What Recent Changes in Microsoft Mean?

What do the following statements mean?

• Microsoft to give Windows OS free to Indian Phone Manufacturers

• Microsoft to give Windows OS free for phones and small tablets

• Microsoft to give Windows OS free for laptop OEMs

• Microsoft to give Windows OS for "Internet of Things" for free

• Microsoft open sources large portion of .NET

Let me share my opinions on each of the above statements here.

Note: People are so confused with the terms free software, open source and freeware. If you are one such person, please read this post for clarity!

Microsoft to give Windows OS free to Indian Phone Manufacturers

Microsoft wanted some Indian phone manufacturers to make cheap Windows mobiles so that they can compete in low-end market. But who will be able to pay around Rs. 1,200 extra for every phone to get the license of the OS when a costless alternative is available? This is the reason Google made Android available for free of cost. As Android is free of cost, most phone manufacturers adapted it to their phones and now Android is the clear market leader. Now Goolgle is earning through ads, app purchases, by selling songs/books/movies etc.

Windows thought that the same tactic that worked on PCs of desktop era will also work on mobiles of smartphone era. But their market share was (and is) so pathetic that at one point they earned more from Android phones than Windows phones. Very few people are developing Windows phone apps. People in developing nations are buying cheaper alternatives. So they tried their best to push their OS to the world's second largest developing market with their Microsoft tax. But the Indian companies rejected Microsoft's offer until they were down on their knees and accepted to give the OS without licensing fee. The funniest part is, even Nokia can't get Windows for free. Why Microsoft did this? Are the Indian companies so clever to bargain and strike such deal? I think no! The Indian companies are the reality that every other company is going to end with. With increasing demand for higher hardware specs in a lower price range, sooner or later, companies should let go the unwanted load of paying for OS. So, it is much like Indian companies telling Microsoft what reality is and Microsoft accepting it without any other option left!

Microsoft to give Windows OS free for phones and small tablets

The previous happened by February/March 2014. As noted, all companies, no matter how big they are will follow the Indian manufacturers in opting for a free of cost operating system to cut cost and stay competitive in the market. So Microsoft can't tax every phone produced and expect their market share to grow or even sustain. It is just Microsoft realizing the truth again. But here is a catch. Microsoft will charge tablets with screens larger than 9 inches. So, it is much like, they will give the OS for free to smaller devices and increase their market share and bring more people to develop their apps, while on the other side, they will gradually start charging license fee. Once a market monopoly is attained (that will never happen!), they will charge the fee in full swing and from everyone. Remember, they are giving it for free of cost, but the source is still closed. So for everything like updates/upgrades/bug-fixes/optimization/customization etc, the companies need to depend upon Microsoft as the code is not open.

Microsoft to give Windows OS free for laptop OEMs

Now Microsoft is also considering a free of cost version of Windows for laptops so that laptop manufacturers can bundle them without paying the fee. Again, this is a honey trap to trick many users to buy laptops running crippled version of Windows. If they want a better version, they should pay. They may restrict the number of applications that can run at same time.They may not provide options to do critical administrative tasks in Control Panel etc. And if a user wants that, Microsoft will ask them to pay for a professional or ultimate edition.

Microsoft to give Windows OS for "Internet of Things" for free

Nobody can imagine an OS that runs on every electronic/electrical equipment around you as a paid software. If you have to buy a bulb or coffee maker running Windows (or any other OS that has license fee) the cost will be doubled or tripled or quadrupled due to the cost of license fee. So a paid OS for Internet of Things will never work. If that is the case, the manufacturers will come up with their own Linux based or BSD based or home grown solutions. And mark my word, the Internet of Things OS will most probably be open sourced. Unless it is open sourced it can't be modified and adapted to everything around you from your bike to bulb and your AC to mosquito repellent. Only exception will be Apple, who will still insist that their hardware and software are unique and that will drive the last nail on their coffin.

