[Am-info] SCO SUSPENDS LINUX SALES, TORVALDS REACTS

[Roy Bixler]

On Fri, May 16, 2003 at 08:13:02AM -0400, madodel@ptdprolog.net wrote:
> In <3EC3953D.4000102@cupserv.org>, on 05/15/03 at 09:25 AM,
>    "Fred A. Miller" <fm@cupserv.org> said:
> 
> >SCO SUSPENDS LINUX SALES, TORVALDS REACTS
> 
> >      (Source: LinuxWorld.com) SCO CEO and President Darl McBride said
> >the company is 'alerting commercial users to the fact that legal
> >liability for the use of Linux by businesses may extend to end users.'
> 
> >http://www.linuxworld.com/go.cgi?id=742372
> 
> 
> Can you spell Fear Uncertainty and Doubt?   I smell m$ behind this.  They
> at one time owned a chunk of SCO, and I wouldn't put it past them to have
> some deal in place (read club) to direct SCO management to stir up trouble
> for Linux.

SCO isn't doing very well and I consider it at least as likely that
SCO just wants to pump up their stock price or be bought out.  But all
the evidence indicates that this is a lawsuit with feeble chances of
success and they really want to use it to FUD Linux.  For one, it's
customary when filing a lawsuit not to make substantial public comment
on it until after the case has been heard.  SCO is doing the opposite
and trying to make their case in "the court of public opinion."  An
interesting question is: is there anything to prevent Microsoft from
acquiring SCO?

> Yes its paranoid, but based on past experience and what has come out in
> the court cases I don't think its all that much of a stretch.  It gives
> the m$ sales people an opportunity when they are competing with Linux for
> a multimillion dollar project.  Just think of those corporate executives
> thinking "Do I go with Linux and save a lot of money or stay with
> microsoft and know I'll be squeezed forever?"  And the m$ sales guy says
> "And don't forget that SCO may come after you for using Linux and
> violating their patents."

I don't think SCO is basing their suit on patent infringement, but
instead on improper dissemination of trade secrets.

>  If you can't beat them on value, then club them
> to death with FUD.  That is the m$ way.

True.  There is a lot of circumstantial evidence to say that Microsoft
may have a hand in all of this.  SCO and Microsoft go back a long way
with SCO distributing Microsoft Unix (Xenix) way back.  Microsoft also
owned shares in SCO, but I'm not sure if that's still true.  Recently,
there was another "Halloween" paper put out by Eric Raymond which was
a leaked internal Microsoft memo about a survey they did on Linux
usage.  Some of the conclusions were that Microsoft's FUD against
Linux was ineffective and that the thing that would make the most
people hesitate to use Linux is the possibility of intellectual
property lawsuits regarding it.  SCO's lawsuit and all of the FUD they
are generating fit in well with what Microsoft likes to see.

R.

-- 
Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days.
                -- W. C. Fields, "My Little Chickadee"