Bonum Certa Men Certa

How Mono Helps Microsoft DirectX, With Contribution From VMB_ware


Paul Maritz (VMB_ware CEO, formerly Microsoft)
Photo by Robert Scoble



Summary: Several Microsoft executives who run VMB_ware continue to work on projects which, along with Novell's projects help empower and spread Microsoft APIs

ACCORDING to this new article from IDG, VMB_ware and Novell are currently negotiating the price which VMB_ware will pay for SUSE (along with Mono and Moonlight based on some other reports). VMB_ware is run by executives who used to work for Microsoft and it may soon have power over Microsoft APIs inside GNU/Linux, including Gallium3D which appears to promote DirectX at OpenGL's expense.



IDG makes it sound as though the sale to VMB_ware is almost a done deal. To quote:

The Wall Street Journal is reporting rumors that VMware may buy Novell's SUSE Linux OS business, though Atachmate is competing for the est of the company's assets.

VMware and Novell have agreed on everything but price, according to the WSJ, which cites unnamed analysts as saying the tools built to help Linux administrators manage virtualized OSes will strengthen VMware's own VM management apps.


We are beginning to wonder what VMB_ware may plan to do with Microsoft-taxed SUSE, Mono, and Gallium3D. These assets can help VMB_ware help Microsoft. To quote a conversation from yesterday, there is evidence to suggest Mono is now linking/embedding some Gallium3D.

Very informal discussion ought to be assumed (it is an IRC discussion, thus nothing polished):

