Microsoft vs Open Source
p2pnet.net News:- Microsoft will use the legal system to shut down open source software, and for all of its cleverness, the GPL makes it fairly easy unless a white knight steps in.
That’s the bottom line in a NewsForge story here which says a two-year old memo from HP Gary Campbell to other HP execs showed up in the NewsForge submission bin.
The memo “[...] briefly explains a patent cross-licensing deal between HP and Microsoft. By itself, that’s not a big deal, especially since it was sent two years ago,” says the story.
“But the memo asserts that ‘Microsoft will soon be launching a patent-based legal offensive against Linux and other free software projects.’ Leaders in the open source community have been warning of such attacks for some time. The memo reveals there may be very good reason for the worry.”
It goes on, “Although the patent attacks have still not been launched, some speculate that it is only a matter of time. One well-known figure in the open source community, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told us:
” ‘MS had to hold off due to anti-trust prosecution in the EU and US, and also they didn’t want to create bad news for new European software patenting laws before they got what they wanted. Now they have the prospect of being able to prosecute the same patents in Europe. My suspicion is that we could see this start very soon, or hold off for up to three years while MS establishes its commercial licensing program. If they wait to get about 10,000 licensees in their commercial program, they will be able to show in court that they license the patents ‘reasonably’ and that will make them more difficult to fight’.”
In a response, HP spokeswoman Elizabeth Phillips is quoted as saying, “Microsoft continues to be one of HP’s strongest partners. HP is committed to delivering choice for its customers and this is done through a multi-OS strategy of Windows, Linux and HP-UX on industry-standard platforms.”
For chapter and verse, go here.
July 21st, 2004 at 5:40 pm
The industry is just getting what it deserves. I for one hope Microsoft will counter attack. As a developer, Microsoft brought me standardization, which is not something I can claim about the rest of the industry. I write an application and I am pretty much sure it will work on 98% of computers out there.
It’s showing a great ignorance to think Microsoft’s success is due to some kind of evil Bill Gates agenda to take the world over. As I said the open source industry is getting what it deserves from years of incompetence and organization driven by prestige instead of innovation.
Let’s talk about innovation. Since when did the open source innovate in any field? Was Linux really a breakthrough? I call it a RIP of SCO Unix and this later actions just confirm my point of view.
Open source is not what it used to be. It is today driven by greed and incompetence. I for one would rather depend on Microsoft Corp, the fact it is driven by profits guarantees me some kind of satisfaction or my money back. I don’t even think I would have considered joining the computer science community, if I thought it dependent on some kind of disorganized, incompetent movement that gives me more a feeling of communism than anything else.
I lost faith on the open source movement, the day it aligned itself with losers such as Netscape and Sun Microsystems. Netscape was a RIP of Mozilla and Sun gave a more restricted access to its Java platform than Microsoft did to its whole development suite.
It seems when the open source community innovates, Mozilla is a great example of that, it sits to look at its creation while claiming that anyone else trying to get a better product out is evil. Once the better product is out, the open source community wakes up only to finds itself playing catch up now. Just incompetence and inefficiency.
I know my point of view is extremely unpopular but again, the industry is getting and will get what it deserves.
July 21st, 2004 at 5:45 pm
LOL! Anonymous Coward? Nahh I won’t register for more spam. This just made my point
Now I don’t see Microsoft treating its customers as Anonymous Cowards. This is exactly the mentality that is killing the open source movement. Try and figure out what I am saying, it might actually do you some good.
Proud to be a coward in a loser’s mind my friends!
July 21st, 2004 at 11:14 pm
What a load of BS.
Netscape only became a loser because MS squashed it, like it has all its competition. Is that a good thing, myself, a few judges and a few hundred
million other people would say no.
Here’s a model for Microsoft’s success:
1, Start with something necessary to run a PC and almost no competition.
2, Sell that system on a few million units.
3, Use your market advantage to squash any competition.
4, Continue selling and squashing in tandem.
