Recent
Articles |
Fighting Analysis Paralysis With Open Source?
I stumbled across this analysis of the Linux Kernel which brought back "fond" memories of my market opportunity forecasting days. In the analysis, the author, kripken, estimates that "at most, 60% of the Linux Kernel...
Novell Could Loose Access To New Linux Versions
Make a deal with a big closed source company and the FSF (Free Software Foundation) may pull your access rights to Linux Distro's. At least that is what Novell...
Invalidating The Linux Buffer Cache
When you write data, it doesn't necessarily get written to disk right then. The kernel maintains caches of many things, and disk data is something where a lot of work is done to keep everything fast and efficient.
Invalidating The Linux Buffer Cache
When you write data, it doesn't necessarily get written to disk right then. The kernel maintains caches of many things, and disk data is something where a lot of...
|
|
|
02.28.07
Linux To Microsoft: Bring It, Freakshow
 By David A. Utter
Advocates for Linux want Microsoft and their CEO, Steve Ballmer, to dispense with the threats and show which code in the Linux world infringes on Microsoft's property.
The rhetoric out of Redmond about Linux has had several memorable moments over the years.
The Halloween Documents stand out, as do the various whitepapers about Windows advantages in ROI and TCO over Linux over the years.
There has long been an undercurrent of suggestions and veiled threats made by Microsoft toward the Linux community over the years.
Accusations of Linux using Microsoft's intellectual property have been echoed by Ballmer in the press.
Some in the Linux world have had enough.
They have pulled on the MMA gloves and challenged Ballmer to step into ring. The request: Show Us The Code:
This website will serve as a response to this accusation, and within it, a request. The request is simple, since you, Microsoft, claim to be so sure of yourself: Show Us the Code. Show us the Code and Show Us the Patents. Let's make this crystal clear. If Linux developers are made aware of the code and pantented ideas, then the code can be omitted and Linux can re-write necessary aspects of the kernel or operating system. This is a fairly simple request and common courtesy. Linux community members do not want your code. We don't want lawsuits. We don't want non-free code. And much to your dismay, we don't want Microsoft's code specifically.
The Show Us The Code site's backers have asked Microsoft to show publicly where Linux violates its intellectual property by May 1st.
They are also calling upon leaders in the tech community, like Linus Torvalds, Mark Shuttleworth, and Google's leading triumvirate of Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt to call Microsoft's bluff.
About the Author:
David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.
|