jimbo_I read a week or 2 ago about VMB_Ware pushing DirectXOct 20 19:33
schestowitzAny news on that?Oct 20 19:34
schestowitzgnufreex and Diablo-D3 raised the issueOct 20 19:34
jimbo_you might find it interesting to note that Moonlie is using itOct 20 19:34
schestowitzI just published the logsOct 20 19:34
jimbo_the gallium3d thingOct 20 19:34
Diablo-D3Im completely fine with itOct 20 19:34
jimbo_so team appologista is also pushing itOct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3the tracker is only for dx10/11, which is an almost carbon copy of gl3+future.Oct 20 19:35
gnufreexIt looks like there is no patent danger. I checked. But there is still API control danger.Oct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3and, the tracker itself is almost a carbon copy of how you'd write a future-only gl3 tracker.Oct 20 19:35
jimbo_diablo3d just like .not is a clone of java? ;)Oct 20 19:35
schestowitzvmware gallium3d?Oct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3jimbo_: -D3, and yes, basically how c# copies javaOct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3jimbo_: except its c++ and LOOKs like d3d9, it just isntOct 20 19:36
jimbo_diablo: m$ has patents all over the place on .netOct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3anyone trying d3d10/11 with a 9 mindset will write shitOct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3sun has patents all over the placeOct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3also, this is an APIOct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3the patents being held will be held by companies like AMD and NvidiaOct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3remember, gl and d3d both are high level wrappers for vendor-specific HALsOct 20 19:36
jimbo_JoseX a while back wrote a very interesting piece about how you can patent APIsOct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3they dont _do_ anythingOct 20 19:36
schestowitzAPIs can have patent trapsOct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3schestowitz: not without having the patent invalidatedOct 20 19:37
schestowitzjimbo_: yes, beat me to itOct 20 19:37
jimbo_schestowitz :)Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3like, I can write an API that uploads s3tc to a video cardOct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3they cant sue meOct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3Im not decoding itOct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3the video card isOct 20 19:37
gnufreexMicrosoft has one OpenGL patent they bought from failing SGIOct 20 19:37
gnufreexRest are expired.Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3gnufreex: except it applies to _running_ GLOct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3as in, what happens on the video cardOct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3there is nothing being done usefully in software, for performance reasonsOct 20 19:37
jimbo_anyways, about to head out with friendsOct 20 19:38
jimbo_just thought I'd pass along the info about moonli and gallium3dOct 20 19:38
schestowitzDiablo-D3: APis alone are not the infringement, but writing for them may beOct 20 19:38
jimbo_moonlieOct 20 19:38
schestowitzlink/Oct 20 19:38
schestowitz?Oct 20 19:38
schestowitzSVN/GIT?Oct 20 19:38
jimbo_hold on, gotta re-search for itOct 20 19:38
Diablo-D3schestowitz: but we're not writing for themOct 20 19:38
jimbo_yea, it'll be in git in the configure.inOct 20 19:38
Diablo-D3AMD and Nvidia and Intel didOct 20 19:39
schestowitzMaybe VMB_ware will just buy MonoOct 20 19:39
Diablo-D3remember, all this shit runs on the cardOct 20 19:39
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[gotunandan/@gotunandan] RT @cassidyjames So, OS X Lion App Store = !Ubuntu Software Center, Mission Control = Gnome Shell, Multitouch Gestures = UTouch... what ...Oct 20 19:39
jimbo_http://github.com/mono/moon/blob/master/m4/gallium.m4Oct 20 19:40
TechrightsBot-trTitle: m4/gallium.m4 at master from mono's moon - GitHub .::. Size~: 38.95 KBOct 20 19:40
jimbo_that's the gallium3d detection codeOct 20 19:41
jimbo_configure script codeOct 20 19:41
jimbo_http://github.com/mono/moon/blob/master/configure.acOct 20 19:41
TechrightsBot-trTitle: configure.ac at master from mono's moon - GitHub .::. Size~: 72.32 KBOct 20 19:41
jimbo_that's their configure.ac which uses itOct 20 19:42
jimbo_phoronix also talked about itOct 20 19:42
jimbo_iircOct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[flameeyes/@flameeyes] Did #Canonical not trademark #Launchpad? Now we're going to get confusion between theirs and Apple's :/Oct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[tekk/@tekk] okay !rmsgnulinux, I know you've been waiting forever for 1.2.5 kde but right now I'm working in a kde 3.5.12(trinity) package for ya \o/Oct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] Open source moves into the enterprise at NZ organisations http://ur1.ca/24rip Not just NZ, but this is NZ-based siteOct 20 19:42
TechrightsBot-trTitle: Open source moves into the enterprise at NZ organisations | Computerworld NZ .::. Size~: 44.47 KBOct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[eff/@eff] Geotag, You're It! https://eff.org/r.2tv Android and iOS respect your geolocation settings. Check them!Oct 20 19:44
TechrightsBot-trTitle: Geotag, You're It! What Your Smartphone Might Be Saying Behind Your Back | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse .::. Size~: 26.49 KBOct 20 19:44
*scientes (~scientes@c-76-28-168-154.hsd1.wa.comcast.net) has joined #techrightsOct 20 19:45
jimbo_http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2010/Jan-07.htmlOct 20 19:47
TechrightsBot-trTitle: Pixel Shaders for Moonlight - Miguel de Icaza .::. Size~: 14.13 KBOct 20 19:47
jimbo_that shows they are indeed using itOct 20 19:47
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[tekk/@tekk] !rmsgnulinux if anyone doesn't know, trinity is the kde3 continuation project. Hopefully we may become a go-to distro for kde3 lovers =3Oct 20 19:47
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] #HP announces #Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 http://ur1.ca/24rl9 "1GHz Palm Pre 2, as well as a major WebOS 2.0 update" !llinuxOct 20 19:47
TechrightsBot-trTitle: HP announces Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 - News - Linux for Devices .::. Size~: 55.63 KBOct 20 19:47
jimbo_vm_bware might be buying mono/moonlie as an injection vectorOct 20 19:48
jimbo_for gallium3dOct 20 19:48
jimbo_piggyback on other patent trojansOct 20 19:48
jimbo_you can probably find more info about thisOct 20 19:49
jimbo_this is only a startOct 20 19:49
jimbo_but I find it highly suspectOct 20 19:49
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[nhi/@nhi] â™» @eff: Geotag, You're It! https://eff.org/r.2tv Android and iOS respect your geolocation settings. Check them!Oct 20 19:49
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[nhi/@nhi] â™» @schestowitz: #HP announces #Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 http://ur1.ca/24rl9 "1GHz Palm Pre 2, as well as a major WebOS 2.0 update"Oct 20 19:49
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] Sheesh! When Will Folks Acknowledge GNU/Linux Has Arrived? http://ur1.ca/24rlo Linux dead? 2000 called, wants headline back...Oct 20 19:49
TechrightsBot-trTitle: Geotag, You're It! What Your Smartphone Might Be Saying Behind Your Back | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse .::. Size~: 26.47 KBOct 20 19:49
jimbo_too much of a coincidenceOct 20 19:49
TechrightsBot-trTitle: HP announces Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 - News - Linux for Devices .::. Size~: 55.63 KBOct 20 19:49
TechrightsBot-trTitle: ur1 Generator .::. Size~: 1.93 KBOct 20 19:49
jimbo_good nightOct 20 19:49
*jimbo_ has quit (Quit: Page closed)Oct 20 19:50


Assuming there is intent to just promote Microsoft APIs, OpenSUSE ought to escape Novell/VMB_ware by forking and breaking away from Novell trademarks (VMB_ware has no real development communities). There is an OpenSUSE Conference (OSC) these days [1, 2], but apart from that, almost nothing is going on at OpenSUSE anymore. Andreas Jaeger has just announced a new release of OSB, but that's about it:

The openSUSE Build Service – OBS – is now officially at release 2.1. We’re delighted with the improvements in this release, including an enhanced web interface, integration with online code management systems and better access controls.


