Well it was a difficult week for those of us here in the Linux blogosphere last week, what with all the din emanating from the Windows territories to the south. Drums, cymbals and fanfare of every sort effectively drowned out every conversation we tried to have here in these parts, as did all the frantic [...]

You, yes you, can now download a copy of Windows 8. This marks the first time that Microsoft has released a pre-beta version of one of their flagship programs to the general public. I wonder where they got that idea. Could it be from Linux? After all Linux distributions has been making early versions available [...]

Now that Microsoft wants to be Linux’s new best friend, there’s bound to be no end of sweet nothings and touching gestures emanating out of Redmond. After all, we’re pals now, right? Lo and behold! For all you skeptics who doubted the software behemoth’s amorous words, consider a few phrasing changes it recently made in [...]

A person previously chosen to head technology for the Obama administration was embracing Google, Drupal (GPL), GNU/Linux etc. But it was too good to last and as we noted last year, there was something mysterious about his departure, almost as though someone was trying to topple him (we wrote about him on many past occasions). [...]

A comprehensive study of web users has determined that the dumber you are, the more likely you are to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. After measuring the IQs of exactly 101,326 users and correlating their scores with the browser they had used to access the test, “There was a clear indication … that the subjects using [...]

Microsoft has always had an awkward relationship with Linux specifically and with free software in general. Maybe awkward isn’t exactly the right word. For many hackers and hobbyists, their first real exposure to Microsoft and its then-CEO Bill Gates came way back in 1976, when he accused others in the then-nascent market for personal computing [...]

Those of us who have been around the block a few times here in the Linux blogosphere have seen it many times before: With one hand, Microsoft holds out a small olive branch to the Linux community, while with the other it prepares a new patent attack, posts a “cautionary” FUD-filled video, or perpetrates some [...]

The Linux Foundation is celebrating 20 years of Linux and as a part of the celebration, they are accepting videos as part of a video contest. One of the video submission came form none other than Microsoft itself. The video is very interesting. It starts off with the animosity between Microsoft and Linux. Microsoft presented [...]

Tuxradar has asked another intriguing question this week: Is it time to start trusting Microsoft? This was spurred by the news that Microsoft has contributed a lot of code to Linux 3.0. They’ve been trying to get their hypervisor drivers into the kernel for quite a while, but faced various challenges of their own making. [...]

Microsoft has released four updates to close 22 security holes. Particularly noteworthy is update MS11-053 (KB2566220), which fixes a critical flaw in the Bluetooth stack on Windows 7 and Vista. Windows XP and the server systems are not affected. Sending a series of specially crafted Bluetooth packets to a vulnerable target system allows arbitrary code [...]

Not long ago, penguinistas were bemoaning the fact that the purchase of a new computer almost always came with a built-in “Microsoft tax,” since all major OEMs wouldn’t sell a computer without Windows pre-installed. Now that things have changed and it’s relatively easy to purchase a new PC or laptop either with no operating system [...]

Say what you will about Microsoft and its products, but you have to admit the company has a particular skill at making money. Take Android, for example. Instead of using the wildly successful mobile platform as an example and a model for its own lackluster efforts in that arena, Redmond has apparently opted instead to [...]

“One of Microsoft’s hottest new profit centers is a smartphone platform you’ve definitely heard of: Android. Google’s Linux-based mobile operating system is a favorite target for Microsoft’s patent attorneys, who are suing numerous Android vendors and just today announced that another manufacturer has agreed to write checks to Microsoft every time it ships an Android [...]

Summary: A ramble about the changing nature of Microsoft FUD, especially against GNU/Linux At Microsoft, the days of ignoring and laughing are over. The company is now attacking its rivals with software patents, having mostly neglected attacks on rivals — notably Linux — based on verbal attacks (legal threats) and ridicule of technical nature. Microsoft’s [...]

Microsoft scored a victory Monday when defense contractor General Dynamics’ Itronix division agreed to pay it licensing fees for using the Android operating system. Itronix makes rugged mobile computers for military, law enforcement, first responder and field service use. Microsoft’s assertions of patent rights over Android and subsequent demands for licensing fees are controversial. Some [...]

“After nearly a decade, Microsoft’s reign as a monopoly is over.” … “The latest real-world data on web usage confirms that Microsoft’s once-dominant position in the world of personal computing is crumbling.” That’s not me, the Linux guy speaking. No, that’s Ed Bott, who’s as much a Windows fan as I am a Linux fan. [...]