Microsoft open sources large portion of .NET

Microsoft has open sourced lot of .NET projects under an unbrella .NET Foundation. Mostly they will be released under Apache 2.0 license which is FSF approved and GPL v3 compatible. So this from the same company that called Linux a cancer and took extreme measures like secure boot to lock laptops and not allowing users to install other operating systems. Why? I think the major reason is, they can't maintain the crappy code their highly paid and poorly skilled developers are making. So they are releasing the code to public so that they can just oversee the activities while hobby programmers and others like college students, freelance programmers etc can take up review, bug reporting, fixing and enhancements. So I feel the motive behind open sourcing too is selfishness. Let us see how things unfold in the long run.

Conclusion:

Microsoft, like Apple and Google is a corporate that tries to become a monopoly in digital world. Apple and Google are also known to release some software code as open source but still their activities prove time and again that their intention is to keep people without any real freedom. Android, Chrome, Darwin, Webkit etc are open sourced not to benefit the public. There are two reasons. Either these software are lifted from existing open source software or their nature itself forces the source to released, without which, development/maintenance becomes costly and problematic. Now Microsoft has joined them. It may be the new CEO or the dying industry! They have taken a 180 degree turn. But the real freedom loving people should try their best to ignore these gimmicks and go ahead with truly free (as in freedom) and open software.

References:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/microsoft-to-stop-linux-older-windows-from-running-on-windows-8-pcs/9589

http://wind8apps.com/windows-free-phones-small-tablets-iot-devices/

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-open-sources-more-of-its-net-technologies-7000028031/

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Microsoft-offers-Windows-Phone-OS-free-to-Indian-players/articleshow/31924651.cms

http://www.osnews.com/story/24800/Microsoft_Earns_More_from_Android_than_Windows_Phone_7

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/03/microsoft-launches-net-foundation-to-foster-the-net-open-source-ecosystem/

http://searchengineland.com/battle-for-books-evil-google-versus-the-altruistic-open-content-alliance-10115

My Favorite Addictive Games

I am a very poor gamer. I hate playing games generally. But sometimes I play games to the level that the game starts to interfere my daily life. I used to forget about exams next day or having supper till all the shops are closed (when I was staying alone). But wait! Don't imagine some games with pretty graphics or which needs lot of finger works. Games I love may look silly. Here comes the list

1. Minesweeper/KMines/Mines

Even though I exclusively use GNU/Linux at home, I worked with some XP machines in college labs, friends' houses and at work. From there I got infected with Minesweeper. That is the only thing I love that comes from the house of Microsoft. But still it is morally wrong to play it! I am the guy who frantically clicks both mouse buttons during those silent post-lunch sessions. Even at home I play KMines/Mines. I prefer KMines/Mines indeed, because they are free software. This game is suitable to be played in short breaks.

KMines - KDE flavor!

The GNOME Mines

2. KReversi/Iango

There was a game in my old Nokia 2300 phone. It was named "Opposite". The game is very simple yet interesting one. I remember playing a similar game in TV video-game at my friends home only once. Its name was "Othello", I think. If you get the corners and with some trick moves, you can win. This game is also suitable for quick breaks, bus travels etc. I used to play between studying each unit while preparing for examinations. I have even taken 64/64 in all difficulty levels in my phone.

Kde's KReversi

Iango

3. Freeciv

This is a weekend game. If you want to earn the ire of everyone in your family, then try Freeciv on a weekend day. You will forget to take bath, eat your breakfast or do anything else when you start this game. All you do is stare at the screen and slowly move/click mouse. The good thing is, people won't realize that you are playing unless they look in to your screen. I have escaped like this, playing for hours while everyone in my family assumed that I am doing some office work even during weekends.

4. 2048

This is a relatively new game. But soon it took over a considerable share of my thoughts. The temptation is high even while writing this piece. Currently I have restricted myself by not installing it in my mobile. Because I know exactly where it will take me if I have it in my mobile. I prefer playing the online version. The game can be short or long and the problem is, you won't settle with one try. You will always crave for another!

http://saming.fr/p/2048/

5. Tetris

From TV video-game to mobiles, this game is omnipresent and it is the all time favorite of everyone in our family. This game can last as long as possible in expert hands. I often mess up trying to hit a tetris, waiting for the 4-block-line to come. And that awkward moment, when someone peeps in to the screen, I just quit the game quickly and pretend that I am seriously doing something else.

