Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Deep Influence in Malta and the United States

Coat of arms of Malta



Summary: New observations and sightings of procurement without merit

WE recently gave a detailed list of Microsoft's actions against Free software in Malta, adding to previous examples that we had collected [1, 2]. Microsoft also hired John Vassallo, who is Malta's former ambassador to the EU, reportedly because of the OOXML corruptions. Malta participated in the OOXML process [1, 2, 3].



A report from Malta is suggesting that the Maltese bank Valletta is now signing a deal with Microsoft. Nothing in the article suggests that they even assessed other options. Can anyone elucidate?

Microsoft's uncontrollable obsession with lobbying is what we are currently seeing in Forbes/AP, but the figures never account for the secret side of lobbying, such as Gates-Abramoff. The Gates family and Microsoft are employing many lobbyists in fact and we still find Obama being influenced by some. According to Alibaba.com, Microsoft is still trying to impose Windows Mobile on Obama, despite this platform being an utter failure.

Reports that President Obama will be able to keep his BlackBerry likely provoked smiles in Waterloo, Canada--and frowns in Redmond, Wash.

[...]

First, of course, Obama needs to use the device. Microsoft is optimistic that he will. "We have a whole group working with the Executive Office of the President," says Siegel. "We've had various conversations with the right people about this. Everyone would like him to use the device that everyone agrees is most secure."


We have already witnessed Obama's repeated mistakes with Silverlight, but to be fair, it was probably not his decision at all. His administration is promoting lock-in rather than overcoming lock-in. To quote a new article from GCN:

The developers also are planning to use Microsoft Silverlight for future parts of the service, too, according to a source. The choices make sense. Flash players and, to a lesser extent, Silverlight are widely accessible by browsers in the United States. But by using those technologies, the White House was showing a preference for a single vendor's technologies, something government agencies try to avoid. It looks too much like an endorsement and invites vendor lock-in.


Here is a fairly new page about Microsoft influence in the United States government and here is another new article which delivers a good example:

The Trouble With Trillions



[...]

There are very many half-way reasonable projects that just would not cut it according to normal investment criteria. Take the $11 million to build a bridge connecting two adjacent portions of Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington. If Microsoft, with its vast financial resources, had figured that the bridge was worth $11 million dollars, wouldn't they already have been planning to build it themselves, without any stimulus money? Since they didn't do it themselves, all we really know is that they valued the bridge at less than $11 million. In other words, taxpayers spent $11 million and turned it into something less valuable.


This incident with the bridge is one which led to a string of other posts about Microsoft's control of (parts of) the government [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. It is important to keep track of this.

Recent Techrights' Posts

[Video] Why Microsoft is by Far the Biggest Foe of Computer Security (Clue: It Profits From Security Failings)
Microsoft is infiltrating policy-making bodies, ensuring real security is never pursued
Harassment Against My Wife Continues
Drug addict versus family of Techrights authors
 
Links 29/04/2024: "AI" Hype Deflated, Economies Slow Down Further
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/04/2024: Gopher Experiment and Profectus Alpha 0.9
Links for the day
Debian 'Cabal' (via SPI) Tried to Silence or 'Cancel' Daniel Pocock at DNS Level. It Didn't Work. It Backfired as the Material Received Even More Visibility.
know the truth about modern slavery
Lucas Nussbaum & Debian attempted exploit of OVH Hosting insider
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Software in the Public Interest (SPI) is Not a Friend of Freedom
We'll shortly reproduce two older articles from disguised.work
Syria, John Lennon & Debian WIPO panel appointed
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 28, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, April 28, 2024
[Video] GNU and Linux Everywhere (Except by Name)
In a sense, Linux already has over 50% of the world's "OS" market
[Video] Canonical Isn't (No Longer) Serious About Making GNU/Linux Succeed in Desktops/Laptops
Some of the notorious (or "controversial") policies of Canonical have been covered here for years
[Video] What We've Learned About Debian From Emeritus Debian Developer Daniel Pocock
pressure had been put on us (by Debian people and their employer/s) and as a result we did not republish Debian material for a number of years
Bruce Perens & Debian public domain trademark promise
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Links 28/04/2024: Shareholders Worry "AI" Hype Brings No Income, Money Down the Drain
Links for the day
Lawyer won't lie for Molly de Blanc & Chris Lamb (mollamby)
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 27, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, April 27, 2024
Links 27/04/2024: Spying Under Fire, Intel in Trouble Again
Links for the day
Lucas Kanashiro & Debian/Canonical/Ubuntu female GSoC intern relationship
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Pranav Jain & Debian, DebConf, unfair rent boy rumors
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Links 27/04/2024: Kaiser Gave Patients' Data to Microsoft, "Microsoft Lost ‘Dream Job’ Status"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/04/2024: Sunrise Photos and Slow Productivity
Links for the day
Microsoft: Our "Goodwill" Gained Over 51 Billion Dollars in the Past Nine Months Alone, Now "Worth" as Much as All Our Physical Assets (Property and Equipment)
The makeup of a Ponzi scheme where the balance sheet has immaterial nonsense
Almost 2,700 New Posts Since Upgrading to Static Site 7 Months Ago, Still Getting More Productive Over Time
We've come a long way since last autumn
FSFE (Ja, Das Gulag Deutschland) Has Lost Its Tongue
Articles/month
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 26, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, April 26, 2024
Overpaid lawyer & Debian miss WIPO deadline
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Brian Gupta & Debian: WIPO claim botched, suspended
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work