____/ Linonut on Wednesday 31 October 2007 11:55 : \____
> After takin' a swig o' grog, Roy Schestowitz belched out this bit o' wisdom:
>
>> Is Microsoft Hijacking Open Source?
>>
>> | are to stop this inner corrosion, we must point out whenever we see wilful
>> | misuse and lazy misunderstandings of the term, we must strive to make the
>> | real state of affairs quite clear. If we don't, then core concepts like
>> | ?open source? will be massaged, kneaded and pummelled into uselessness.
>> `----
>>
>> http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1003745
>>
>> A must-read. Microsoft is so desperate to stay relevant in the future, so it
>> resorts to dirty tricks. It invades open source and Linux companies only to
>> have them destroyed at the same time. It also corrupts standards bodies.
>
> Microsoft made a major tactical error in trying this patent gambit.
> There's too much prior art out there. The
> best they can hope for is getting their direct competition -- RedHat et
> al. -- to pony up for "licenses" in order to avoid some costly legal
> hassles.
>
> But it is not at all clear to me about the following:
>
> o What protection Samba's $10,000 payment to Crimosoft really buys them.
>
> o How putting your work under GPLv3 affords any protection
> whatsoever against outsiders coming after you over using patented
> technology.
>
> On the radio the other day, they talked about how there's a backlog of
> 800,000 patents at the US patent office.
>
> If methods and concepts (software) are being patented, I don't see any
> way in hell of sorting out patent payments, who owes what to whom --
> there's too much overlap, and assuredly plenty of prior art. It's
> a frickin' mess, and does no end of harm to consumers /and/ companies.
>
> I suppose one can take comfort in the fact that, in spite of patents,
> there are plenty of duplicate versions of various physical devices.
After Gates' fear of patents (voiced in 1991) he had a vision where all the
large companies cross-license blindly. What about the small companies, you
ask? Heck, who needs them? Gates thrives in oligarchy and wants to keep it
that way. It's also imperialism, but that's another story. WIPO takes care
of /that/. World Domination Squad... arriving at your Parliament in 3, 2,
1.... cue music (Requiem).
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: 111111 X 111111 = 12345654321
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT GNU/Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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