The Dark(er) Side of Microsoft

[BrokeBody]

How do you get from gaining a Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award at Microsoft, to be threatened with legal action? Easy, write a useful piece of software, distribute it for free, make it compatible with their free Visual Studio Express, and then wait till Microsoft realises that "useful" goes hand in hand with "free".

This is what has happened to Jamie Cansdale and his TestDriven.NET add-on. TestDriven.NET makes easy to run unit tests from inside Visual Studio, and integrates with other popular .NET frameworks. Initially he was awarded an MVP which is given to "exceptional technical community leaders from around the world who voluntarily share their high quality, real world expertise with others".

Microsoft however couldn?t stand the fact that this tool was driving people away from their paid Visual Studio version, and after an exchange of emails (which can be read here (http://www.mutantdesign.co.uk/downloads/ExpressEmails1.html) and here (http://www.mutantdesign.co.uk/downloads/ExpressEmails2.html)), they have threatened with legal action on the basis of hacks, reverse engineer and illegal access to, er, public APIs.

Jamie is however staying put against Goliath and he is confident is doing no wrong. He has untill June 6 at 4pm to disable Visual Studio Express support.

Good luck to Jamie from the Java community!


TestDriven.NET: www.testdriven.net

Full article: http://www.theregister.com/2007/06/05/microsoft_mvp_threats/

[BrokeBody]

I've read quite a lot of emails, and the more I read, the situation gets worse. Read the last email!

[Tundro Walker]

So MS' 21st century strategy focuses less on innovation, and more on ******* off the customers that support it. They've run out of things to invent or make better (or buy up and act like it's their idea), so they've decided to "profit optimize" the foundation they have by strong-arming anything that looks like a threat?

You know, the first thing every OS wants to do is toss an IDE to any developer that will take it, so they can developer software for the OS. Because, more software / functionality means potentially more people who might want to use it. But, MS is now trying to coax folks NOT to develop on their platform? Well, that's the impression I get from hearing them strong-arming a developer (an MVP no-less). Why should others develop MS apps if they're not sure what will and won't get spotlighted by MS?

Crazy...

[Sp4cedOut]

June 6? Isn't today the 26th?

[Yoooder]

June 6? Isn't today the 26th?

Yeah, this is relatively old news--not to discredit it.

It's actions like this that no doubt drive (some) MS-developers towards open source projects such as Mono

[xpod]

@ mail from Viki Collins

Currently you are still under consideration for a Microsoft MVP Award.
If you are successful, you will be awarded your MVP status on July 1st

@brokebody

Initially he was awarded an MVP which is given to "exceptional technical community leaders from around the world who voluntarily share their high quality, real world expertise with others".

Did they take back that great honour before he even got it???

[KIAaze]

Extract from the Visual Studio Express EULA:

...you may use the software only as expressly permitted in this agreement. In doing so, you must comply with any technical limitations in the software that only allow you to use it in certain ways...You may not work around any technical limitations in the software;

Windows 95: Microsoft, where do you want to go today? (http://www.denounce.com/mswhere.html)
You can go anywhere, except:
-places not expressly permitted in this agreement
-where the software can't go
-where the software could go, but the software doesn't allow you to go :roll:

Today: Microsoft, Your potential, our passion (http://www.microsoft.com/)
Our passion is to make YOUR potential work for US, and ONLY us.
Your work, our money. (You'll get some as long as others than us don't profit from your work.)

[BrokeBody]

Did they take back that great honour before he even got it???


Oh, he got it... but they took it away from him after a while, when they saw what TestDriven.NET (for which he was awarded) can do to MS Visual Studio.

[smoker]

i think i would tell them to stick their MVP award where the sun don't shine:-)

[starcraft.man]

LOL! Yes, I saw this on digg a while back... I actually read over almost all those emails when I first saw it, it is shocking. Most shocking is their own stupidity to shoot themselves in the foot with such a great add on, just cuz it ALSO works with the free version...

[BrokeBody]

I actually read over almost all those emails

Me too. Did you notice how everything is getting nice and friendly at the beginning, and as the moths are passing by, the atmosphere is getting sharper? :)

[steven8]

I read them all. He never should have removed the express support. He should have stuck to his guns from the word go.

I was once very interested and excited about the idea of the MS MVP program. I discussed it with guys at the vbcity forum. I considered trying to aim for it at one point, but MS drove me away. This little scenario which just played out only cements my feelings even harder.