LinuxOne Continued Complications

Derek Simkowiak writes "After I informed a potential IPO underwriter about LinuxOne, Inc., they threatened to sue me. What happened after that was even more disappointing". This is an interesting exchange of opinions, facts, threats, and retractions. I highly recommend anyone interested in the future of Linux and Business read this article.

Comments

I don't think so

[ralphclark]

What's the probability that he was *really* seeking to do a positive writeup? I mean, come on.

Oh...First post?

Consciousness is not what it thinks it is
Thought exists only as an abstraction

Re:I don't think so

[nhowie]

From the article, I'd say he was seeking to do a positive writeup iff LinuxOne gave him anything to write positively about ... which didn't happen.
--

lawyer's letter

[Anonymous Coward]

The "threatening legal letter" from the Hotmail account appears to be an amateurish fake. I would be very surprised if it turned out to have been sent by a real lawyer. Notice also that when you send threatening letters through e-mail, you don't need real legal letterhead to print them on.

Re:lawyer's letter

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't it illegal to impersonate a Professional in most states?

Re:lawyer's letter

[akey]

"This constitutes written demand for you to retract your false and malicious statements within 3 days, failing which, you, and your company, will be subject to civil prosecution for your actions."

Actually, the whole thing sounds like one big ole' troll to me. In any case, there's no court in the US that's going to accept an email sent via hotmail as acceptable for "written demand". Notice the lack of any sort of attempt at a digital signatire, lack of proof that it was sent or delivered, anonymity of hotmail accounts, etc...

Re:lawyer's letter

[spaceorb]

The recent Business Week article basically pointed out all the major flaws with LinuxOne, for instance -

LinuxOne's prospectus raises other questions. One red flag is the section where it lists its board of directors. Normally, companies have 8 to 12 board members. But LinuxOne lists only one, by the name of Paul Kraus, who is an architect and the owner of a lithography shop, according to the prospectus. Are LinuxOne's financial statements audited? Yes, by a Reno (Nev.) CPA by the name of Mark Bailey, who runs his own firm. A member of a Big Five accounting firm he isn't.

Basically, they don't even have the money to hire real employees. This "lawyer" is probably an ambulance chaser who has no real experience, but I don't think the email was forged.

Re:lawyer's letter

[Tibor the Hun]

"Derek- I am the lawyer for LinuxOne, Inc. I have read with disgust the lies you have been spreading over the internet recently regarding the company, its principals and products." principles, not principals. good god some people are stupid.

Re:lawyer's letter

[Chuck Milam]

"The "threatening legal letter" from the Hotmail account appears to be an amateurish fake. I would be very surprised if it turned out to have been sent by a real lawyer. Notice also that when you send threatening letters through e-mail, you don't need real legal letterhead to print them on."

It would surprise me as well to see an attorney for a "technology" firm using a hotmail account to send offcial correspondence. Some things that raised the red flag for me in this "lawyer's" E-Mail:

• "Derek- I am the lawyer for LinuxOne, Inc." Hmm. Most of the legal correspondence I've seen is certianly more formal than this, even when delivered via E-Mail. For example, Instead of "Derek-" the greeting would be "Derek :" or "Mr. Simkowiak:". Also, most lawyers refer to themselves as "attorneys," not lawyers.
• "I have read with disgust the lies..." This certianly seems to be an inflammatory statement, not something a good attorney would open a letter with. Again, it just seems too informal.
• "This constitutes written demand for you to retract your false and malicious statements within 3 days, failing which, you, and your company, will be subject to civil prosecution for your actions. Your immediate action would seem most prudent.: Something just plain smells fishy about this statement as well. Don't attorneys usually cite some legal code or at least make it sound more formal when they insinuate that there has been some sort of wrong committed against a client?
• "Michael J. Morrison, Esq." Attorneys usually close with the name of their firm. I would hope the LinuxOne isn't using a single, independent attorney instead of a larger firm to conduct their business.

Overall, this whole message just seems too informal. Most legal communication follows a strict style, including snail mail addresses, formal greetings, closings, and well-defined paragraphs and sentence structure. My guess is that this is someone "playing lawyer." Or maybe they got one of those "Sally Struthers You CAN Learn to be a Lawyer at Home!" kits?

Re:lawyer's letter

[Anonymous Coward]

> "Derek- I am the lawyer for LinuxOne, Inc. I have read with disgust the lies you have been
> spreading over the internet recently regarding the company, its principals and products."
> principles, not principals. good god some people are stupid.

