Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

ICROSOFT embracing aggressive and illegal practices?!?! You don’t say…! As unshocking as it may sound, Microsoft continue to use anti-competitive means to prevent a quicker penetration of GNU/Linux, or Open Source software in general.

One of their methods is to deter OEM‘s from supplying Linux, as recently confirmed in a Novell testimony. So what is involved exactly? The Redmond software maker is apparently allowed to penalise shops for offering a Windows alternative, for merely having it in stock. Put positively (negativity in disguise), Microsoft can always offer ‘benefits’ (a bonus) for supplying an all-Windows range. This can put free software in a position of disadvantage. This rebatement has virtually the same effect as a penalty, a fine. It illustrates the litigious subtleties which Microsoft rides on. When Compaq placed the Netscape icon for Web browsing on the Desktop, Microsoft threatened to break the contract, even though Explorer was right there among the menus (as it “cannot be uninstalled”, of course, as dangerous as it may be).

This leads to another discussion on the issue of bad practices. Back when Microsoft faced court to defend itself against Netscape, it argued that Internet Explorer could not be removed from the operating system. “It was too deeply rooted in the core”, they argued. As it finally turns out, owing to the many security issues, Microsoft have just decided to separate Internet Explorer from Windows Explorer, making it separate from the core. In other words, they lied in court and got away with it.

Lastly, let us consider the endless delays in release of Windows Vista. First, the release date was estimated at 2003, then 2005, then 2006 and now it is said to be February 2007. Similar tactics have been used in the (rather distant) past by IBM, as means to prevent the customer from defecting to competitors. Saying that you are “just there” when clearly you are not, is not just deceitful; it’s irresponsible, selfish and disrespectful.

On some older dirty tactics: Operating System Monoculture, Bill Gates crucified by a lawyer in 1998 (video)

The new Dell XPS 600

UMOURS have revolved for over a week, according to which Dell wish to buy Alienware. This is finally confirmed to be true. High-end AMD-based computer would extend the level of choice, which is something that becomes more prevalent with Dell. They are slowly departing from Wintel as the exclusive offer. Clearly enough, they are beginning to sell Linux as well.

Dell has agreed to purchase gaming PC maker Alienware, in a rare acquisition designed to improve Alienware’s supply chain and boost Dell’s standing among PC enthusiasts.

Season of the playful penguins from Oyonale

N my own eyes at least, this story is pretty remarkable as it marks a certain milsetone. Sony, being a large and proprietary-oriented brand, has opted for Open Source solutions. The news has so far it has been covered in techworld.com and computerpartner.nl. To quote:

Sony Online Entertainment is to replace some Oracle databases with software from EnterpriseDB in a vote of confidence for the open-source company. Sony is the company’s biggest customer win to date.

Oracle’s acquisition of Open Source companies was not enough to prevent the inevitable. They even tried to buy and thus eliminate MySQL, unsuccessfully so.

Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

HILE one of the biggest direct threats to Microsoft is Linux (among Linux laptops in poor countries, Google on Linux), IBM are yet the biggest threat. IBM continue to urge businesses to find cheaper solutions and make use of Linux. IBM’s revenue from Linux is expected to triple within the coming year, too.

Microsoft’s latest response is an initiative to challenge IBM on their own turf, according to last night’s news. In other words, making software recommendations to customers is a task the could be delegated to a vendor. This is worrisome, to say the least.

EDUCTION in the number of PC sales is expected for the year to come. As well as an economical study on the matter, one can find the the corresponding evidence in the media.

What does that all mean in terms of people’s software upgrade cycle, as opposed to the hardware cycle? Since the crushing majority of all computers are being sold with Windows pre-installed, this should be good news. Rather than hopping onto a new hardware beast, people could choose operating systems which are less resource-greedy. Ubuntu comes to mind as modest although KDE-based distributions like SuSE (even with some serious ‘eye candy’) should do.

Sales of PCs worldwide will grow at a slower pace in 2006 than in 2005, partly because the replacement cycle for desktop PCs has hit a peak, market researcher Gartner said last week.

[...]

Gartner also warned that worldwide PC shipment growth could fall below the current forecast of 10.7 percent if Microsoft doesn’t set a precise release date for its new Vista operating system and if end users shy away from adopting newly-introduced Intel technologies.

It has been claimed that only half of today’s computers can cope with Windows Vista. No new machines = No Vista, which is encouraging news for the Open Source community.

It is worth mentioning that several countries around the world, government divisions includes, have begun a migration to Linux. Open Source has been making the big headlines recently.

Season of the playful penguins from Oyonale

ERELY anyone who follows the news will have come across this by now. A an intersting rumour, if not an announcement, gree legs and began running wildly. It came from IBM in Germany. It suggested that IBM would be moving to Linux rather than upgrade to Windows Vista. This initiated a storm in a teacup, but finally, IBM make a formal denial. Many questions still hang in the air.

Andreas Pleschek, IBM’s head of open source and Linux technical sales in Northern Europe, was widely misquoted this week as saying that IBM had cancelled its Windows contract with Microsoft as of October.

Will such folks ever lie to you???

IVERSION from the truth has been one of Microsoft’s greatest strengths and marketing techniques for decades. Here are the most recent examples, accumulated over the past couple of days alone:

• Microsoft “re-launch” or “unveil” a shiny, brand-new search engine, to reside on a new domain. This hype-driven drivel (e.g. “MSN is twice as good as Google”) sounds better than “we have improved our rusty search engine slightly”, right? Microsoft pulled the same trick a few years back, arguing that MSN had been re-invented to incorporate major innovation (all in vain of course). Such overstated facts are intended to attract curious Web surfer, nothing more. It is an enticement, which is sometimes backed by financial rewards too.
• Arguably, the following was alluded to by Windows advocates: Do not attempt to take Linux Live CD’s for a spin as they can destroy your computer. Such calls for ejection were deterring Windows users from seeing something else and carry on with an installation and progressive platform migration. Fortunately, some ‘penguins’ (not ones with a beak and a tuxedo) have taken matters into their own hands.
• OpenOffice 2 is 10 years behind, according to Mr. Yates of Microsoft. Lo and behold: another FUD campaign which indicates that Microsoft’s revenue suffers. Similar dirty tactics were embraced as means of halting the momentum of Linux servers sales. Merely everyone knows the false and controversial campaign that followed. A Google search for ‘linux’ still puts microsoft.com at the top, owing to a sponsored link paid for by the Dark Forces. Such conflicting search results have led to lawsuits in the recent past. I still await Google’s rectification of such shameful fiascos. Lastly, let us remember paid forum members that advocated Windows.

Microsoft can try hard to conceal their past lies, but a few journalists, observers and professionals will never forget.