xcalibre wrote:
> Well Microsoft is at it again now they are working PAT deals with Xandros, and Lindows... Talk about some serious blows coming down the line...
>
>
> This is obvious that some sabotage has been on the agenda and Microsoft is stirring things... They Kill off Corel Linux, Corel Word Perfect for Linux, Corel Draw and Graphics for Linux after singing a pact with them and giving them money... They give money to Caldera/SCO who was part of the United Linux Project to quickly strike a blow to everything involved that was shared...
>
Corel Linux became Xandros. WordPerfect for Linux was killed at least as
much by improvements in StarOffice and its becoming free/free
OpenOffice.org as by any other factor. And SCO... to me that has been
more a source of amusement and evidence of silly corporate
last-gaspness than anything else. To quote IBM's PR chief when we first
heard about the SCO lawsuit: "Hah, hah, hah." And, she specifically
added, "You may quote me as saying that!"
> Now how long before Microsoft tries to comeback at APPLE saying oh yeah you need to license these things from us... If anyone knows the License games it is Microsoft and rest assure they are going to find a way to go after competition in more then one way...
>
Mmm.... don't be too sure on this one. Microsoft has a growing chance of
not only losing patent lawsuits, but of having many of its patents
invalidated. Eben Moglen, Dan Ravicher, and other lawyers at the
Software Freedom Law Center have told me this is why Microsoft refuses
to say exactly which patents the Linux kernel and various programs
associated with GNU/Linux supposedly infringe. They are rightfully
scared of Having Eben, Dan, and a bunch of other smart, idealistic
lawyers questioning their patents. Not to mention that we'll have a new
president in 2009, who is likely to be less corrupt than the current one
-- which means the Justice Department may start scrutinizing Microsoft's
business practices again.
> Also one last food for thought Microsoft hiring people from the Linux community... They are placing their ads on Linux Sites again why would some one say oh yeah we are Linux Supporters and yet Having Ads slamming Cost, Security, and Reliability???
>
Legitimate information and news sources -- print or online -- have total
separation between their editorial and ad departments. Within OSTG (now
SourceForge Inc.) I am the *only* editorial person who has extended
contact with sales and marketing, and all I do is brief them on the
audience we work to attract and what general kinds of stories we plan to
run, i.e. Linux.com "Special Reports" on topics such as security,
desktop publishing, etc. Our ad people are not allowed to tell us what
stories to run or not to run or how to write them. Period.
This may not be so elsewhere; a couple of months ago an ad agency
accidentally sent me an email containing a previous email conversation
with another publisher that runs a lot of Linux stuff, and that
conversation included discussion of exactly how many favorable stories
would be run about their client's products in return for a substantial
ad contract. (The client was not Microsoft, BTW.)
Of course, the flip side of editorial independence is ad department
independence. I don't know and don't ask who's buying ads on Linux.com
or other SourceForge sites.
And don't forget the irony factor: By advertising on Linux-oriented
sites, Microsoft is essentially sponsoring Linux advocacy. I find that
more than a little amusing, myself. :)
> Why don't we see Linux ads doing the same on Microsoft's site??? Why don't we see Microsoft's Magazines with Linux Ads???
You don't see Microsoft ads on sites or in magazines published directly
by Canonical, Red Hat or other Linux vendors. And you don't see Linux
ads on Microsoft's own site or in its own magazine(s) because they are
owned and controlled entirely by Microsoft.
BTW, Linux.com (which will soon include NewsForge; we're FINALLY merging
them), has slacked up on Microsoft-bashing not because of Microsoft ads,
but because we cover Linux and FOSS, not Microsoft. We feel, at this
point, that teaching people *how* to best use GNU/Linux and other FOSS
both in business and at home and giving them news about FOSS projects
and companies (both positive and negative) is more effective advocacy
than constantly saying, "Waah! Mommy, make Big Bad Microsoft stop
bullying me!"
GNU/Linux and FOSS in general are at the point where they are accepted
parts of the IT universe. Linux is now a respected, reliable, and
respectable operating system, not a cult or a political cause. As far as
I am concerned, the "religious war" with Microsoft is over, and we have
won.
Now our main task is to improve Open Source in general, especially on
the documentation front (which is where I am concentrating my personal
efforts), and to encourage the continued spread of Open Source efforts
into product niches currently dominated by proprietary software.
Complaining about Microsoft will not improve GNU/Linux or FOSS.
Continued advocacy and working to improve current FOSS projects and
create new ones is the key to an Open Source future.
Example: how about a book publishing imprint dedicated entirely to
producing Open Source documentation for projects considered too "niche"
for major publishers? It will be showing off its first three titles at
OSCON next month, with a splashier launch at LunixWeird in August. It's
called SourceForge Community Press, and I've spent nearly three years
putting it together -- time that I otherwise *could* have spent writing
"Microsoft is evil" editorials.
Now it's almost 6:30 a.m. and I have a long day of behind-the-scenes
Linux/FOSS work ahead of me, so I'll cut this off, pour another cup of
coffee, and start going through my nearly endless "to do" list.
Robin 'Roblimo' Miller
Editor in Chief
SourceForge Inc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked
Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages
posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Fri Aug 01 2014 - 17:18:30 EDT