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Gentoo Founder on his way to Redmond
Rotworm writes "Recently former founder of Gentoo Linux, Daniel Robbins, has managed to procure employment with Microsoft. Robbins describes his position as "helping Microsoft to understand Open Source and community-based projects." Seemingly there's no scandals as Robbins managed to finalize the transfer of all Gentoo's IP to the Gentoo Foundation, Inc."
Any idea what his employment contract may hold?
"helping Microsoft to understand Open Source and community-based projects"
Do they ship cluebats freight? I guess they do now.
Buy them out.
Is this the beginning of a strategy for Microsoft? Can't beat them, just buy them or the lead developer?
Quality Hosting e3 Servers
I hope he is successful! I'd sure like to see Windows users have to emerge msoffice2k3 and wait for six days.
all your open source visionaries are belong to ms.
Man I wish I had his job. "OpenSource projects: Opposite in every way from Microsoft. Now where's my paycheck?!" =)
is anyone here concerned about the parallels with the latest episode of Dr Who?
the game-shows where losers are beamed up to the Dalek Mothership?
EXTERMINATE!
EXTERMINATE!
And thusly we see the beginning of taking over Microsoft by getting on the inside, one at a time.
I RTFA but it was redundant!
Seriously, I hope he didn't accept low pay with the promise of stock options like a lot of Microsoft employees have in the past. The day of the Microsoft made millionnaires is over.
Liberals call everyone Nazis yet they are the closest thing to it.
I think Microsoft already understand Open Source projects - and, quite obviously and unsurprisingly, they don't like them. Justifiable from a business perspective, crap from (almost) everyone else's perspective, and I have trouble seeing what change he could bring in Microsoft.
Unless of course he's got several kilograms of TNT strapped to his chest when he has his first meeting with Bill :)
Physicist, consultant, science communicator
"Recently former founder of Gentoo Linux[...]"
How can someone be a former founder? Once you found something, that's it, you always will have been the founder, right? I mean the Founding Fathers of America aren't the Former Founding Fathers - they are still the Founding Fathers even though they are all dead, and don't take much of an active interest in the affairs of the country anymore.
-If
Run a pencil-and-paper RPG campaign with your far-off friends: Gametable!
I wouldn't mind this if Microsoft used this help to "understand opensource better and collaborate with it"
Microsoft is not going to do that. They want to know everything about open source because the want to compete with it, ie: beat us. It'd be nicer if Microsoft used this help to collaborate with opensource better, opensource things, etc etc.
In a related story, Anakin Skywalker is serving as an aid to Senator Palpatine to help him understand the Jedi council.
If Microsoft truly wants to get in touch with the Open Source community, why remove Robbins from it completely. I think they would do better to make him a paid freelance consultant. I believe that once he's gone to "the dark side" in the community's eyes, he'll never be able to look at the movement from an insider's point of view again. But now, MS will have taken a big player away, and as I see it, they're simply killing of bit of competition and will use this knowledge to kill more. But then again, I see MS as not wanting OSS to exist at all. I believe a more faith based relationship will have been developed between MS and the OS community if they had gone the consultant route, allowing Robbins to continue to develop there, but keep MS abreast of what's going on and how they could coexist more peacefully or even intermingle.
"Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
Isn't this the guy who said that all the profits from the Gentoo Store were going to the Foundation when it actually went to him?
-------
Chunky Bacon
Recently former founder of Gentoo Linux, Daniel Robbins... so he traveled back in time and had someone else found it instead?
A lot of times, things are "tied" together in contracts between an individual and a large corporation. Commonly, a single employment contract will cover hiring the employee, granting permission for employee to enter employer's premises, granting clearance to trade secrets (and a covenant not to disclose them to third parties without express permission), and granting an assignment or work-for-hire setup for the employer to use any copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret created by the employee using employer's resources. The trouble comes when employers insist on BS riders such as broad non-compete agreements or broad "all your idea are belong to us" IP-grabs that cover works and inventions developed by the employee entirely using the employee's resources.
"Today, class, we're going to learn about kde..."
"Err, Mr Robbins sir, is this going to take much longer? I gotta go pee"
Daniel! You were supposed to be the chosen one!
----
Not to be confused with Col.
It's official, we've crossed over into the Bizarro World.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/microsoft .html remember? OK, not Linus himself, but...
Isn't Linux capable of multi-tasking?
GNU/Linux, *BSD, and Microsoft Windows NT series operating systems are capable of multitasking (use program A on your PC while program B is installing), but the installation process does introduce latency. You can use everything else on your machine, but you can't the package that you're installing from source, whether it be from a tarball, an SRPM, Gentoo ports, or FreeBSD ports, until it's built.
Microsoft dont do anything out of the goodness of their hearts. They are a corporate entity with a fiscal responsibility to their shareholders.
:-).
He will be brought on board to continue the MS strategy of embrace, extend (in a proprietary fashion) then replace. MS do not want to support linux in any way, they want to kill it. Dead. Every linux box sold represents money ripped from their pocket.
