● 09.09.09

●● Proprietary Infiltrations

Posted in Free/Libre Software, Google, Microsoft at 5:29 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: How Microsoft and Adobe change the agenda at public events and competitors

LAST WEEK’S story from Argentina is claimed to have been exaggerated, but the role of Microsoft's infiltration into universities is still being blamed for the cancellation of Richard Stallman’s talk. From the automated translation of an open letter:

I just learned that the UTN canceled a talk by Mr Richard Matthew Stallman to run in his University. Such talk, the source said, was canceled by the NTU has contracts with Microsoft that prevent them from making criticisms about this company.

Microsoft has also derailed Free software at Yahoo! by gradually infiltrating the company [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] and the company’s ‘puppet CEO’, who used to work with Microsoft as Autodesk’s all-proprietary CEO, does not seem to even care about Yahoo!

From the latest news:

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz Sells $2 Million YHOO SharesInvestors unhappy as Yahoo boss Bartz earns $2m from share sales from the Guardian reports that Yahoo’s CEO sold $2 million worth of shares since March of this year. Clearly, Yahoo investors are not happy that the CEO would make such a significant sale when the company continues to struggle to find its place.

So, here we have two situations where Microsoft was able to influence universities and also companies that were direct competitors, even close to a deal with Google [1, 2] (Microsoft derailed that too).

It’s not just about Microsoft by the way. Adobe’s own efforts to get students addicted to non-Free software are being reported in India:

First of all, I would like to thanks the whole community for a successful osscamp.[...]*3. Freeware :* This was the most shameless activity done by abode persons in the camp. Their talk were mostly concentrated on the *promotion of Adobe product* , The person (I think Romil Mittal) came from adobe system for introducing Flex was trying to misguide the public. He has *DISTRIBUTED*some Abode product to student which is a “Frerware” — student licence…

“Yes,” says Arun, “They don’t know the diff b/w “freeware” and “Free software”.” Adobe takes advantage of this confusion and enters public events where it hardly belongs. █

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