"That was beautiful man." Your right. Balmer is technically full of hot air. And he would have a lovely time finding someone to sue. But in truth these idle threats still push the integrity of Linux.

Some companies would rather pay buku bucks to license safe we do not have to worry software, than go for the free and easy system. And even though I believe that most computer users use software to check email and browse the web. They will stick with the software they use at work because they are comfortable.

So as long as the M$ war machine keeps people paranoid. They do not have to sue.

Do you think Xerox PARC or Apple tried to claim 'interlectual property' over their respective GUI's. Alto had a GUI 12 years before the first release of windows.
Ballmer:
surely suing linux vendors would be counter-productive to that goal!

Another example of Microsoft broken ethics (copying open source ideas then claiming they invented it) :

http://www.bluej.org/mrt/?p=21

From the above link
I think that is what all this boils down to. MS want to scare companies away from Linux as a viable alternative and also bully developers who produce cross platform software. Let's hope they're not successful!

Great. Have more software patents, and patents generally -- did you ever vote against having patents? No? Well no crying then -- after all, democracy is claimed to be "people's power". Either you agree or are thrown to the lions. The problem in this case is that law machinery is slow, heavy and can be used. Even if Microsoft didn't have good fresh ideas nor enough people to make them work, they do have law people enough for a small country. European Union, as crap as it's heart is, has snapped MS a bit, with relatively small fines and so on, but as long as the rest of the world -- especially USA, where MS is having it's HQ -- silently accepts what's going on, it's no use crying out loud here at LQ. Microsoft is just buying time by threatening people, Linux users and could-be-users. When the time comes, MS's current headmaster will take the money and get out just like Gates did; it's not the leaders who are being idiotic but the machinery and people who keep this play going on. And after all I don't think "intellectual property" could be stolen, patented or filed; if it could, I don't think Torvalds had ever been able to start this mess out :)

In a long run it might be somebody else who is "winning", a third party who is intellectual enough to stand in the shadows waiting for the two rivals to get tired killing each other. If it's not Apple, it's somebody else. I just don't think this MS-Linux-combat is going to make either side gain anything.

EDIT: having said that, better start thinking of bying a potential future winner - maybe a Mac - now that they're not that expensive yet. No need to struggle with small problems, ay?

Fud, fud, fear and vaporware. Your digging it aren't you?

Microsoft doesn't have any IP that has been stolen. They know it, we all know it. Ballmer isn't going to sue and Linux won't ever be threatened by anybody.

The point of all this is that nobody wants to use something that has a chance of going out of busines. So Microsoft tries to lure everybody to Vista, just like they did with every other OS in history so far.

Don't be stupid. Linus is laughing his ass of. Linux will never be Ballmers' bitch and we all get to keep using a nice OS.

You just keep helping MS by bringing this crap to everone's attention. Don't let history repeat itself (once again).:tisk:

When MS dropped MSDOS with the advent of Win XP the event spawned FREEDOS from a community that was determined to keep DOS going.

IMO, if MS try to close down Linux it will spawn something similar from those in the Linux community who are determined never see it die (even if it means a name change to avoid a court ruling).

It's difficult to see how MS could litigate against an entire on-line community of volunteer enthusiasts who aren't in this to make money.

It makes me sick:mad: Can't we just patent something that is key to the windows system and sue MS for it? And I don't know about you but their actions make me feel like becomming a cracker:mad: :mad: :mad:

Posted by VINCENT:
Makes you wonder doesn't it! Far more crackers target Windows systems than any other. Could be just that it's the most used system, could also be sour grapes.

Well they "demand free acces to data". Sounds familiar? But I'm not becomming one. There is no pride in making someone else's pc malfunction.

Bad Idea! With a capital B!
Not only do they have plenty of lawyers sitting around on their laurels waiting for someone to try. (And yes, they all seem to have seven figure salaries.) But that would mean that we are sinking to their level.

We penguins just need to unite and stand proud. Remember, we have something they don't: A backbone!

Yeah that's true. It is because we do everything the legal way that nobody can touch Linux:)

I hope they can't touch it. But given Microshaft's background, I have no doubt they will try. Lawsuits? Maybe not. But try to patent at least enough of Linux to make it inoperable for all that don't sign a deal with the devil? Probably.

The newly formed Linux Foundation is now trying to block Novell (and M$) from distributing any newer versions of the OS. I truly hope it works...

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They'll have to pry my Ubuntu PC from my cold, dead hands!

I hope so for the MS part. But what is wrong with Novell? Yeah ok they have signed a deal but what's so bad about it?
-They don't have vendor lock-in
-No DRM
-They donate some good code to the Open Source Community
-They make it easyer for you to get rid of Windows
-Eventually stupid patents will get scrapped in the US
-Europe is not affected by patents (MS says in court; "because we developped some code outside the US we are not tied to US patents") so why should we?.
-The price of Novell products is not affected by the MS deal. Only on paper they pay MS for 'intellectual property' but it comes down to 'for every dollar we pay MS we get two dollars back for promoting Suse'.

No... I like Novell. If Novell dissapears, so will some good nice new software. What we do want is kill Apple instead.

Edit: typo's

Originally posted by VINCENT:
I'm not sure I want to go about killing anyone's OS. Apple has its devotees and I believe in freedom of choice. I just want Microsoft to quit their dirty tricks and stop behaving like Hitler!