Systemd Creator Lands At Microsoft

[Paradigm Shifter]

No, not personality-related. Just in line with the overall sense I got that he's been trying to replicate the Windows userspace services on Linux.

Gotcha. That makes sense.

Exactly. Systemd does solve real problems and add real value, which makes it hard to resist. But, it slowly consumes all the Linux userspace services. One potential issue is that it lacks sufficient decoupling that you can't easily mix & match different versions of different services.

Yup.

[rogerx]

Ha ha ha ha... You know I'm not surprised.

(Continues munching on popcorn... )

[rogerx]

As someone who has managed to create/implement three distinct technologies that have each reshaped the linux stack, this gives Microsoft a lot of power. Lets hope he stays focussed on linux (which he may have set as a requirement in getting signed up) and not railroaded to something else.

Even if people dont like the stuff he has worked on the fact is avahi, pulseaudio and systemd each managed to win over the majority of linux developer mindshare quite successfully.

Maybe because the majority of those won-over, were prior Microsoft employees?

[Mark Rose]

I'm old enough to remember when Novell took a couple hundred million from Microsoft - when was the last time you heard from Novell? Jumping into bed with Microsoft is quite often a fatal move in the world of free software. Don't be surprised to see the popularity of his projects plummeting over the next couple of years.

Worked out well for this financially troubled company you may have heard of.

What a lot of you younger folks don't understand is that Microsoft literally funded lawsuits in the early 2000's designed to destroy GNU/Linux and make it impossible for any of us to install it and use it. Read the history of the SCO vs Linux lawsuits, and how Microsoft funneled many millions to the SCO Group to support the lawsuits through a shadowy finance company called "BayStar Capital".

Indeed. Ballmer hated Linux. Called it a cancer. Microsoft didn't start playing nice until he departed as CEO. He also said he'd kill Google and I don't think he succeeded there either. Apparently had a change of heart though.

[Danny3]

I hope he will be removed from systemd development or systemd to be forked!
There were already strange for privacy patches in the past from Microsoft.
Microsoft is always in conflict of interests with Linux and the free software world.
They never liked and never will like the freedom it gives to users.

[gigaplex]

I remember when systemd was first trying to gain traction, and many of the detractors were calling it the Windowsification of Linux. Well... this is kind of ironic.

[andyprough]

Worked out well for this financially troubled company you may have heard of.

I said "Jumping into bed with Microsoft is quite often a fatal move in the world of free software." Apple is not what I would consider part of the "world of free software". In fact, rarely has any corporation fought harder and more stupidly to assert its proprietary rights to more idiotic stuff than Apple.

[Anvil]

my tip is, Lennart will eventually stop with systemmd an hand the reins over to some other Developer

[onlyLinuxLuvUBack]

some interesting things:

there are 3 Es in "embrace, extend and extinguish"
there are 3 Es in "Lennart Poettering"

from his name we can pull "one ring"

3 "types" of ring for The One Ring to control (3 groups of rings, one for each race)
3 Hobbits from the Shire uses the one ring (Bilbo, Frodo and Sam)
3 projects that he worked on

systemD is like the one ring
system_doomd reminds you of mount doom

[coder]

I hope he will be removed from systemd development or systemd to be forked!

I wouldn't expect their charter to allow removing contributors "because Microsoft". However, if he's making contributions on behalf of Microsoft, he really needs to disclose that fact so that they can be seen in the proper light. I could imagine sanctioning someone for failing to disclose who they were working on behalf of, though I'm not saying it's likely.

Microsoft is always in conflict of interests with Linux and the free software world.

Lots of open source contributors have some conflict of interest. The best solution is to have some form of project governance where conflicts between contributors can be fairly adjudicated and for each contributor to disclose in whose interest they're acting.