Genocide Profiteer not War Profiteer
Fuck you Microsoft, if I wasn’t already done with you for completely enshittifying your operating system, I would DEFINITELY be done with you for this.
Fuck off and continue to become a Kodak or Yahoo or other still existing washout company that totally lost the plot.
What happened to Kodak?
Kodak went from being a major player in the photography industry to being completely blindsided by digital photography.
Willfully blind. Eastman Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975, but decided to focus on their existing, profitable product lines. Clayton Christensen describes the process in The Innovator’s Dilemma.
Yes, this is basically every large US tech company right now
“I’m not interested in arguing” -someone who knows they’re in the wrong, but still holds the power
the email to Aboussad reads. “It is also concerning that you have not apologized to the company, and in fact you have shown no remorse for the effect that your actions have had and will have.”
Obviously there were going to fire these employees, especially the one who gave notice then did this.
But why the fuck would anyone be like “yOu DiDn’T eVeN aPoLoGiZe To ThE cOmPaNy”? That’s the stupidest god damn thing I’ve heard since “Liberation Day”
What about “you haven’t even thanked us!” to Zelensky?
Same energy.
“I’ll apologize when you apologize for building tools that killed children.”
Apologized? Did they berate her for not “wearing a suit” too?
Or speaking without permission with a vagina?!
The impertinence!
That email was almost certainly written by lawyers with the intention of supporting MS in court, should it come down to that.
Bingo. Lots of stupid things at this level boil down to legal protection. You’ll see it everywhere once you learn and look.
“Lucky we’re not countersuing! Oh the damages you are certain to be causing in the futureeee, the burns”
Actually now that I think about it maybe this was a multimillion dollar protest. The headlines have been published for and wide. I bet a few people spent more time feeling guilty than working right after as well - imagine one of them quitting. Still somewhat hard to believe it would lose them contracts but perhaps there will be potential customers who want to avoid connection with Microsoft until this blows over.
that makes sense. i hate the fact that such a blatant play at covering your bases could hold up in any court. no matter the legal fineprint, it takes two functioning braincells to realise what’s going on here
Hey, when’s the last time you showed remorse to your multi-trillion market cap employer? Next you’re gonna tell me something really outrageous like you didn’t even swear an oath of fealty to them.
But why the fuck would anyone be like “yOu DiDn’T eVeN aPoLoGiZe To ThE cOmPaNy”?
Frame the debate. MS doesn’t have to justify their profiteering if they can talk about the employee. The attention span of the public is limited.
C-suits don’t live in the same world as the rest of us. Simple as that.
Have you even said Thank You?!?
Cancelled Xbox game pass and installing PopOS. Fuck Microsoft
The penguin calls, and the good folks answer.
I’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty
Have you checked out the gaming for Linux communities on Lemmy?
Got any recommendations?
Edit, I meant to say got, not god 🤣
“play Outer Wilds”
-god, probably
???
I’ve never had an xbox before, so pardon my ignorance. But you can install linux OS’s on xbox?
You can get game pass for PC so, probably that way around
Ah, ok. That makes more sense.
No Linux on Xbox, no
Well, not on a modern Xbox. On the OG XBox however…
Ah, ok. I mean, it doesn’t even make sense, right? Could you image??? So I’ll just pass this info along to whomever it was that was so stupid they thought that was possible…what an idiot!
goes off to find a mirror
Hey, you can put Linux on many handheld gaming machines like like ASUS ROG Ally (like Bazzite OS for instance) and there are a few Linux systems that aim to fully emulate a console experience on PC. All Android phones run on Linux and you can get custom OS’s if you root them, like Lineage. So it’s not such a silly idea!
And the Wii can be Linuxed, if you get creative enough. Source: former roommate did it
There quite a handful of IoT devices out there that will run Linux too. Many of them, in fact, run BSD by default
based
…yo yall are late to the party, been running Nobara for 3 years now on my G14, rocking the Steam Deck, only Windows machine I have is for work and believe me that thing is host file locked down and stripped.
Congratulations ig
Gotta draw the line somewhere I guess? Or is this just to make sure a Linux comment makes it into a thread about Microsoft?
I do not see how PopOS would replace Xbox game pass.
It is also concerning that you have not apologized to the company, and in fact you have shown no remorse for the effect that your actions have had and will have.
the fucking audacity. i mean, we all knew how it would end, but talk about 5d reverse psychology mindgames
you have not apologized to the company
Writing this should be grounds for a mandatory psych ward commitment
There is no such thing as “free speech” under capitalism.
sounds like you don’t know what free speech is
It doesn’t seem they are using free speech in the same sense as the American first amendment (they may not be from the USA). But i would argue that if companies want to play politics, run countries, and be that integrated in people’s lives then free speech as a concept should extend to companies.
