Ah, but it is just as much a threat to corporations as it is to Linux. A ridiculous law is a ridiculous law - "whining" is necessary if something is to change.
Here's the way I see it. Microsoft claims patent infringement in Red Hat and SUSE, so at the very least, they are claiming that they hold the patents for something in both distros. Now, if they have any hope of taking anyone to court, they have to show that there has been some monetary damage. Now, they have been claiming this patent thing for at least a year now and yet they have made no attempts at contacting any developers that I know of. The easiest way to get rid of any monetary damage is to email or call someone and say "Umh, we own a patent on this piece of code and you can't use it"...the group that is developing said app (lets just say it's the kernel right now) will be forced to remove the code (at least temporarily).The end result is if M$ keeps it up, Red Hat will probably end up suing for the damage they have been doing to their reputation (which is obviously what all of these attacks are after). The problem is, community would rally behind the Linux kernel or KDE or Gnome or Samba which means you have to deal with companies that have deep pockets (like IBM). But, attack a distro and all you have to fight are their lawyers. I highly doubt for instance that IBM would come to the aid of Red Hat.
Closed AccountOct 10, 2007
Ah, but it is just as much a threat to corporations as it is to Linux. A ridiculous law is a ridiculous law - "whining" is necessary if something is to change.
inksmithyOct 10, 2007
Its not so much the stories but a lot of the people making comments seem to be slashdotters before they grew up.
philluminatiOct 10, 2007
Or Abusive Microsoft
msgyrdOct 10, 2007
Yes, they do. <a class="user" href="http://labs.live.com/">http://labs.live.com/</a><a class="user" href="http://research.microsoft.com/research/default.aspx">http://research.microsoft.com/research/default.asp ...</a>Most of it never makes it to market though, just like most companies. What's innovative and whats marketable are two different things.
onefixOct 10, 2007
Here's the way I see it. Microsoft claims patent infringement in Red Hat and SUSE, so at the very least, they are claiming that they hold the patents for something in both distros. Now, if they have any hope of taking anyone to court, they have to show that there has been some monetary damage. Now, they have been claiming this patent thing for at least a year now and yet they have made no attempts at contacting any developers that I know of. The easiest way to get rid of any monetary damage is to email or call someone and say "Umh, we own a patent on this piece of code and you can't use it"...the group that is developing said app (lets just say it's the kernel right now) will be forced to remove the code (at least temporarily).The end result is if M$ keeps it up, Red Hat will probably end up suing for the damage they have been doing to their reputation (which is obviously what all of these attacks are after). The problem is, community would rally behind the Linux kernel or KDE or Gnome or Samba which means you have to deal with companies that have deep pockets (like IBM). But, attack a distro and all you have to fight are their lawyers. I highly doubt for instance that IBM would come to the aid of Red Hat.
polymorphsMar 14, 2008
This is certainly not the type of abuse we mean at <a class="user" href="http://pc-abuser.com,">http://pc-abuser.com,</a> there we only like the fun kind lol