 

As I told earlier, these games don't pack great graphics or effects. But they pack a hell lot of fun. They improve your decision making skills and gives our brain a good exercise. You can share about the games you love in comments :-)

Operation Windigo - The New *NIX Security Threat

In a previous post, we have seen that free operating systems are relatively safer than Windows or OSX based systems. But still, there are sporadic incidents of malrware/trojans/security vulnerability happening. After NSA revelations, the free software codes are reviewed strictly and lot of overlooked vulnerabilities are surfacing as in the case of GnuTLS (but it seems not many are actually affected due to it). Now security researchers have revealed that a widespread attempt is made to infect Linux/Unix servers.

This attack so far is targeted ONLY towards servers. But this is a crucial lesson for us to learn that, just running GNU/Linux or BSD or any other OS makes you secure by default. To be secure, you must spend time to make your system secure. At least install ClamAV immediately if you have not installed it already. Anyway, let us see how this Operation Windigo works.

ClamTK in action

Operation Windigo uses several different malwares to infect servers and hence they try to earn money by sending spams and redirect users to ad sites or making users to download trojans for further infection.

The following are the list of malwares and their role/behaviour involved in the operation.

Ebury is used to create a backdoor (illegal entry to your machine without your notice). It can also steal your SSH password.

Cdorked is also a backdoor provider. But it can also make end users to download malicious files.

Onimiki is used to redirect users to different IPs for a given URL pattern.

Calfb is a Perl based spam engine. It can send spam mails with malicious links to users.

Boaxxe.G and Glubeta.M are the files sent to Windows users so that their machines can be infected for causing further damage.

To quickly check if you are infected, open a terminal window and type the following.

$ ssh -G 2>&1 | grep -e illegal -e unknown

ssh -G showing "unkown option" in Fedora

If there is an output, you are safe. If blank, you may be infected! To dig further, follow below steps.

$ su

Enter your password

# ipc -m

If you see any process attached to any user with full read/write permission for all users (666) and size greater than 3MB, it is a strong indicator of infection Ebury infection.

The above commands check for Ebury. The other malwares and their checking are not suitable for home users. As told earlier, chances are very slim to have this infection in your PC/laptop as the target is mainly servers. So far 25000 servers are compromised. That is very less compared to billions of infected Windows machines.

References:

1. http://www.welivesecurity.com/2014/03/18/operation-windigo-the-vivisection-of-a-large-linux-server-side-credential-stealing-malware-campaign/

2. https://github.com/eset/malware-ioc/commit/b4c4a6d8a67b22693d04092b5962875b6d0fabeb

3. http://www.clamav.net/lang/en/

Time to Change

Windows XP's support is going to end this April. So if you are running Windows XP, it is time to go free. Free as in freedom. Here is a list of OS you can choose to get rid of the buggy, insecure XP platform.

1. aLinux

You won't feel that you have changed your OS apart from performance improvemnts, being virus free and less buggy. aLinux comes with KDE 3.5, Koffice(MS office replacement), GIMP(like Photoshop), mp3/divx/flash support, Clam-AV antivirus etc.

Get yours at http://alinux.tv

2. Lubuntu

So, this distro's look and feel is much like XP. It consumes less resources and feels great on old hardware. It comes with Abi Word, MTPaint, Xfburn (cd/dvd burning), Sylpheed (like Outlook). With 256 MB RAM, you get a perfectly working system.

More info: http://lubuntu.net

3. PC-BSD with Xfce

Ok, it may be boaring with too much Linux. Say hi to BSD with PC-BSD. Xfce gives you a classic XP like interface. AppCafe gives easy access for all packages you need and you will love its clean UI.

Check this out: http://www.pcbsd.org

4. Manjaro

Still in beta, from the house of Arch, Manjaro ives you rolling release with a wide choices of desktop environments. I suggest MATE desktop, which is both modern and traditional simultaneously. Manjaro comes with out of the box multimedia support and good hardware driver support. Only downside is, it needs bit powerful hardware.