As a not-American we don’t say we have freedom of speech, we say we have protected speech and that is more inline with what you want
Shhhhh… Get out of here with your nuance. Let them screech about the bad private company violating the First Amendment.
It makes the monkeys feel better.
Edit:
That was the opposite of nuance. It was pedantry that deliberately missed the point.
Let them screech about the bad private company violating the First Amendment.
How many billions of dollars in government contracts do you need to receive before the line blurs? Microsoft might as well be a subsidiary of the Federal Bureaucracy, given the role it plays in national security, infrastructure, and data management. The US government is its biggest client by far.
Jerk harder!
Yeah, about not being sent to a gulag for criticising the goberment
He’s not wrong, but ‘bringing your true self to work’ is something companies like to say but they don’t actually believe.
IBM had a role in the holocaust. Those numbers tattooed on everyone in the concentration camp? Those were IBM ID numbers for the punch cards.
If IBM staff protested about their role, it’s been lost to history. But it’s repeating today with Gaza and the staff who speak out are being demonized. Israel’s Lavender AI is being used to kill civilians. History will prove this woman and the other employees right in the end.
Depends who controls the narrative and how it plays out.
I still don’t think this “Lavender AI” actually exists, I think that was another scapegoat to blame their deliberate targeting of civilians on.
Why not both?
good ep of a good pod
Israel has access to WhatsApp metadata and uses it to target people based on a poorly trained Israeli AI which calls everything Hamas. This is a scapegoat because it allows them to blame the machine for killing people at random.
A machine can never be held responsible, therefore a machine must ALWAYS make management decisions
“Another fals positive? Woops! Whatever shall we do?”
Oh shit it’s true. I tought punch cards came later but its 19th century(1800s) tech.
Is Lavender AI made by Microsoft or uses Microsoft technology?
The IDF uses plenty of Microsoft technology including Azure. The details of Lavender are classified.
As enraging as this whole story is, I don’t think there’s any coming back from ‘you’re a war profiteer’
Yeah, I assume the now-former employee acted with full expectation of losing her job over this. She succeeded at bringing attention to something many people (myself included) hadn’t heard about before, so she at least accomplished that much.
the best thing i did was spend last month deleting the partitions in my desktop and laptop and installing mint.
I’ve been on Arch for a little while now, and Kubuntu before that. After Valve launched Proton on Steam, I found myself almost never booting into Windows. Once I ran out of disk space, it was an easy decision to completely purge Windows from my machine. Haven’t looked back in years.
Fuck Microsoft for trying to control my computer. Finally nice not having it reinstall Candy Crush after every update. And none of that copilot or online account bullshit.
That’s such a nice thing about Linux and FOSS in general. The issues you run into are different than what you may be used to with Windows, but at least the system and its developers aren’t working against you.
And if you don’t like the way one distro does things, you can switch to another one, and there are dozens to choose from. With Windows, of course there is only one distro, and if you don’t like it, too bad.
Mint is the best flavor of linux. I recommend it.
I’m actually allergic to mint. Can anyone suggest a version of Linux that doesn’t have any mint in it.
Fedora
I would say Ubuntu is the next best distro (if you want stability and easy of use)
Opensuse
I tried a variety of distros when I made the switch 9 or 10 years ago, Mint is by far my favorite. I’ve been running it continuously for at least the last 8 years.
Yeah, it just works and you never have to use the command line.
Yep. Well unless you want to try some new thing that’s not in the repo, then it’s sudo apt-get for the win.
I love my Pop OS
Heh, flavour
(I like Fedora, but it obviously doesnt taste as good)
I like Fedora
tip M’lady
(I’m using Bazzite, which is based on Fedora though)
Heck yeah. Once in installed Mint on my PC at home, it was only a matter of weeks before I double checked my backed up files and nuked my windows partition.
I still have the windows partition at work that I never use, and I have heard some bad stories about machines getting wiped when IT upgrades people to win11, so it might just have a little accident in its sleep.
I would have been surprised if they hadn’t fired her. Good on those two for causing a ruckus for a cause they believe in though. Nonviolent one too, well done.
They were probably going to quit over personal morality anyway, so good for them for using their exit for positive. At least they can leave with their self-respect and dignity intact, and the respect of their co-workers and the world. Somewhere there is a moral employer who will appreciate them.
