Re:exFAT in the Linux kernel
by jaboutboul on Wednesday August 28, 2019 @06:21PM
(#20824658)
This is not just a dump of soon to expire patent. The patent grant and their support and commitment to indemnify anyone who uses it through OIN proves to me, that at least when it comes to this, they are acting in good faith.
Listen, my first job outta high school was at Red Hat. For the majority of my life I hated Microsoft and everything they stood for. The bottom line is, money talks (the virtues or lack thereof of that are for a different debate) and they realized that people became familiar with Linux which was superior for most non-desktop use cases, enabled innovation at a greater pace and also was a path around all the Microsoft bullshit and customers were abandoning ship. Eventually they had NO CHOICE but to evolve or die.
> Eventually they had NO CHOICE
> but to evolve or die.
So, really they haven't done anyone any favours then?
Why do you think so many people look upon their acts as something with good intentions?
Just better marketing spin?
Open Source is not an impediment to Microsoft's attacks on users' freedom.
You can get a job on LinkedIn to write code on GitHub that runs on Windows and talks to a server deployed to Azure with a single click from within the README.md .
In that ecosystem, permissively licensed Open Source software just helps Microsoft exploit you.
Which is why Microsoft unironically love Open Source and are very happy to see paid and unpaid shills shout that from the rooftops.
Dumping soon-to-expire patents to get goodwill from people they need to encourage into or prevent leaving that ecosystem is a strategic move that is designed to make sure you don't escape in the long term.
Pointing this out isn't shitting on the poor, defenceless corporation.
It's just not being fooled by their attempts to fleshmask Open Source.
They still hate Free Software.