Anyone here a laywer? I have been reading alot about this $CO suite against IBM. What is $CO hope to gain?

If they win:

Wouldn't Linux/open source programmers scury to re-write the code that is in violation and be done with it?

If the code is in the Linux kernel, wouldn't a kernel upgrade take care of that?

If they get the billion dollars from IBM. Would it be likely that in a few years they will port all thier AIX apps to Linux and tell SCO to stick it. Then $CO would be out a lot of cash?

If they lose:

Wouldn't they be liable for law suite from IBM, Linux distos and any company working with open source prorammers. Since this has certainly caused loss or a delay in business.

Couldn't they be liable for slander and/or deformation of chararcter from businesses and open source programmers?

Wouldn't this also leave a bad taste in the mouths of IBM, HP, Novell and such. Which would lead to more Linux developement?

Also, I have read that $CO has said that open source and other programmers copied the way UNIX does things. Is this really ledgal? If it is then Samba is in a world of hurt, right? I am no programmer, can someone explain this one to me. Doesn't every programmer learn by looking at someone elses code and getting ideas? So once you program for one company wouldn't it be hard to switch jobs?

One artical said that this is a ploy to get IBM to buy $CO. I think that this would be a great move. But I think that M$ paid that a lot of money in license fees (cash influx) and the payback is this SCO suite to try to cripple Linux.

If you want a very good summary of SCO/Linux/IBM thing this site has summed it up very well.


http://www.arie.org/doh/

I am still laughing.

I seen that one. I was dissapointed that Daisy wasn't in her bikini.

Just a though:
1) Linux is open, SCO unix not; Suppose SCO will copy Linux code to unix, and than saying that Linux copied the code from unix......

Who can verify if they would do such a dirty trick?, since only SCO have the source for it's unix.

SCO is a company hurting for cash/customers, and the lawsuit is claimed to be a bid to make them ripe for a takeover from IBM. The though is that instead of risking the lawsuit and the resulting damage to Linux (which IBM heavily backs), IBM would just swallow up SCO in a takeover (which would be substantially cheaper than paying 1 billion should SCO win) and that would allow SCO to remain in business as an entity of IBM. So far it seems to have backfired, and I anticipate that SCO will withdraw the lawsuit quietly in the not to distant future, and try to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

slight