PDA

View Full Version : I'm kind of worried...



Puppy fam
May 19th, 2007, 10:38 PM
...About this whole Microsoft patents thing. Is it likely to change open-source software? I mean, what's the worst case scenario? :(

koshatnik
May 19th, 2007, 10:39 PM
Its ********. Nothing more.

celsofaf
May 19th, 2007, 10:54 PM
Dude, if you're worried, then Microsoft achieved its goal with you.

bastiegast
May 19th, 2007, 11:14 PM
F (http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070518124020691)
U (http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?src=rss&id=1519)
D (http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS3222586327.html)

Adamant1988
May 19th, 2007, 11:38 PM
...About this whole Microsoft patents thing. Is it likely to change open-source software? I mean, what's the worst case scenario? :(

You don't need to worry about it, Microsofts patents where Linux is concerned have no teeth. They can't sue the distributors for anything and they can't sue the customers for anything (because those customers are the very same customers that buy from Microsoft).

ubukool
May 19th, 2007, 11:57 PM
Here's my take on it: Dell make a deal to ship Ubuntu on some of their machines and Microsoft sees their Windows cash cow being taken off to slaughter. This is quite rightly so! Linux will trash windows one day, the only thing it lacks is publicity and people having the will the make the change from Windows to Linux and in so doing, accepting that they are going to have to THINK and sort out some minor teething problems.

It seems to me that, especially with Ubuntu, Linux is becoming more user-friendly and easier to use out of the box. This situation can only improve with time. Microsoft know that Linux is becoming a real threat to their market share. Let's work it out: Ubuntu is FREE and it looks and performs better than Windows. There are new releases of Ubuntu every six months; in comparison, a new version of Windows comes out every 3-6 years.

In short, I think the boys at Microsoft have realized that, in the long run, they can't compete with Linux and open source. Their only hope is to try to scare open source developers into signing agreements under threat of being sued because of 'patent infringement'.

It'll be interesting to see what happens but all of this just proves that Linux has finally arrived. Things can only get better!

Puppy fam
May 20th, 2007, 12:16 AM
So you don't think Microsoft will turn around and sue Canonical and shutdown Ubuntu?

Ok, yeah, I'm a little paranoid. It's just that I've just found Ubuntu and like it a lot... and now I've heard that there's a possibility that Linux as I know it could go away...

Adamant1988
May 20th, 2007, 12:59 AM
So you don't think Microsoft will turn around and sue Canonical and shutdown Ubuntu?

Ok, yeah, I'm a little paranoid. It's just that I've just found Ubuntu and like it a lot... and now I've heard that there's a possibility that Linux as I know it could go away...

Microsoft wouldn't dare try to sue Canonical, on a lot of grounds.

1) Canonical isn't subject to U.S. law.
2) Canonical belongs to the OIN which grants protection to the users of Ubuntu.

FuturePilot
May 20th, 2007, 01:01 AM
Dude, if you're worried, then Microsoft achieved its goal with you.

Exactly what I was going to say. MS is just trying to scare you. They've been doing it for quite some time now.

justin whitaker
May 20th, 2007, 01:12 AM
So you don't think Microsoft will turn around and sue Canonical and shutdown Ubuntu?

Ok, yeah, I'm a little paranoid. It's just that I've just found Ubuntu and like it a lot... and now I've heard that there's a possibility that Linux as I know it could go away...

They claim 238 or so infringements, but it's not clear how many are actually enforceable. There is no way to tell because if they give up what has been infringed upon, they would lose the ability to litigate it, since open source developers could remove the offending code.

Alternatively, it could also expose that many of those patents are completely worthless, failing the obviousness test, or having prior art...

And, the third issue is that Microsoft has been taking ideas from everyone else for years, and not acknowledging the IP because that would expose the house of cards that these claims rest on.

Basically, noone has more to lose if this ever gets litigated than Microsoft.

voltagex
May 20th, 2007, 01:18 AM
Like a previous poster said, this is a tactic employed by Microsoft called FUD.

Wikipedia says:

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a sales or marketing strategy of disseminating negative (and vague) information on a competitor's product. The term originated to describe disinformation tactics in the computer hardware industry and has since been used more broadly. FUD is a manifestation of the appeal to fear.

Put your mind at ease.

Puppy fam
May 20th, 2007, 02:06 AM
So the general consensus is that this is no big deal? :KS

b1nary_w01f
May 20th, 2007, 02:16 AM
according to the supreme court code can not be patented because it is nothing more then a mathematical algorithm. however the final product can be copyrighten. but Microsoft clams no copyright violation.
Its just an idol threat to scare users away from Linux/GNU. If they actually presented the case in court they would inevitably lose the case, and they know it.

Bartender
May 20th, 2007, 03:28 AM
This latest ploy may not work, but Microsoft isn't going to just give up and go away.

I think of MS as a cornered animal. The most dangerous kind.

hellmet
May 20th, 2007, 04:41 AM
^ Well said :D .. I'm rubbin my hands in glee !

Sammi
May 20th, 2007, 05:42 AM
I think of MS as a cornered animal. The most dangerous kind.
Well said. This whole patent FUD thing is very desperate of Microsoft.

Bakerman
May 20th, 2007, 07:15 AM
How could MS sue the Linux users who have switched from Windows anyhow? Wouldn't those unfortunate enough (like me) to have a Windows XP licence but choose not to use it, already be licenced to use the code in question? MS have already had a Windows XP licence fee out of me, they will not be getting any more. Sounds like a non-runner to me.

:-\"

the.dark.lord
May 20th, 2007, 08:36 AM
So the general consensus is that this is no big deal? :KS

Nope, they have been up to this tactics for some time. Just ignore it. They saw the writing on the wall.

bonzodog
May 20th, 2007, 09:14 AM
Ok, all of this FUD is now totally invalid.

Novell did something *very* clever.

Welcome to the GPL v3, where anything you issue underneath it, automatically becomes patent free!.

These vouchers that novell gave to MS will mean that any copies of Suse using the GPL v3 issued by MS, will automatically invalidate all their patents. ALL of them.

Yes, the GPL v3 is the ultimate BFG in Novells arsenal.

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070518124020691

23meg
May 21st, 2007, 12:41 PM
Don't you just love it when Eben Moglen steps in and clears the FUD?

http://www.redhatmagazine.com/2007/05/14/summit-2007-eben-moglen-on-microsofts-summer-of-fear/