My guess is that this could be something like:
- get linux to run well on MS virtual machines, so linux can become just an app running under 2k3, and therefore slowely sink into oblivion.
- work on their command line tools. Looks like they have finally realised that the {Li,U}n{u,i}x way of providing powerful command line utilities is actually pretty useful (perhaps learned from the struggle when they first tried to convert hotmail to NT
Interesting times ahead.
Anyone else notice that this isn't the first ABQ->Redmond migration for a "distribution" founder?
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
Its 2005, MS is hiring people to 'help them understand open source'. There has to be some HUGE f**ing idiots working there. .NET.
No, what they are trying to do is to break up the opensource community by hiring all the top talent. If they hire the top leaders and put them in project s that never see the light of day, then they don't have to worry about them as competitors to MS. It is worth the million or two in salary to get a top guy. The get the facts ad campaign probably is less effective than buying the top guys out.
MS has a history of doing it. They hired away all the top talent at Borland. They hired COM guru Don Box, which in my opinion was to get him on board with
We'll cut the armed convoy off at SR-520 when they cross the floating bridge across Lake Washington and free him! I'll go rent a canoe down next to Husky Stadium and we'll rendevous at the traffic jam near the wind sculptures and set him free, then we'll transport him to the Arboretum and escape via the Museum of History and Industry parking lot in a small biodiesel VW car a friend of mine has.
Who's with me?
A small daring group is all it will take to rescue the founder of Gentoo - with luck on our side, skill, daring, and the element of surprise, we should be able to pull this off before the Empire gets him into Darth Gates compound!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
"Seemingly there's no scandals as Robbins managed to finalize the transfer of all Gentoo's IP to the Gentoo Foundation, Inc."
This isn't true. He has agreed to, if his lawyer approves the deal, but we are still waiting for him to transfer all IP and the domain name gentoo.org
Here is the Gentoo Not-for-profit mailing list archive and you'll see there is no mention of it yet.
http://archives.gentoo.org/ml/gentoo-trustees/
Robbins has long stopped contributing to Gentoo, since April 04.
-Reid
to wait 12 months while Longhorn stage1 compile and boot!
I don't feel like it...
A small daring group is all it will take to rescue the founder of Gentoo - with luck on our side, skill, daring, and the element of surprise, we should be able to pull this off before the Empire gets him into Darth Gates compound!
You underestimate the Power of the Gates side of the Source, my young apprentice! All your plans have been foreseen and even now this fully operational hovercraft is approaching the traffic jam to intercept your foolhardy rebels in their vain attempt to resist the Empire!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I think everyone should understand that he had large credit card debts, that he tried everything he could to make it work fiscally, and that the community failed to provide the finances that would make it work.
His approach was technically superior to the other distros in its fundamental approach, and funding could have cured any detail problems. It was the right approach. He went broke, and we should all be sad at this.
The nice thing would have been if some government had funded him. None did.
Thus he works for Microsoft. I imagine he is sadly bitter about it all.
Namesys is also having payroll problems, though our problem is more due to my divorce than anything else.
Hans
(Author of Reiser4)
As I write this, the post I am responding to is modded "Troll". Seems it is more "Insightful" than anything else.
BillG is a smart guy who surrounds himself with smart guys. MS started out of a motel room in New Mexico and didn't become a near monopoly solely out of luck any more than it did out of sheer creativity. MS is huge for a few important reasons:
1. They recognise opportunities and make maximum use of their resources and connections. MS became the "king of programming languages" for micros inthe 70s and 80s because BillG immediately saw the potential of the Altair and the desperate need for a friendlier method of programming the system. They also used their connections and networking skills to arrange a meeting with IBM re. DOS as well as to locate and purchase QDOS.
2. They are a bit sneaky--they will sell something they don't even have yet (DOS) and create demoware/vapourware to stall and kill competition in a field where they are lacking (GO/pen computing/etc--"they might have it now, but big ol' MS is gonna have it REAL SOON NOW"--yeah right).
3. THEY RESEARCH THEIR COMPETITON--MS has historically been very paranoid. Even with their position today they view EVERY competitior as one who could destroy them. When MS plays in a market they research EVERY LITTLE THING about that market and EVERY COMPETITOR. BillG himself operates that way. If he meets someone who has something interesting to talk about but BillG knows nothing about it, BillG will spend every waking moment for a couple days learning about the subject. The next time he meets that person he can talk with that person like he is a seasoned expert.
It is for that third reason why MS has a whole department of Open Source Specialists in its employ and has had for years. It is also how the Halloween Memos came to be. It doesn't matter how badly MS slags Linux or how much it scoffs at Free software--it has ALWAYS apporached it as competition with the potential to destroy Microsoft. I'm willing to bet it's been on BillG's personal radar for a decade already (when MS was just starting to realise the Internet was a game they had to play).
