Star On Four-Pixel-Stacks, Vultures, and Bending Girders
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 14th Oct 2007 15:12 UTC
Law and Order This week's 'big' news on OSNews was about software patents. You know, those things that say you cannot stack four pixels on top of one another unless you pay money to the guy who invented four-pixel-stacks (or the guy who bought the guy who invented four-pixel-stacks). A company called IP Innovation, LLC, has sued Novell and Red Hat for infringement of the company's IP portfolio. Software patents are of course generally completely ridiculous, so I will not focus on that here. I want to focus on something else.
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RE: Monopolist
by kaiwai on Sun 14th Oct 2007 17:24 UTC in reply to "Monopolist"
kaiwai
Member since:
2005-07-06

MS is a convicted monopolist, which is no less powerful now than it was when convicted (insert GWB related tinfoil hat stories here). This is the reason why it's prudent to sniff out an MS connection to this, because MS's track record proves that they will go to any lengths to crush their competition.
Thom, you seem to be trying too hard to play devils advocate in this case (IMO). Assuming that Microsoft is up to no good is in fact usually correct (remember SCO?), and that's not Fanboy-ism/bias of any kind, just looking at the facts.


I agree. When one looks at the facts its hard to avoid the link:

1) Large vendors such as HP, Toshiba, Acer, Lenovo and Dell all announce that they're either planning, testing or offering Linux beyond the server arena.

2) Microsoft can no longer do the old 'strong arm' tactics as they did years ago to OEM vendors. If you can't threaten OEM's - whats to stop Microsoft from at least sowing the seeds of doubt in the marketplace over the so-called 'legality'?

3) Suddenly an unknown patent harvesting firm, chocked to the brim with ex-Microsoft employee's appears threatening *only* *NIX vendors. If these patents were so broad, then come how they haven't attacked Microsoft, Apple or any other vendor?

4) Now don't get me wrong, I don't believe the connection with SCO and Microsoft given that Microsoft needed to licence technology for their Services for UNIX product to improve SYSV compatibility. Even with that being said, it still raises questions as to why they just simply didn't use OpenSolaris code, given it is opensource and available for them to use if they wish. stupidity on Microsofts part on a conspiracy?

Edited 2007-10-14 17:27

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