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Hilf Claims Free Software Movement Dead
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Mon May 14, 2007 06:08 PM
from the faster-than-a-speeding-fud dept.
from the faster-than-a-speeding-fud dept.
moe1975 writes to mention that Bill Hilf has taken a rather aggressive stance with regard to the status of the Free Software movement. With claims like; "The Free Software movement is dead. Linux doesn't exist in 2007. Even Linus has got a job today" it would certainly seem that the next offensive is going to be sponsored by denial. "For the desktop, Hilf sees a new frontier in terms of rich client programming. With more and more services by Amazon, Google, Yahoo and, of course, Microsoft being run as services rather than as software installed locally, it will be up to the desktop to provide richer functionality."
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netbuzz writes "The director of Microsoft's Open Source Lab, Bill Hilf, has added a new duty — general manager of Windows server marketing — to his already established role of shepherding the company's efforts to have open source software peacefully coexist with Microsoft technologies. What the company calls a 'natural evolution' of Hilf's job description may not be considered quite so natural among segments of the open source community that eye every Microsoft move with suspicion if not hostility." Bill Hilf answered Slashdot's questions two years back and sounded quite friendly to OSS; yet at other times he has come off like a hardcore Microsoftie.
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Misread ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Misread ... (Score:5, Funny)
Hey, we can go ragging on Bill (be it Gates or Hilf), and the chair-throwing monkey-boy minion, but leave Melinda outa of it. At least until she gives us reason not to leave her out of it, of course.
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omg I should've kept reading (Score:5, Funny)
"That's the dirty little secret. When I talk to open source developers, at least half are talking about Windows, from SugarCRM, MySQL, PHP. Every single one,"
Every single one
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Japan migrates to Non-existant Software (Score:5, Insightful)
Denial (Score:5, Funny)
Move right along.
Yawn. More FUD (Score:5, Insightful)
Only one way to respond to this... (Score:5, Insightful)
OSS Movement announces... (Score:5, Funny)
-Rick
Parent
How did I know this guy works for Microsoft? (Score:5, Interesting)
Indeed (Score:5, Funny)
You might even say that the Free Software Movement is in its "Last Throes".
Microsoft hurting? (Score:5, Informative)
Someone missed a memo (Score:5, Insightful)
Incoherent FUD from Microsoft... (Score:5, Interesting)
So, apparently, "Free Software" only exists if the people making it are unemployed?
Does this even begin to make sense?
Oh, wait, its from the "head of Microsoft's Linux Labs". Microsoft sayibng "Free Software is dead and Linux doesn't exist" isn't news, though I guess the fact that they've changed how they are saying it might be.
Having failed with the "Free Software is unreliable stuff put out by hippie slackers ideologues that have no idea how to make software usable in the real world" line, Microsoft is apparently now trying out a new line of FUD which doesn't even superficially make sense. "Big companies are involved in open source and people are getting paid, so, whatever the licensing terms say, its somehow not really free"?
So what this Hilf weirdo is really saying is... (Score:5, Insightful)
* The Open Source Movement doesn't exist because it's been adopted by companies both large and small, which are all merrily making a profit from it.
* Because Open Source is mostly commercial and very successful, making lots of money for the large and small companies that are involved in it, the only way to "grow the ecosystem" is to switch to the Microsoft products nobody wants to buy anymore.
* Linux is only popular because it's the foundation for the LAMP web-development stack, which has been trouncing
* Because Open Source Software runs on Windows too, all those Apache guys are probably running Windows.
* Standards are a communist plot started by those hippies at IBM because darnit, they just don't like Microsoft. It's not fair (hilf makes pouty face).
* WPF-E needs a better name so everybody will want to program in it. If WPF-E gets a cool name like Flash, everybody will use it immediately.
* Because Programming is Hard and that's Just Not Cool, Microsoft wants to make it like "turning a knob" so that developers don't have to work in high-paying jobs anymore, and can go find something new to do for minimum wage that'll probably be funner.
Did I miss anything? I swear reading his comments is like being hit with one Zen Koan after another, machine gun style. What is the sound of one hand clapping?
Phew. Too much, too much. I've gotta go do something fun for a while. Hmm...
Warhammer 40K! Death to the False Emperor! C'mere, you Eldar hussy, you...
What did Ghadi say? (Score:5, Insightful)
We have now moved from the ignore phase to the ridicule phase. Fasten your seatbelts kids, its going to get bumpy.
Re:Anonymous Coward Claims Hilf is Braindead (Score:5, Funny)
You could try reading the article. He's the head of Microsoft's Linux division. Which is a bit like saying that Sun's Windows division just declared Microsoft Windows irrelevant. Who cares?
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Re:Anonymous Coward Claims Hilf is Braindead (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Huh? (Score:5, Informative)
They purposefully left the last sentence out of the summary to drive hits. This guy's just another paid microsoft shill. Nothing to see here, move along.
Parent
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
He talks about being hired [microsoft.com] by Microsoft as an expert in Linux-based systems. Near as I can tell, he is a glorified network administrator.
As for his comments, stating that the Free Software movement is dead because Linus has a job speaks volumes about his ignorance on the topic.
Parent
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Funny)
<on a highway>
radio: pls be aware of the one guy driving in the wrong way!
guy: one? All of them!
</on a highway>
Parent
Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Correction: free software development is funded (Score:5, Insightful)
That is what he's saying, but it's really hard to see how this could make sense to anyone. Bill Hilf quote from the article:
What does that even mean? Linux is well funded, and therefore doesn't exist?
Parent
Re:Oh man... (Score:5, Interesting)
Software as a Service will never become popular as long as the open source movement exists. This is why Microsoft is trying its hardest to make everyone believe its dead and doing all the sabre rattling with regards to patents.
Proprietary software has its place in the marketplace but trying to force people who are already operating under the licensing model of software to switch to Software as a Service(SaaS) scheme... Even the most financially irresponsible person can see that paying $10-20/mo over the course of your computers lifetime is more than buying a single copy at $100-120 (oh wait sorry for Vista thats like $400 for Ultimate, this in comparison to Server 2003 which is $600).
SaaS has its place as well... I mean look at all the MMO's out there, they are all basically SaaS schemes. They work because they are providing something people want (a forum for interaction with both real people as well as computer AI 'mobs' and a sense of accomplishment). Of course one could argue that the servers the thing runs on is basically a service in which case a MMO truely becomes a Service as a Service scheme where you buy subscriptions (sorta like how Linux server distros sell service contracts to come help fix things if stuff gets broken)
Parent
Re:Once again.. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm serious. After Microsoft's positioning over the last few days, I don't think there's anything more to talk about. They are THE enemy of open source. They are THE enemy of free software. There are THE enemy of choice. They are THE enemy of competition.
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Re:Bill Hilf saying FS is dead (Score:5, Funny)
A: Never try to frame a guilty man.
I kid I kid...
Parent