Not as stupid as you are; in this case the proper word is "principals", as in "the CEO, directors, etc."

Re:lawyer's letter

[dallen]

I expect they meant "principals," as in "necessary people to run the company," not "principles" as in "beliefs and values."

It's a nice lawyerly word, don't you think?
--

Re:lawyer's letter

[P-Weasel]

Standard Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer However, I know that it is illegal in most states for a person to claim to be a professional (architect, engineer, doctor, etc.) when they are not so. I suspect that if this email was sent by someone who is NOT a licensed attorney, then either LinuxOne may have a problem of a different sort, there.

Re:lawyer's letter

[bero-rh]

Most of the legal correspondence I've seen is certainly more format [...] seems to be an inflammatory statement

This was IMO an attempt to scare him of, not really a legal document.
I don't know, if I were their lawyer (I'm not a lawyer though), I might have done the same to imply "Hi, we don't really want a lawsuit, we'd prefer an informal solution (just shut up!), but I'm a lawyer, so if you don't want to comply, we can get formal about it!"
The only odd thing about it is the hotmail address...

Re:lawyer's letter

[Anonymous Coward]

...for Tibor's edification, companies always have principals (i.e. officers of the company), and only sometimes have principles. good god, yes, some people ARE stupid.

Re:lawyer's letter

[Anonymous Coward]

There appears to be only one Michael J Morrison allowed to practice law in California... of course I don't know about any restrictions on letter writing... any lawyers know any better?
" Member# 73423
Michael James Morrison is an ACTIVE Member
Only ACTIVE members may practice law in California
Admitted in California on December 29, 1976
Undergraduate: U S Air Force Academy; Colorado Springs CO
School of Law: McGeorge SOL Univ of the Pacific; Sacramento CA
"
I found it www.calsb.org

Re:lawyer's letter

[Anonymous Coward]

Mr. Morrison is the attorney of record per their S-1. He appears to be a sole practitioner, as is their accountant. You can see their S-1 by doing a company search on Free Edgar for LinuxOne. It does look unprofessional, though, doesn't it?

Re:lawyer's letter

[Anonymous Coward]

It could have been written by anybody. That even includes somebody like ESR who wanted to deride LinuxOne.

Nothing hurts more than the truth.

[kwsNI]

Sounds like LinuxONE is really, really afraid of the truth.

kwsNI

Eeck...

[aTRaTiCa]

I hope a false company wont make it. False product aqusitions? How could they claim to have "LinuxMac" and have no proof of it's exsistance? Something smells stinky about the situation :)

It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[Alan Cox]

Policing by competitors isnt right. The SEC is charged with protection of US investors from fraud. You should take it up with them, as should
everyone else who is concerned and has hard evidence.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[|2agnarok]

This is true, the other venders should not have to play watch dog for the whole group, but they do set the standards. If LinuxOne steps in silver and tarnishes itself to tin, it will reflect poorly on other Lunix venders. It seems from Derek Simkowiak story, the problem now is finding a way to deal with people who break the rules. Who/what will stop them? The federal government doesnt play uncle until things get bad.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[oddjob]

Protecting investors from fraud is the SEC's job, but enforcing the GPL isn't. If a linux company violates the GPL (whether LinuxOne has or not I do not know) it is in the best interests of Red Hat and others to do something about it.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[remande]

How do we deal with people who break the rules? Everybody tell your broker! Tell them exactly what is wrong with LinuxOne, and point them to documents.

Many, if not most, of the reasons behind the troubles we see at LinuxOne make sense to financial types; you don't have to explain technical concepts to them. If enough brokers and financial types get enough LinuxOne anti-buzz about this, they will send in researchers, and show them exactly what to look for. The results of that research can get the financial community to avoid LinuxOne in droves, taking their investors with them. Remember, these people don't like being wrong.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[Bad_CRC]

In most industries, competitors are the ones who enforce all standards of accountability.

Consumers do not have the money or power, and cannot usually get sufficiently organized to do such. The end policing may be done by an official agency, but the initial call to alarm (at least the one that gets noticed) is almost always done by a competitor.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[dillon_rinker]

Policing by competitors isnt right.

If by "policing" you mean "law enforcement", then I would agree; only the government should be arresting, charging, convicting, and fining people.