So the parent to this post is exactly right: MS is essentially "stockpiling ammunition" for the battle with Free software. How they will use the knowledge and people they acquire could go many ways:
1. They could use it to make their FUD sound more credible--for example, some weakness in Linux to exploit in the "get the facts" campaign or items to avoid or downplay where Linux has the advantage.
2. MS operates by acquisition, not innovation. They might have to avoid GPL code to keep its code secret, but it can at least steal IDEAS from GNU apps. It is also already well known they've lifted BSD code many times. This is OK though--at least MS software gets better as a result.
3. If they CAN'T beat Free software, they'll be prepared to "join" it. It may be a cold day in hell before MS Office is open, but if Linux meets or beats Apple's market share and all indications are that it won't go away, MS will be prepared to form a "Linux business unit" to port Office and other apps to the platform. It won't be "Free/Libre", but if MS dominates application software for Linux it can steer the platform and continue to be the industry's biggest player. This is what they have done with Apple--Microsoft is the biggest vendor of MacOS applications, and stunning industrial design aside, Macs are becoming more and more PC-like.
Yep it would be nice if MS was more cooperative, but it is just too far from their business model. MS NEEDS software to be closed or else it would have to completely re-invent itself. It is simply easier for it to try and make the competition work to its advantage or simply go away.
Many Jews also write "G-d" instead of "God". While this later substitution is by no means required by religious law (only the Hebrew name, not the English, is holy), it is done to remind the reader of the holiness attached to God's name.
from Wikipedia.
I hope you're simply ignorant on the matter (though not any longer) and are not criticising someone else's religious custom.
Yes, I'm feeding the trolls. Take that, subspace.
So, lemme see...
- Apple goes x86,
- Debian releases new stable,
- Deep Throat reveals himself,
- Robbins works for Microsoft.
Seriously, what's next? Stallman stating "Meh, GCC takes forever; i'll just buy some software at Walmart"? Duke Nukem Forever going gold? The Bitboys compiting with nVidia? Microsoft releasing the source for Internet Explorer?
Cut this shit already. Please. It's not funny anymore!
what they are trying to do is to break up the opensource community by hiring all the top talent. If they hire the top leaders and put them in project s that never see the light of day, then they don't have to worry about them as competitors to MS. It is worth the million or two in salary to get a top guy.
Which can be summed up as
"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer"
Surprised no-one else quoted that one first....
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
It's not Bizarro World at all... somehow Dvorak has managed to project his imagination onto our reality. Damn him and his alien technology!
How could they make IE better? Why not join the crowd and fully release the source?
;)
Because it's part of the kernel.
Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
MS used to recruit all the best talent out of Borland, back when borland had a better compiler.
c net
Borland filed suit to stop them. They weren't successful (obviously), although MS admitting to recruiting 34 employees of Borland.
article about it. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-279561.html?legacy=
MS is a big company. Lotsa money. I would be surprised if they didn't have a variety of black project operating systems in development simultaneously. Of course Longhorn is their next premier *public* effort, but that doesn't mean they might not be "exploring" other avenues for contingecies sake. It costs them little when it's a business deduction after all.
Just like apple maintaining an x86 OSX branch for years, "just in case" is a reality that sometimes proves to be useful when you least suspect it.
So then MS therefore needs d00ds who have a proven track record of original thought as opposed to drudge work. A company needs both kinds, but it has to start with original thinkers before the hard working drudgework drones take over.
...why did you reply to yourself?
Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
So who is the current founder?
Not to downplay your plans, but thousands of new apprentices are joining the Open Force movement every day. Not many of them are fully awoken, yet. Many of those will even never become a true master of the Force, still they help us in our fight against the empire by pointing the Way. Loosing a master may feel painful now, but the Force is already attracting replacement troops. Yes, troops, the power of the Force lies in it's multitude.
Besides this, we haven't had communications with Daniel Robbins recently so his plans might be cloaked. I feel this event as only a small disturbance in the Force. The Force is strong!
May the Counsel of the FSF guide your ways.
Thanks Danniel! for all your work, the Gentoo community is with you.
- Slayer_X
http://www.slayerx.org/
Lima
Who has been smart enough to keep their enemies so close though, MS or Robbins?
-- MartinG To mail me: echo kewyjlcxyzvjfxbqwh | tr bcefhjklqvwxyz
you can't *quite* get away with that in corporate america just yet, but the next best thing, when you have X*10 billion dollars in the bank getting moldy, is just to hire them away.
sorry to interrupt all the guffawin' and shuckin' and jivin'. carry on with the lame star wars references and other assorted jokery.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
emerge longhorn! emerge!
*Popular Linux Distro seeking Non-Borg Founder.
emerge founder!
Am i the only one who feels embaressed about this? What kind of message is this going to send? "The open source business model is so crap that they loose their leaders to their sworn enemy, M$" I realized he did that because he was broke, but thats the problem, Gentoo is one of the most popular distros, why is its founder broke?! this makes me re-think the whole opensource thing, I mean I love my Linux as much as the next geek, but which one of can realistically make a living out of FOSS? P.S. no more star war analogies please John