Time to call their bluff
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Abe Nov 18, 2006 3:26 PM EDT |
MS is getting very nervous to lose big, Vista is about to be released to the public soon. From all the reviews I have seen, and in spite of their influence on the news, Vista is not doing that well. MS is at a point that they can't take the continuous relentless pressure. Litigation is their last resort and we know it is going to happen sooner or later. For the momentum that F/OSS has Icurrently, and the community in general, it is better now than later. I don't think MS has any solid evidence so they have gone fishing. I have to give it to them, they are clever. MS is making accusations left and right in their final assault to scare many companies that will take them seriously. In the short run, they will prove to be very damaging to F/OSS but will fade away eventually and F/OSS will recover when MS is exposed. To feel safe from a poisonous snake, it is best to chop its head. It is time for F/OSS community to call MS's bluff and take them to court to either prove their claims, in which case any infringement will be removed, or forever shut up for F/OSS to continue its progress. With such a monopoly, offense might as well be the best option at this time. It is time to donate funds to the FSF. |
| rijelkentaurus Nov 18, 2006 3:43 PM EDT |
>In the short run, they will prove to be very damaging to F/OSS but will fade away eventually and F/OSS will recover when MS is exposed. I don't think it will be especially damaging; perhaps a little, but not "very." >It is time to donate funds to the FSF. They get all I can really afford at this point, which are my monthly membership dues. I'd give more if I could, and I ask that everyone who can give that give it. |
| Abe Nov 19, 2006 6:29 AM EDT |
We wont know the extent of the damage right away, it will take time. But one could speculate by considering their history and track record. As we all know, MS leaders are pretty clever but devious and sinister. They wouldn't have become what they are if it wasn't for their cheating, back stabbing, stealing, illegal practices, and shenanigans when dealing with other companies and the consumers. They held SCO's hands and showed them the way. They used them as a pilot project (guinea pigs) to see how things might go with Copyright. Because of this case, F/OSS suffered some in the adoption process and they know that. But the case is all but thrown out of court due to lack of evidence and MS is more worried than ever. They can't give F/OSS a chance because it will bring their demise a lot quicker as F/OSS is becoming way ahead in providing more features and much better quality. Now they are trying with Intellectual Property (IP) and brought Novell along for various reasons. One of them is Novell reception to it. IP will suit MS very well since it is a very fuzzy term and can drag any law suit for many years. That is their main intention because all they are after is to continue where SCO left off muddying the legality of F/OSS. SCO's suit was totally unfounded and it was against IBM and wasn't again Linux. They brought Linux into the picture with help of pundits in the press where MS has a lot of influence (Money talks). We have already seen how that hampered Linux adoption in corporations. The company I work for sent a message out to all employees asking to make sure that no one is using Linux in the corporation. I am sure my company wasn't the only one. The technology wheels in large corporation spin very slow. Many of them have been looking into Linux to see how it could be beneficial (I know I have), and they like what they see. But the issue that no one company is willing to ignore is the cost of switching going to be. MS is getting very nervous. It lost the TCO war, they lost the feature war, they are about to lose the application availability war. So they are getting very concerned and the only avenue they have left is IP war. The IP war makes companies nervous and it adds a quite a bit of funds to F/OSS TCO to defend it. Ballmer knows that companies have balance sheets. With their monopoly and financial power, they could convince many weak corporations to abandon the idea of switching and keep the status quo. If SCO taught us something, it is litigation causing this kind of damage. But unfortunately for MS, it also taught us that this is going to be a temporary short term damage and F/OSS will come out of it better and stronger. MS is hoping to kill F/OSS in this process, but if they can't, there is no harm in slowing it down. |
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