But if by "policing" you mean "Verifying compliance with the law and reporting noncompliance to appropriate authorities," I'd have to disagree. No one is more interested in a company's compliance with the law than their competitors. No one else has as much potential to be damaged. Law enforcement doesn't know as much about a particular industry as the players in the industry. In short, I believe that if a company violates the law in a subtle way, the company's competitors are in the best position to recognize the violation and are most influenced by the violation.

I further disagree with this because I feel it places an unrealistic burden on law enforcement. They can't be everywhere; they can't know everything. They depend on the citizenry for much information about crimes. I do a fair bit of "policing" in my neighborhood. I don't expect that the police department can be as aware of goings on in my neighborhood as I can be.

When a Rottweiler is loose in my neighborhood, I call Animal Control. When I see an unfamiliar car cruising slowly down the dead-end road I live on, I call the police. When somebody dumps concrete on my lawn, I call the city codes department. I could wait for law enforcement authorities to do their job and not try to do it for them; I could sit back and say "Hey, policing by the citizenry - that's a police state! That's anti-American! That's Naziism!" And taken to an extreme, yes, it is. But I feel that common sense would dictate that I'm responsible for myself and my surroundings, and the government is a tool that I can use to influence them. They are not a safety net or security blanket or even an organization I can rely on to do the right thing.




(Off-topic moderation rant)
As I look at this comment, I see it was moderated up as "Informative." Informative in what way?
Policing by competitors isnt right.
Opinion.

The SEC is charged with protection of US investors from fraud.
Common knowledge.

You should take it up with them, as should
everyone else who is concerned and has hard evidence.
A plea for good citizenship.

No disrespect is meant to Alan Cox, but the moderation of this comment looks a LOT like hero worship. Of course, there's no way to tell if the person with user id "Alan Cox" is male, or is named Alan Cox, or is the Alan Cox we are all familiar with.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[Anonymous Coward]

When I see an unfamiliar car cruising slowly down the dead-end road I live on, I call the police.

How nice of you. Maybe they're just looking for a house they've been invited to?

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[Michel]

The SEC is charged with protection of US investors from fraud.
Common knowledge.

It is? I didn't know this. I don't even know what SEC stands for, so how could it be common knowledge?

Or are you thinking US-centric again?

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's give the Nazis some credit. They tended to leave police duties in the hands of well armed professionals. Policing by posse reminds me more of some brands of anarchism or Trotskyism.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[perigeeV]

Milord, we have found a witch!
May we burn her?

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[Anonymous Coward]

as someone who's had his house cased enough, i'd say it's worth it to be paranoid. *besides*, wouldn't the police be able to help the poor lad/lass find the house? i'm sure they would.

Re:It isnt for the vendors to sort out

[dillon_rinker]

Sorry, I should have been more specific.

That the SEC is the Securities Exchange Commission and that it is tasked with protection of US investors is common knowledge to anyone within its jurisdiction, and to anyone who has any knowledge of investing within the US.

And if you're outside the US and don't invest in the US, then knowledge of what the SEC is and does is fairly pointless.

Regardless, my point was simply that spelling out the duties of a fairly prominent US govenrmental department doesn't rate an "Informative" moderation.

He Should Mind His Business Next Time

[Anonymous Coward]

Everyone is entitled to commit fraud without people spoiling it for him. I hope they do sue him.

Re:He Should Mind His Business Next Time

[Yax-Pak]

Bull. In the US (where this company is planning to IPO) fraud is a crime.

Good call

[Anonymous Coward]

Never trust a lawyer that uses a Hotmail account for legal documents. Sorry, it just wouldn't happen.

Re:Good call

[dillon_rinker]

Nothing sent through a Hotmail account could remotely be considered a legal document. I would have ignored this particular communication; acknowledging. And I would NEVER communicate with a lawyer without retaining one of my own; that struck me as particularly suicidal.

LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Anonymous Coward]

I asked a securities analyst what he would tell a client about this one; here's what he told me. Looks surprisingly positive in the circumstances:

The value of LinuxOne's business is inestimable. The company has made an immeasurable contribution to the open source software, and can expect copious intangible rewards for doing so. The CEO has no small degree of experience as a tech-businessman, and will manage the company with his usual degree of skill for its entire future. Investors can look forward to profits of anything up to 500% more than the company is making now. This is an IPO which the investment community should be falling over each other to learn about.