More here:

Tomorrow the openSUSE Conference is beginning in the always-wonderful Germany for a three-day event about the openSUSE project and free software in general with a variety of hacking sessions, birds of a feather sessions, and surely some Nürnberg beer along the way. Sadly due to some last minute scheduling changes and only getting back from San Diego yesterday, I on the behalf of Phoronix will not be in attendance at the German conference, but there is openSUSE news to report today: version 2.1 of the openSUSE Build Service has just been released.


In order for OpenSUSE to secure a GNU/Linux direction, its developers may have to get dissociated from Novell before it's sold to the Microsoft executives who run VMB_ware. It seems as though they are quite interested in the Mono part, which is Novell's crown jewel (in its own eyes at least).

Recent Techrights' Posts

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
FSFE (Ja, Das Gulag Deutschland) Has Lost Its Tongue
Articles/month
Ian Jackson & Debian reject mediation
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
How to get selected for Outreachy internships
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
 
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
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
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
Microsoft's XBox is Dying (For Second Year in a Row Over 30% Drop in Hardware Sales)
they boast about fake numbers or very deliberately misleading numbers that represent two companies, not one
[Meme] Granting a Million Monopolies in Europe (to Non-European Companies) at Europe's Expense
Financialization of the EPO
Salary Adjustment Procedure at the EPO Challenged
the EPO must properly compensate staff in order to attract and retain suitably skilled examiners
Links 26/04/2024: Surveillance Abundant, Restoring Net Neutrality Rules (US)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/04/2024: uConsole and EXWM and stdu 1.0.0
Links for the day
Red Hat Corporate Communications is "Red" Now
Also notice they offer just two options: MICROSOFT or... MICROSOFT!
Links 26/04/2024: XBox Sales Have Collapsed, Facebook's Shares Collapse Too
Links for the day
Albanian women, Brazilian women & Debian Outreachy racism under Chris Lamb
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Microsoft-Funded 'News' Site: XBox Hardware Revenue Declined by 31%
Ignore the ludicrous media spin
Mark Shuttleworth, Elio Qoshi & Debian/Ubuntu underage girls
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Karen Sandler, Outreachy & Debian Money in Albania
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 25, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, April 25, 2024
Links 26/04/2024: Facebook Collapses, Kangaroo Courts for Patents, BlizzCon Canceled Under Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/04/2024: Music, Philosophy, and Socialising
Links for the day
Microsoft Claims "Goodwill" Is an Asset Valued at $119,163,000,000, Cash Decreased From $34,704,000,000 to $19,634,000,000 and Total Liabilities Grew to $231,123,000,000
Earnings Release FY24 Q3
More Microsoft Cuts: Events Canceled, Real Sales Down Sharply
So they will call (or rebrand) everything "AI" or "Azure" or "cloud" while adding revenues from Blizzard to pretend something is growing
CISA Has a Microsoft Conflict of Interest Problem (CISA Cannot Achieve Its Goals, It Protects the Worst Culprit)
people from Microsoft "speaking for" "Open Source" and for "security"
Links 25/04/2024: South Korean Military to Ban iPhone, Armenian Remembrance Day
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/04/2024: SFTP, VoIP, Streaming, Full-Content Web Feeds, and Gemini Thoughts
Links for the day
Audiocasts/Shows: FLOSS Weekly and mintCast
the latest pair of episodes
[Meme] Arvind Krishna's Business Machines
He is harming Red Hat in a number of ways (he doesn't understand it) and Fedora users are running out of patience (many volunteers quit years ago)
[Video] Debian's Newfound Love of Censorship Has Become a Threat to the Entire Internet
SPI/Debian might end up with rotten tomatoes in the face
Joerg (Ganneff) Jaspert, Dalbergschule Fulda & Debian Death threats
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Amber Heard, Junior Female Developers & Debian Embezzlement
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
[Video] Time to Acknowledge Debian Has a Real Problem and This Problem Needs to be Solved
it would make sense to try to resolve conflicts and issues, not exacerbate these
Daniel Pocock elected on ANZAC Day and anniversary of Easter Rising (FSFE Fellowship)
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Video] IBM's Poor Results Reinforce the Idea of Mass Layoffs on the Way (Just Like at Microsoft)
it seems likely Red Hat layoffs are in the making
Ulrike Uhlig & Debian, the $200,000 woman who quit
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day