"The simple question 'what's wrong with software patents?' stirs up controversy and divides the IT industry into two camps like no other. Every group has their own ideology about software patents. Those who don't like them claim that they are anti-competitive, that they are tools used by industry giants to crush free and open software, that they are bad for innovation, that they are monopolies. Those who like them claim that they are simply units of intellectual property, to be traded like any other commodity."
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Member since:2006-04-20
And your point being? There is nothing wrong with duplicating the functionality of someone else's software. Mimicking a network domain controller to create an alternative, competitive program is fine and perfectly legal (i.e., not theft), and it would only be stealing if they used Microsoft's original source code without permission and compiled a binary with it, then claimed it was their own work. Since they wrote their own code, and did not use any MS code, they have stolen nothing. Whether or not Samba does something new or better or not is irrelevant - they are simply creating a competing product that is interoperable with an existing product - this is perfectly normal in a healthy market economy.
As someone who is quite neutral in regards to OSS and CSS (I am not a programmer so I couldn't give a flying fish wether the source code is available to me or not), I fail to see what being open or closed source has to do with it.
There is no difference in someone creating a full office suite that clones MS Office down to the last detail as a commercial closed source product and someone doing the same thing as an open source product, provided they do not use any of Microsoft's original code in doing so.
Get it?
Member since:2005-06-29
I think that you should probably read the GPL and maybe some GNU writing. Open Source Software is often more of a hindrance for developers than an aid. Sure, seeing source code is great, but trying to figure out if something is legitimate under the GPL is a royal pain.
So why would the GPL exist? It guarantees rights for users. As a user you should care. Afterall, open or closed, you agree to a LEGAL CONTRACT when you use software.
Have you been reading your EULA's?
Member since:2005-11-11
//Accusing Microsoft of stealing something it created is ridiculous, but is typical of the lies spread by OSS fanatics to justify their hatred of Microsoft.//
Sigh!
Microsoft derived their client/server networking protocol by adapting the Server Messge Block protocol invented by IBM for the IBM PC.
Samba derived their client/server networking protocol by adapting the Server Messge Block protocol invented by IBM for the IBM PC.
Up until a certain point in time, Microsoft collaborated with the Samba team, to the extent of sharing specification documents, with the stated intent of achieving interoperability between Linux & Windows systems. Suddenly, Microsoft withdrew their collaboration, and then they went to considerable lengths to obscure the protocol.
Those are the facts. Deal with it.
Member since:2006-06-01
Microsoft derived their client/server networking protocol by adapting the Server Messge Block protocol invented by IBM for the IBM PC.
Heavily modifying SMB to include LAN Manager extensions is not the same as stealing the protocol off the wire by sniffing it and then only cloning it.
The essence of OSS is thievery and always has been.
Member since:
2006-06-01
Samba goal has always been to duplicate Windows NT and later Windows 2000+ fileservers.
Later it added the goal of acting as Windows domain controllers.
It was never to do anything new or better.
The goal was to mimic windows.
The eventual goal, of course, it to completely mimic a Windows NT Domain Controller.
http://samba.org/samba/docs/SambaIntro.html
Netbios is not SMB. SMB is an application level protocol which runs over NBF (NetBEUI / NetBIOS) or NetBIOS over TCP/IP or NetBIOS over IPX/SPX.
Microsoft use of SMB came very early on:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/timothydevans/smb.htm
"In 1987 Microsoft announced the LAN Manager program and in 1988 IBM announced the OS/2 LAN Server, both use versions of the Server Message Block Protocol. Enhancements and changes to the protocol have been made and a history can be found at:
"http://samba.anu.edu.au/cifs/docs/smb-history.html"
Accusing Microsoft of stealing something it created is ridiculous, but is typical of the lies spread by OSS fanatics to justify their hatred of Microsoft.