Get your copy at: http://manjaro.org

5. Bodhi

”Enlightenment” comes here. You need 128MB RAM to run this distro. I won't say it has all tools you need, but it will meet your expectation. The lightweight UI looks so polished and you can fool your friends that yours is a latest PC with a latest OS ;-)

You can negate your bad karma here: http://www.bodhilinux.com/

Ability vs Morality

Recently, I was in to some arguments with Apple/Microsoft fanboys. As usual, a lone GNU/Linux defender, I was made to fight my own way out. But just one simple argument brought them down. So, I feel, this argument is worth sharing so that similarly trapped freedom-freaks can use it... The argument is none other than FREEDOM and CHOICE!!! ;-)

The points put forward by Apple/Microsoft fanboys include, ease of use, eye-candy, availability of third party apps, more number of games, media, powerful hardware and GUI based tools etc.

Though we can counter the arguments in every front, there is no much room in such arguments when the opposition is deaf to whatever you claim. For example, I quoted that top ten of TOP500 run GNU/Linux (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOP500). But the problem is they are not aware of TOP500! Likewise, they have many misconceptions like GNU/Linux = bash. They never heard about Gnome, KDE etc. So let us waste no time in explaining them the more technical aspects of our choice for GNU/Linux. Let us attack them for lack of freedom compared to GNU/Linux. Freedom is the cornerstone of the entire GNU/Linux/BSD Free and Open Source Software movement (FOSS). It is not about money or ease of use or anything else.

Consider this example. Once there lived two archers. One of them is better at shooting arrows than the another. But the better one worked for gang of robbers while the other chose to work for the local scout troop. One day the situation made both of them to face each other. The one that was better skilled killed 3 of the men in scout troop, including the lesser skilled archer. But at last, few other men from the scout troop managed to thwart the robbery and killed/chased the gang members. Ultimately, the 3 who sacrificed their life for the public good were celebrated and remembered real heroes, not the one who was able to kill 3 of the opponents within seconds.

Yes! It is more paying to be in the gang of robbers. And there are some cult like following for evil people like Hitler or Osama, while good people who dared to sacrifice their life for sake of others left unnoticed. How many of you can tell the name of American soldier who shot Osama without Googling? Strictly speaking the one who had more talent ended up in the apt place where his skills are valued, recognized and can be materialized as monetary gains. Survival of the fittest, right? WRONG! This type of silly arguments can be used to justify anything from  petty theft to inhumane crimes like rape or murder. Imagine this "I can beat and tie you up and steal your money! Survival of the fittest!!" Is that acceptable?

Similarly, technical people should also have some sort of ethics and responsibility towards the tech-community at worst and public at best. It is out of moral responsibility that we should be supporting Free software/Open source movements. We should choose to be a scout even if we get paid lesser and get lesser visibility. If a doctor claims to have invented cure for cancer by mixing existing pain killer and vitamins (neither of them is invented by him), but patents the same that, anyone who produces or uses the medicine should lick his boots, won't you protest? The same is happening everywhere in the so called "tech giants". That is the exact same reason why death of Dennis Ritchie, who made C programming language and co-invented Unix, is ignored entirely while Steve Jobs, mixed up existing technologies in to a cotton candy for kids, is canonized as "Patron saint of Technology"!

So, it is very bad to just consider the mere profit or benefits, while ignoring the impact in entirety. The locked nature of Microsoft and Apple is causing more harm than good. How much money is wasted in buying laptops where you are forced to pay for a licence of Windows even if you are NEVER going to use it? What about your inability to replace a battery in iPhone? You can't install what you want even after "buying" both the hardware and software?!? Even if you are selling your freedom, they should be paying you! But where in the world and what type of fool will pay for selling his own freedom! If you don't realize what you are missing in Apple/Microsoft products but you can quickly point out that there is something missing here and there in GNU/Linux or BSD, then you are just like saying "I am content with this prison. It is more safe, guarded by police, and I get food on time without doing any hard labor and the cell is painted in the way I wanted"