In its second such agreement this week, Microsoft has struck a deal under which it will extend amnesty to a company that's using what the software maker claims is patented Microsoft intellectual property embedded in the open source Linux computer operating system. Under a deal with LG Electronics, disclosed late Wednesday, Microsoft will forgo any Linux-related patent claims against the South Korean electronics manufacturer. In return, Microsoft will gain access to certain intellectual property produced by LG.
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Member since:2006-06-02
Member since:2006-09-08
Maybe some of MS's hardware patents hold water. But since all the Linux products/companies involved in these deals have said in public that MS did not show them any patents, then I don't know why they are including Linux in the deals! (except for MS's purposes, which are to block GPLv3)
Edited 2007-06-08 19:25
Member since:2006-04-21
Xandros and Novell both compete in the same area as Microsoft, and both can benefit from interoperability with Microsoft products.
(Yet another) something that should make you hoot with laughter if you know anything about the history of Linux. Linux developers have paid attention to "interoperability with Microsoft" since day one - it's Microsoft that has historically gone to great lengths to make sure anyone - not just Linux users - who wants to interoperate with them has to continually pay catch-up.
Could it be that the patents actually hold any water?
Again, events in the wider world provide a clue. (A) The US is the only jurisdiction that matters that currently allows software patents, (B) The Supreme Court of the United States recently cast down on the validity of the vast majority of software patents. Therefore, until they are proven otherwise I would say that any claims made by anyone on any software patent granted in the US are suspect, until proven otherwise. And that's without factoring in the Microsoft (lack of) credibility factor.
Member since:2006-01-02
I really don't understand where you get these "catch-up" ideas. Windows interoperates with old versions of itself. If the Samba folks (or the OOo or any other group that tries to interoperate with microsoft's stuff) made their software correctly, it would just behave as an old protocol version and do the right thing, just as Office and Windows does.
I think OSS users need to realize that OSS devs are frankly not that interested in becoming compatible with Microsoft. It's not fun and requires a high level of skill, so it's just one of those things that doesn't get done. Microsoft could do it when they needed to because money is an even better motivator than fun.
Member since:
2005-06-29
Well, I would first want to see these so-called patents myself before saying they actually hold any water or not. The fact that both Novell and Xandros legitimated the patents by signing the deal means little to me; Xandros and Novell both compete in the same area as Microsoft, and both can benefit from interoperability with Microsoft products.
LGe, however, is a different matter altogether. LGe is a hardware company; it's one of the biggest players in, for instance, the flat panel industry. However, it barely competes in a head-to-head way with Microsoft in the way Novell and Xandros do.
In other words, There must be something else that LGe wants/is getting from Microsoft. Could it be that the patents actually hold any water?
I can barely believe it.