The fact that they’re asking her to apologize is Just ass backwards.
They should apologize, and look into the issue, and possibly, stop, war profiting.
That’s okay. They’re going to lose a lot of Windows users, forcing them to upgrade Perfectly good computers.
i agree with what you’re saying from an ethical standpoint. i think she’s right to protest.
but it’s not “an issue”, it’s a huge fucking client of theirs. from a business standpoint its a huge ask to fire a whole military as a customer.
Surely there’s an option between “drop major client” and “punish the person pointing out problems”
Disrupting a meeting like that was always going to end in getting fired.
It didn’t have to. You only expect it to because there’s a history of companies being shitty.
Not only will they fire her, they will also be less willing to hire other Palestinians in the future.
I don’t know about Microsoft but a FAANG company I worked for had very well documented means of raising ethical or legal issues within the company. She just violated her employment contract and possibly her NDA with the company by doing this.
I don’t mean to say she is right/wrong. It is just that she did not follow the guidelines of the company she works for. Therefore she will be fired even if she is right/wrong.
So a choice between money and ethics.
There is never any question which one companies choose.
Certainly not the one with a carreer in scumbaggery.My point was that there are plenty of other options.
My point is: not for them
“We cant stop selling to war criminals. They are among our biggest customers.”
Sounds more like a company that needs to be dismantled and have their leadership face prison sentences. Given the size of Microsoft they could take the hit economically w.o. much hassle. They dont have to be evil. They want to be evil. And we need to punish them for it by boycotting their shit as much as possible.
Can’t help but think of this book wrt your comment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust
I wish that were the case. But I doubt most people will ditch Windows. They’ll just pony up for a new computer. They’ll certainly lose some users. But Windows will still remain as top dog, most likely. And I doubt that’ll ever change so long as traditional desktop computers and laptops still exist.
Windows isn’t the issue here. The war profiteering is coming from the AI and cloud divisions
Ok cool. But I was replying to the comment regarding Microsoft forcing new computers on people. So no need for the correction.
I’m surprised they didn’t call her an antisemite.
Microsoft has recently been added to the BDS list. Do not forget to give their apps a review.
Only trouble is Microsoft clearly doesn’t care about negative reviews of their applications, because they’ve been receiving negative reviews for years now.
It’s not like you can even avoid using their products, personally you can install Linux but you’re probably going to still have to use a Windows device at work, and business is where they make most of their profit anyway.
It’s mildly entertaining at times to scroll through the reviews of the HEIF Image Extension in the Microsoft Store. Microsoft doesn’t care one bit how bad they are.
Yeah, work is where they get you. I’m fortunate to be able to use Linux at work too, but the company is still paying for my M365 account which I use in a browser for meetings and communication.
They still have presence in for example the Play store. A review can cost little time to place, yet it can affect a lot. Though avoid mentioning certain words censored by the play store.
Is “id rather take a shot to the back of the throat from Andy Dick, than be stuck using Microsoft Office” approved for the app store?
Is anyone surprised? Maybe the surprising part is that she’s still alive and only got fired.
Don’t worry, she’s probably getting deported/disappeared soon.
I am pretty sure ICE and DHS are enroute to arrest her and deport her to El Salvador. Fucking gestappo c**ts. This is exactly what Rashida Tlaib, Jill Stein and Kshama Sawant wanted.
deleted by creator
Microsoft has policy that prevents it from retaliatory actions against human rights violations. Court should rule Microsoft violated its own policies…
prevents it from retaliatory actions against human rights violations
They can’t retaliate if someone violates human rights?
They’re referencing what the second protester (Vaniya Agrawal) mentioned in her email:
Know that Microsoft’s human rights statement prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a human rights-related concern: Human rights statement | Microsoft CSR
The Microsoft Global Human Rights Statement has a “Foundational principles” section that says:
Our commitment to human rights defenders: Our commitment to respecting and advancing human rights includes respect and support for the work of human rights defenders around the world. Human rights defenders are people who, individually or with others, engage in activities and advocacy that contribute to the protection of human rights and the rule of law, good governance, tolerance, and diversity and inclusion. Human rights defenders face persistent physical, social, economic, and psychological threats. Microsoft does not tolerate threats, intimidation, retaliation, physical, legal or cyber-attacks against human rights defenders. This commitment extends to all human rights defenders, including those working on issues related to Microsoft and those exercising their rights of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, including to challenge or protest aspects of our own business.
Microsoft is clearly declining to fulfill its commitment as it is written in its statement.
Scumbags