Its not really evil, but it isn’t so smart or innovative either.
If you are really part of the “computer science community” you would know
that a great deal of scientists only use Linux or Unix to do science because
MS is cr@p for carrying out research. Any scientist knows innovation isn’t found
in conformity and standardization. But then again you did say you’re a “developer” didn’t you.
Who cares if Linux was ripped from Unix, its not as if the current use of
icons by MS OSs wasn’t ripped from the Mac OS?
And what the hell is wrong with communism?
We all know the only reason it doesn’t work is peoples natural greed.
Some pigs always believe they are more equal than others don’t you know.
Ohh sorry, I’m sure you do. BTW you can’t call open source both communist
and greedy without sounding ignorant.
Those of us using the other purported 2% of OSs say you can take your
MS software and relocate them… (you know where).
Let’s hope the computer processing the check for your share of the 32BN MS
payout doesn’t crash. It would be tragic if it ended up going to someone who
actually “deserves” it.
July 22nd, 2004 at 5:49 am
“That’s exactly my point. How did it squash Netscape?”
little history lesson: The Internet Explorer browser code was ‘licensed’ from Spyglass (a commercial arm for the NCSA Mosaic browser). Mosaic was the first GUI based multimedia capable browser that offered the same GUI under all operating systems (UNIX/Mac and later Windows). After Microsoft bought Spyglass they modfied the Mosaic browser and renamed it into Internet Explorer and bundled it (since Windows 95 SE) with Windows to kill the Netscape Navigator.
a recent example of OpenSource vs Microcrap.
A security bug in the shell was found in FireFox. An article was posted and Mozilla was notified. TWO DAYS after it was made known Mozilla had a moderately serious security bug in it’s browser a patch was made, page on their site was put up and people had 2 options on how to fix the bug: either apply the patch or upgrade to a new version.
Compare this to Microcrap who time and time again has been presented with well documented security bugs in it’s browser and hasn’t fixed them (oh what I’d do for italics about now) ie: ActiveX Some of these severe security problems have been known to Microcrap for months … some verging on over a year. Have patches been made? no.
The idea that something can be accessed by anyone who wants to access it is a very good idea. The idea that a programmer can improve upon someone elses work is an excellent idea
Microcrap views Open Source as a threat – pure and simple and will stop at nothing to squash it into the ground. It’s sad that they cant see the potential in allowing access to SourceCode so people can improve upon an OS or a program. Take Linux and it’s “nightly” releases of improvements to the OS. I don’t see Microcrap putting the same effort in to satisfy it’s customers …
PS: From what I understand Mozilla didn’t steal anything from Netscape or vice versa. Mozilla.org was an “arm” of Netscape and when AOL bought netscape the creator of the Mozilla.org project (under Netscape) convinced AOL to let them go their own way without AOL …
– yet another anonymous coward
July 22nd, 2004 at 10:09 pm
Well Toby (Slyck), I mean another yet anonymous coward MS supporter.
I’m sorry to say writing code doesn’t make you part of the computer science community. It makes you part of the developer community or tech community.
Nothing wrong with that if you want to worship Ploutos or Mamon. I mean its
not as if your a lawyer.
You wouldn’t be related to Dante of Florence would you? It seems you are
both convinced about leading people on the right path (sorry if this is a little
esoteric for you, think devine comedy-inferno).
The science part involves innovations and research not just writing code.
Let me know of any paper you have published in a refereed CS journal
and I’ll eat my hat on this one.
Anyway, at first I thought you were serious, then I realized that nobody that
didn’t work for MS would be so vociferous unless they were just trying to
drum up some controversy (particularly on a p2p forum). The chances are
you don’t work for MS, so there you go…
I salute you for your attempts, good show.
Myself and the Utopianists (sc) will go back to sleep until you finish your
diatribe and the people who really believe what you write become extinct.
Chao.
July 26th, 2004 at 12:24 pm
Actually, on rethink….
DO
NOT
FEED
TROLL
;P