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.strict warning: Only variables should be passed by reference in /home2/varesano/public_html/sites/all/modules/inline/inline.module on line 489.If you open a web browser and point it to google.co.uk then search for KiCad, which is an awesome free/libre/open source Electronic Design Automation used to design circuits and printed circuits boards, you’ll be shown this advertising:
Is Farnell supporting KiCad? Of course not: if you click the link you’ll be brought to this webpage in which Farnell will try to convince you that buying Eagle is way better than using a libre software as KiCad.
Is this something incidental or not by purpose, perhaps due to automatic tools used by Farnell? I don’t think so! Note how the advertising is designed to confuse people. They do use uk.farnell.com/Kicad as URL, so that people know that they’d get a webpage on KiCad while users instead are driven to their Eagle shop page! I don’t think automatic tools can do such a thing!
This is not the first time that big companies buy ads on Google or general advertising to discredit a libre software competitor. Massive media coverage got the Get the Facts Microsoft campaign in which Microsoft spent millions of dollars trying to discredit Linux.
However, in the scene of Electronic Design Automation this is something new. What does this proves? Just one thing, KiCad has arrived to such an high quality level that it’s starting to scare proprietary EDA software vendors.
I just hope that Farnell will realize that buying advertising against an Free/Libre/Open Source competitor won’t be seen well by the huge Open Hardware comunity. This is the kind of bad move which can destroy thousands of dollar investments in a couple of hours (yes, I’m thinking about element14).
What do you think?