The Microsoft-Nokia deal is a serious setback for free software in general

[micu]

Hello together,

I bet you already heard about the Microsoft-Nokia deal and about Nokia's
new strategy of using Microsoft Windows Phone 7 as their major (and in
fact only) smartphone OS instead of the free software OS MeeGo. You
might say now "But we still have Android in the mobile sector" --- and
you are partly right. I do not dislike Android. But Android cannot do
what MeeGo could (have done): creating a free software ecosystem ranging
from the desktop, to netbooks, tablets, embedded systems (e.g. in cars),
and smartphones = pushing free software to the end user mainstream.

See: <http://www.micuintus.de/2011/02/12/the-death-of-the/>

BTW: Did you know that the new trojan Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, is the
7th biggest owner of MS stock? 3.18 Miollion $! http://mge.bz/3f Is he
working for Nokia or is he working for Microsoft?

Kind regards
micu

[Timo Juhani Lindfors]

Post by micu
BTW: Did you know that the new trojan Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, is the
7th biggest owner of MS stock? 3.18 Miollion $! http://mge.bz/3f Is he
working for Nokia or is he working for Microsoft?

A Finnish newspaper says that this is due to a law that forbids the use
of inside information when buying company shares:

"Arvopaperimarkkinalaki eli p?rssilaki kielt?? yhti?n
sis?piiril?isi? k?ytt?m?st? hyv?kseen julkistamatonta
sis?piirintietoa omissa kaupoissaan. Nokiassa on tulkittu, ett?
Elopin suunnittelema Nokian strategiamuutos oli sis?piirintietoa
viime perjantaihin asti."

-- http://www.hs.fi/talous/artikkeli/Nokia+P%C3%B6rssilaki+esti+Stephen+Elopin+Nokia-ostot/1135263769613/

I think the law that they are referring to is

http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/1989/19890495

which has an English translation at

http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1989/en19890495

"CHAPTER 5 (13.5.2005/297)
Provisions on market abuse
Inside information
Section 1 (26.10.2007/923)
Inside information shall mean information of a precise nature relating
to a security subject to public
trading or to multilateral trading which has not been made public or
which otherwise has not been
available in the markets and which is likely to have a material effect
on the value of the said security.
The provisions of subsection 1 shall also apply to a security:
1) which is subject to trading corresponding to public trading in
another EEA Member State;
2) the admission to public trading or to trading corresponding
thereto in another EEA Member
State of which has been applied for; or
3) the value of which is determined on the basis of a security
subject to public trading or to multi-
lateral trading or on the basis of a security referred to in
subsection 1 or 2.
"
...

[micu]

Hey Timo et al.,

Post by Timo Juhani Lindfors
A Finnish newspaper says that this is due to a law that forbids the

Since Mrs Google isn't able to translate the Finnish article too well,
please find an English article about that incident here:

<http://mynokiablog.com/2011/02/13/nokia-ceo-elop-to-buy-nokia-shares-asap-to-divest-microsoft-shares-soon/>

Nevertheless, why didn't he sell the stocks before he applied at Nokia?
He says, he's gonna sell his MS stocks and buy Nokia stocks instead.
After the Elopocalypse, isn't the set of Nokia stocks a subset MS stocks
set anyways?

But there are much more facts that indicate that this Elopocalypse deal is
not only a serious setback for free software, but also bad for Nokia on
a pure capitalist level, and hence there is something really
sticky about this MS-Nokia deal:

* Stephen Elop has performed a similar thing before: Selling out
Macromedia to Adobe "from the inside":
<http://piacentini.blog.br/2011/02/elop-is-after-me/>

* Maybe it isn't even a 100% bad idea for Nokia at the moment to
announce a WP7 and/or Android phone in addition (why not?). But why this
exclusiveness with Microsoft? Why did Nokia put itself completely and
utterly at Microsoft?s mercy? They have Qt, they have Symbian, they have
MeeGo,...

* The circumstances, under which Stephen Elop was selected in September
2010, are quite a bit mysterious:
<http://nexus404.com/Blog/2011/01/26/finnish-newspaper-reports-that-american-investors-forced-nokia-to-hire-stephen-elop-nokias-new-ceo-is-the-first-non-finn-in-the-companys-history-but-new-report-claims-that-nokias-hand-was-for/>.

* Alberto Mardegan, a Nokia employee, reports that MeeGo is ready and
not an R&D project:
<http://blog.mardy.it/2011/02/committed-to-linux.html>.
There are more sources indicating a MeeGo device could
have been ready and great at the end of 2010 if Elop didn't torpedo it
("setting the platform on fire"):
<http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2011/02/nokia-autopsy-on-meego-one-last-look-back-before-we-look-forward-on-the-new-nokia.html>.

* Elop has already signed a MS-Nokia deal before, but he was on the
other side that time:
<https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/aug09/08-12pixipr.mspx>.

The whole thing really stinks and makes me even sad, I have to admit.

Kind regards,
micu

[micu]

We are a group of nine young Nokia shareholders. All of us have
worked with Nokia in different capacities in the past. We plan to
challenge the company?s strategy and partnership with Microsoft in
the next Annual General Meeting scheduled for May 3, 2011.

http://nokiaplanb.com/

[Michael Kesper]

Hallo,
...

Post by micu
http://nokiaplanb.com/

Not really:

there are no 'nine young investors',
just one very bored engineer who really likes his iPhone

in case it's not 100% clear by now: #NokiaPlanB is a hoax

Best wishes
Michael
--
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) [] (http://fsfe.org)
Treten Sie der Fellowship bei! [][][] (http://fellowship.fsfe.org/join)
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[micu]

Hi there,

here <http://h-online.com/-1194928> you can find an interesting and
sharp analysis of the Nokia Maemo MeeGo disaster by Richard Hillesley
--- although I certainly do not agree with him on every aspect.

Regards,
micu