.14.09
Posted in Microsoft, Novell, Virtualization, Xen at 1:37 pm by Roy Schestowitz
Musical chairs at Movell and Nicrosoft
Summary: Two more members of the board of directors have prior relationships with Microsoft
THE direction of any company is determined by the people who run it. As such, we keep track of evidence that’s inter-personal and use it to explain particular decisions sometimes. We have a pretty decent track record of getting things right. One example would be XenSource, which was scooped up by a very close ally of Microsoft. Jeff Vance is unable to make sense of this deal, so Jose X fills him in by saying: “Microsoft, whose bestest partner is Citrix, probably can put a figure on Xen’s value. Lots of strategy going on with that partnership I have little doubt.”
But today’s development is not about XenSource (or Xen), which changed a lot after Microsoft veterans had approached it with money. It’s actually about Novell, which is in many ways similar to Xen. Quite a few former Microsoft employees have already joined the ranks of Novell’s management and now we find this press release about changes in the Board of Directors.
Novell today announced the appointments of Gary G. Greenfield and Judith H. Hamilton to its Board of Directors.
Mr. Greenfield has held multiple executive level positions at leading technology organizations and currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Avid Technology, Inc. Prior to joining Avid, he served as CEO of GXS, Inc. and during the same period, also served as an Operating Partner with Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm. Previously, Mr. Greenfield served as CEO of Peregrine Systems and President and CEO of Merant PLC. Mr. Greenfield is also a Director of Vocus, Inc.
There is also this subsequent report which an informant mailed to us.
Novell Inc .. on Friday (10 April) announced the appointments of Gary G Greenfield and Judith H Hamilton as directors to the company’s board.
Greenfield currently serves as chairman and CEO of Avid Technology Inc. Prior to that he was CEO of GXS Inc and during the same period, also served as an operating partner with Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm. Before that he served as CEO of Peregrine Systems and President and CEO of Merant PLC.
Our informant shows that Microsoft and GXS have an actual alliance, and Avid Technology too is a ‘buddy’ of Microsoft.
Looking back at the second among those two appointments, we have:
Hamilton currently serves on the board of directors of R.R Donnelley & Sons as well as the Wildlife Conservation Society. She has previously served as a director of Artistic Media Partners Inc, Markettools Inc and the National Parks Foundation. Prior to her retirement, she was president and CEO of Classroom Connect Inc as well as FirstFloor Software.
R.R Donnelley collaborates with Microsoft and this lady was a director of a company that Microsoft commissioned.
About this Study Microsoft has commissioned MarketTools, Inc, a marketing research firm, to build and maintain the panel on Microsoft’s behalf. For more information about MarketTools’ relationship with Microsoft, please contact us at: itpanel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
It seems fairly important to emphasise that Novell does not fear Microsoft influence inside its board. After all, Novell and Microsoft openly rave about their many partnerships. They hardly compete. █
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