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Microsoft Licenses Unix From SCO
JackN
<font color=#99FF99>Lightwave Alien</font>
in Zocalo v2.0
[quote][b]Microsoft Licenses Unix From SCO[/b]
[i]May 19, 2003 (5:04 p.m. EST)
By Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb News [/i]
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to buy patent and source-code licenses for Unix from SCO Group, which has launched a controversial campaign to exact royalties from IBM and other high-tech companies selling products using the Unix-offshoot Linux.
Microsoft said the licensing agreement is to ensure that it would not violate any intellectual property in building products that can exchange data between Windows and Unix. The companies did not release financial details for the agreement announced Monday.
"The announcement of this license is representative of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to respecting intellectual property (IP) and the IT community's healthy exchange of IP through licensing," Brad Smith, general counsel and senior vice president for Microsoft, said in a statement. "This helps to ensure IP compliance across Microsoft solutions and supports our efforts around existing products like Services for Unix that further Unix interoperability."
SCO claims Linux, a Unix cousin developed by the open-source community and available for free, contains chunks of code covered by the company's Unix patents. The Lindon, Utah, company has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against IBM, claiming the IT giant has used SCO's code in Linux. IBM has denied the claims.
In addition, SCO sent letters last week to 1,500 large corporations, warning them that they may be infringing on SCO's intellectual property by using Linux.
Microsoft officials have identified Linux as a serious competitive threat to Windows on Intel-based server machines. Developers within the open-source community in charge of Linux have speculated that the Redmond, Wash., company is secretly bankrolling SCO's legal battle.
However, some industry analysts believe Microsoft is trying to avoid a legal entanglement with SCO, while reaping the bonus of helping to instill doubt among corporate users considering Linux. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Gordon Haff, analyst for Illuminata Inc., said. "Microsoft can't be unhappy to see Linux having trouble, but I don't see any sinister plot on the part of Microsoft here."
Haff believes SCO's true objective in its controversial campaign is looking to be bought out by IBM or to receive a "very large amount of money." Licensing deals like the one with Microsoft won't be enough to satisfy SCO. "It's going to take a lot more that that for SCO to drop this," he said.
AT&T Corp. invented Unix in the 1960s. Most major computer vendors adopted the technology before Novell Inc. bought the OS in 1992, selling it three years later to SCO. Linux software maker Caldera Systems Inc. bought most of SCO's operations in 2001 and recently changed its name to SCO.
SCO has hired law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, whose lead attorney, David Boies, played a major roll in the government's antitrust case against Microsoft.
[/quote]
[i]May 19, 2003 (5:04 p.m. EST)
By Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb News [/i]
Microsoft Corp. has agreed to buy patent and source-code licenses for Unix from SCO Group, which has launched a controversial campaign to exact royalties from IBM and other high-tech companies selling products using the Unix-offshoot Linux.
Microsoft said the licensing agreement is to ensure that it would not violate any intellectual property in building products that can exchange data between Windows and Unix. The companies did not release financial details for the agreement announced Monday.
"The announcement of this license is representative of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to respecting intellectual property (IP) and the IT community's healthy exchange of IP through licensing," Brad Smith, general counsel and senior vice president for Microsoft, said in a statement. "This helps to ensure IP compliance across Microsoft solutions and supports our efforts around existing products like Services for Unix that further Unix interoperability."
SCO claims Linux, a Unix cousin developed by the open-source community and available for free, contains chunks of code covered by the company's Unix patents. The Lindon, Utah, company has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against IBM, claiming the IT giant has used SCO's code in Linux. IBM has denied the claims.
In addition, SCO sent letters last week to 1,500 large corporations, warning them that they may be infringing on SCO's intellectual property by using Linux.
Microsoft officials have identified Linux as a serious competitive threat to Windows on Intel-based server machines. Developers within the open-source community in charge of Linux have speculated that the Redmond, Wash., company is secretly bankrolling SCO's legal battle.
However, some industry analysts believe Microsoft is trying to avoid a legal entanglement with SCO, while reaping the bonus of helping to instill doubt among corporate users considering Linux. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Gordon Haff, analyst for Illuminata Inc., said. "Microsoft can't be unhappy to see Linux having trouble, but I don't see any sinister plot on the part of Microsoft here."
Haff believes SCO's true objective in its controversial campaign is looking to be bought out by IBM or to receive a "very large amount of money." Licensing deals like the one with Microsoft won't be enough to satisfy SCO. "It's going to take a lot more that that for SCO to drop this," he said.
AT&T Corp. invented Unix in the 1960s. Most major computer vendors adopted the technology before Novell Inc. bought the OS in 1992, selling it three years later to SCO. Linux software maker Caldera Systems Inc. bought most of SCO's operations in 2001 and recently changed its name to SCO.
SCO has hired law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, whose lead attorney, David Boies, played a major roll in the government's antitrust case against Microsoft.
[/quote]
Comments
:mad: Microsoft officials have identified Linux as a serious competitive threat to Windows on Intel-based server machines.:mad:
So what do you think - is it:
Option A: "Haff believes SCO's true objective in its controversial campaign is looking to be bought out by IBM or to receive a "very large amount of money."
or
Option B: "Developers within the open-source community in charge of Linux have speculated that the Redmond, Wash., company is secretly bankrolling SCO's legal battle."
it has a habit of mutating... even if some of it's core code is in breach of copyright...
you watch...
the developers will go back underground and it will be on again...
M$ft is just simply too big... something or someone will come along and paste it... you cannot concentrate vast ammounts of power in the one place for too long...
besides which... can you see all the people currently running Linux giving it up ? I dont think so... even if servers are thier target... you'll end up with civil disobedience and perhaps even the corps lining up to defend or back the Linux guys.
Just remember Amazon runs on Linux servers... if those mentioned '1500 large corps' form a syndicate to defend Linux, we'll end up with another battle like the legendary "Apple Vs M$ft " bout. M$ft may just be a little late in thier backhanded smartbombing of Linux. Too many people have seen that it works and that they dont need M$ft. I manage day to day without M$ft at all. Atleast directly. Billy boy will get his soon enough.
Linux will continue to carve out a nice little niche... and slowly but surely the evil empire will collapse.
[B]Linux will continue to carve out a nice little niche... and slowly but surely the evil empire will collapse. [/B][/QUOTE]
Can I get an Amen brother!
Hah hah...
I like Linux, always have, I intend to have a dual boot in my next Mac...