[GLLUG] Claim: Linux violates 235 MS patents

[Sean O'Malley]

On Mon, 14 May 2007, Thomas Hruska wrote:

> Michael Rudas wrote:
> > Ohhhh, boy.  Here's the other-shoe-drop in the MS/Novell deal... or is
> > the loose shoe being used to slap us, collectively, on the side of the
> > head?
> >
> > "Microsoft takes on the free world"
> >
> > <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033867/index.htm>
> >
> >
> > I wonder how far they'll try to take this?  Or, perhaps, die trying?
> >
> > -- Mikey
>
First, Stallman should have been smoking a 'gar and popping a cork, and
totally lost an awesome PR opp. Actually OpenSource doesnt have any
leaders worth a crap. Eric Raymond is an idiot. Stallman is a socialist
hippy. Linus is a sell-out to Microsoft. (Paul Allen hired him about 6
years ago..coincidence Microsoft is touting a monolithic-kernel for Vista
now? i dont think so..)

The other huge idiot, Ballmer will get fired within a year if Vista
doesn't fly. I don't see stockholder confidence in his abilities.
He isn't that good, and he doesnt have the charisma to carry himself
through the blunders.

Microsoft is getting nailed between Linux and google.  While Microsoft can
have 6 blunders of ME sized proportions, they =cannot= lose their Office
business. Office is their real cornerstone. It makes people use their
server products, their OS, etc. To put it into perspective.

Microsoft only makes money on
-MacOS Products (Office)
-Office Products
-Support/Training (i think it was this one..)
-Server products.

Their OS division perpetually loses money or breaks even.

When you see the leader of the ultra-conservative, ultra-competitive
investment banking industry, Goldman-Sachs, start switching to Linux, the
rest of the business world takes notice. Business doesnt =need= to use
Microsoft anymore. It is kind of like Business does not -need- lotus
1-2-3. Goldman-Sachs didn't =lose= any money in the transition, since most
of their brokers are just using email and web-based, and RTS apps. They
just designed them to be portable. =)

Google is in a position to literally wipe out microsofts home/soho
business. They offer email, calendar, office, network file
storage/sharing, etc, all enterprise quality features SOHO would have had
to pay some bucks for a year ago and now it is a web app for free*. (free
being the cost of being bombarded with advertising and a bit of loss of
control and security..but most SOHO's outsource it anyway.)

In the enterprise market, Linux/Solaris are making dents in a large part
because of sarbanes-oxaley. In part because the -talented- unix people who
got ousted for Microsoft products, by CIO's who declared "business uses
Microsoft!" became involved with networking and security. The CIO's who
muttered those words a few years ago were fired or have drastically
changed their tune and are hoping people forgot they muttered them in the
first place.