][ stefano maffulli

Get this: Microsoft execs are desperately trying to reach kids and hipsters (pretending Windows is a cool brand) that they allow anybody to broadcast their tweets in the store window at legendary Saks on Fifth Avenue New York.
So here is your chance: tweet about software freedom, GNU, and Windows7sins using the #holidaywindows hashtag. And have [...]

Tags: freedom, fun, microsoft, twitter

My good friend Carlo Piana, the lawyer that helped Samba and FSFE in the antitrust trial Microsoft against the European Commission, says today:
priority #1 is to keep a close eye on the only overdominant company in the IT market
But given the outcome of the trial, with Microsoft getting a ‘get out of jail free’ card, [...]

Tags: antitrust, competition, ec, eu, microsoft

We’ll have to judge the new foundation by its actions, but as a start there are no promising signs that this will contribute in any way to the free software movement. Instead, the foundation seems designed to increase the amount of software that, although distributed with licenses that respect formally the four freedoms (call it [...]

Tags: free software, freedom, fsf, microsoft, rms

We don’t hate Microsoft, and we don’t consider it the Great Satan. But we do recognize it as the company that has separated more users from their freedom than any other, and a powerful avowed enemy of computer users’ freedom. We act accordingly.
via Is Microsoft the Great Satan? – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation [...]

Tags: fsf, microsoft, rms

Reading of the latest cyber attacks against South Korea and USA digital systems, I remembered a rather old post from Gen Kanai @Mozilla, the cost of a monoculture. It’s about monopoly, government decisions and security in the cloud.
[South Korea] is also a unique monoculture where 99.9% of all the computer users are on Microsoft Windows.
The [...]

Tags: cloud, korea, microsoft, mobile cloud, monopoly, open standards, standards, virus

Finally Google revealed its plans to enter the operating system market. The first thing that comes to mind are chairs flying in Microsoft offices The other thing comes from this statement:
“All Web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite Web technologies,” the company said.
It means cloud computing, [...]

Tags: autonomo.us, chrome, freedom, google, microsoft, mobile cloud, open, open standards

I’ve been waiting for many years for a cheap all-in-one desktop computer, something like an iMac that would look good in a home office without carrying the Apple-tax of an operating system I don’t like and the premium price of the Mac cult.
That’s why I’m speechless looking at the Asus Eee Top: touchscreen and only [...]

Tags: acer, asus, computer, disruption, eee, hp, microsoft, netbook, software

Google’s power is making more people concerned that their motto ‘do no evil’ is not reassuring enough. Fabrizio Capobianco’s blog post summarizes the concerns of the Winston Smith Project. Google is scary because it controls the access point to the internet for 90% of users and because it’s expanding its reach to the mobile network. [...]

Tags: apple, funambol, google, microsoft, Nokia, ovi, privacy, strategy, sync

I still have Obama’s inauguration’s speech in my mind, so full of passion and hope. It’s such a powerful word, hope.’  What most impressed me was his call to politicians to stop bickering and get to work to reform politics.’  This morning I read a post of Mitch Kapor, about the interconnection between politics and [...]

Tags: flash, fsf, html5, internet, kapor, microsoft, moonlight, open standard, silverlight

Today is one of those days that starts with a sweet taste.’  The FSF has declared another victory for its BadVista campaign: Vista is a clear failure for Microsoft and for FSF it’s time to devote energy to something else. (btw: did you donate to FSF?)
Upcoming Windows 7 won’t be any better because it’s on [...]

Tags: badvista, campaign, community, gnu, linux, microsoft, mobile, palm, vista