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As most of you know, Canopy Group is a backer of both SCO and Trolltech, which has lead many an Anonymous Coward to decry them. Most of these comments have been dismissed as irrelevant, but...

This CNet story has me a little worried. Quoth the article:

"The Canopy Group said SCO has got to hire somebody in-house to manage the IBM litigation," Tibbitts said. "My background is litigation. With the firestorm that has started, they need someone who can manage and oversee the litigation."

I think we have reason to believe that Canopy not only knows about the lawsuit but is encouraging it. I'm seriously thinking that the hordes of AC's have a point now. Should we be concerned about the Canopy-KDE connection? (I'd divest from them simply because they like the word "synergy"...)

"That line should have been "The SCO Group, Inc. develops and markets LAWSUITS based on the Linux operating system.""

Actually I'd say the Canopy Group is the one. Note also two things. One the Canopy Group will most likely survive to make future mischief, and two Trolltech is also a part of the same group.

Wow, that's a good point. Where's Ray Noorda in all of this? He's the guy that bought UNIX from AT&T while at Novell. I think he also sold it to SCO. Noorda's Canopy Group helped to fund Caldera (and Lineo)*. Surely he must have a pretty good handle on what SCO owns and what they don't. I wonder why he hasn't said anything either way. I guess he doesn't want to see his investment in Caldera go up in smoke, so he willing to play along with a little FUD. But many of Canopy's investments are with Linux companies, so that doesn't make sense either.

Since it's lose-lose for Canopy (and Noorda) I guess the only thing to do was to stay mum. After all, he's really only a VC now.

*Could have knocked me over with a feather to see TrollTech on Canopy's list as well...

Important information.

SCO/Caldera is part of a company called The Canopy Group. This company owns substantial chunks of other companies... that is its function. One of the companies it owns a large part of is TrollTech (as you can see from the canopy web page), whose QT toolkit is at the heart of the KDE desktop.

Now, KDE zealots and rabid TrollTech defenders have continually claimed that QT is GPLed -- at least the X version is, but TrollTech routinely violate the GPL by including extra restrictions. They furthermore claim that this protects them from any shennanigans on the part of TrollTech. As you can see from this action on SCO's part... this is not true. SCO/Canopy/Caldera own and control the very heart of the KDE desktop... they decide who can and cannot write commerical closed-source applications for the KDE desktop (to write a KDE app you *must* link with QT, and are therefore subject to the GPL unless you purchase a $3000 license from SCO/Canopy/TrollTech).

Check these facts out for yourself, and do not allow these people to stealth control the Linux desktop. Do not use KDE.

It's just fortunate that Sun supports GNOME, and not KDE. We all now know (thanks to a bit of research into the Canopy Group) that SCO is a sister company to TrollTech... the people who control the licensing of a critical part of the KDE desktop (the Qt toolkit).

Expect the screws to be turned on any company developing non-open source apps for KDE *soon* -- it already taxes anyone $3000 per developer just to write non open source software. This, gentlemen, is why KDE is widely shunned by anyone involved in Free software.

It's not that I'm lazy and it's not that I don't trust the company to reply to my complaint, but I think it would be easier to saturate their toll-free sales phone line, or their web form, instead.

Caldera Product and Sales Inquiries
1-888-GO-LINUX
1-888-465-4689
http://www.caldera.com/company/feedback/

Incidently, here is the Canopy Group's contact information, but please be aware 801 is not a toll-free number, it's a Utah area code.
The Canopy Group
333 South 520 West
Suite 300
Lindon, UT 84042
phone: 801.229.2223 (not a free toll-free number)
fax: 801.229.2458
e-mail: info@canopy.com
http://www.canopy.com/aboutus/contact.htm

Perhaps TrollTech (and the other portfolio companies) can demand that Canopy take off their logos from its web page. If TrollTech can't legally require this of Canopy, then perhaps I can start posting Microsoft's logo on my web site and list it as one of my portfolio companies (yes, I do own a small number of its shares).

Many have observed that SCO is pretty much dead, so why boycott it?

Instead, boycott Canopy, the VC firm that is in part responsible for SCO's strategic business practices. Don't do business with Canopy, or any of their holdings. SCO is listed bottom center on Canopy's front page.

Nah you Nana! That is "Feeding the Jackals", bite the hand behind this move, ie. Canopy Group

Too true. But when you suggest not using SCO products or Canopy Group companies products, does this include KDE because it uses TrollTech QT? Trolltech is a Canopy Group portfolio company according to the Canopy website. not to mention

The Canopy Group is Ray Noorda's private venture capital company that he started after leaving Novell. He funds just about anything that'll take a shot at Microsoft, like Willows Software, Caldera, and Palm cloner TRG. He also has money in Troll Tech, too.

Ray Noorda is really the perfect sugar daddy for what's left of SCO. He's ridiculously rich (not Gates level, but he has enough to fund a lot of startups) and he hates Microsoft. And he already owned Unix once - he's the one who had Novell buy Unix System Labs back in the early part of the '90s. I met him some years back (and I'm friends with some people whe are and have been connected with him), and, based mostly on the word of the people I know, I consider him to be one of the few Good Guys in the business.

- -Josh Turiel

Caldera is peanuts for him presently. He also control several other Linux friendly companies through the Canopy Group, which for instance own part of Novell, Willows software (those who wrote the Twin win32 emulation libraries), Caldera, Digital Harbour, and others (see www.canopy.com).