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Anonymous Coward]

ROFL. 500% * 0 = 0. hehe

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Mart]

So we're expected to believe an "expert" analysis that is not only unattributed, but is posted anonymously? I think not.

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[ucblockhead]

I think that was a very subtle joke. Just check out the post of the AC that replied.

Hint: I think that even profits of 5,000,000,000% more than they are making now are possible.

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Coriolis]

I can't see anything to disagree with here:

The value of LinuxOne's business is inestimable.
There's no way we can tell how much this business is worth. Probably nothing.

The company has made an immeasurable contribution to the open source software...
The company's contribution to OSS does not register on any known scale of measurement.

and can expect copious intangible rewards
i.e., no money.

The CEO has no small degree of experience as a tech-businessman
Factually speaking, it's miniscule, not small.

manage the company with his usual degree of skill
Bear in mind his usual degree of skill, here...

for its entire future
Which is measurable in weeks.

profits of anything up to 500% more than the company is making now
Remember, 5 x 0 = 0

This is an IPO which the investment community should be falling over each other to learn about.
After all, you wouldn't want to invest in it by accident, would you?

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Anonymous Coward]

"surprisingly positive"? It says nothing!! What of that isn't circularly relative is utterly meaningless!! You can read it any way you want...

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Alkaiser]

One of my coworkers has a internet business radio station that broadcasts over the net and in the San Francisco Bay Area. I told him about Linux One, and he did some follow-up research and flamed it on the air. Help get the word out. I'm trying to reach the financial sector, do your part, too! Wouldn't it be great to see us shut this guy down? I mean to pull one over on the SEC, and then have it fail miserably. Don't mess with Open Source!

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Anonymous Coward]

Is English not your first language?

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Surazal]

profits of anything up to 500% more than the company is making now
Remember, 5 x 0 = 0

Actually, their revenues are zero. They've already got expenses, so technically speaking their profits are in the negative (around $30,000 in the hole if I remember correctly) So:

-30,000 * 5 = -150,000

Now, those are profits to weep about.

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[bobalu]

Too bad he can't spell defense.

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[drix]

Idiot.

--

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you aware the English spell it with a c?

Re:LinuxOne -- the case for the defence

[Anonymous Coward]

In Great Britain, we spell properly.
Defence,
Colour,
Authorise
etc etc

*bash* *bash*

[Signal 11]

First off, this shouldn't be suprising anyone. These days people sue just because they're upset about X. Wife left you? Sue her. Got a drinking or gambling problem? Sue the state. Didn't like your employer's hair? Sue them.

Comeon, LinuxOne is just trying to fend off bad press until they IPO - this just further validates that claim. I don't think RedHat or 3Com would bust down my door if I wrote a bad review about their distribution or NIC cards. They'd either laugh at me, or take the criticism seriously and work to improve their product (perhaps by sending me a beta of their next product so I can critique it prior to release).

Now then, anyone wanna take bets on how fast LinuxOne will crash and burn? Even if you lose - you can sue the government. Takers? Anyone? :^)

Re:*bash* *bash*

[ucblockhead]

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy your post.

You'll hear from my lawyers in the morning...



But seriously, folks, I'd be real surprised if this IPO made any money. If you want to talk lawsuits, I think the real lawsuits might come after the IPO tanks. Don't underwriters have some responsibility to ensure that what they are underwriting isn't fraudulant?

(Or am I just being niave?)

Re:*bash* *bash*

[Anonymous Coward]

These days people sue just because they're upset about X.

I totaly disagree!

1. No one gets upset about X (except when your setting it up and you don't know your frequencies).
2. SuSE has release new servers for 3dfx.

I would never sue X. :o)

Mob action is not needed

[Ground0]

A posse has to be organized not just thrown together. As LinuxOne could be a blemish to the OpenSource community, I think we do need to respond to the LinuxOne issue.
But please, I beg people, an organized well thought out plan with good leadership should be the correct way to handle this instead of getting out the torches and pitchforks and storming Frankensteins castle.

Well

[Otto]

I'll reserve my opinions about LinuxOne and fall back on Otto's Rule of Life #4:

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

(Note: this is not original, as explained by Otto's Rule of Life #2: "If you have to, steal it.")

:-)
---

Hehe

[reality-bytes]

Good joke mate :)

Isn't this getting old???

[vanguard]

CmdrTaco,

Please stop posting this story. Anybody who buys this stock has not been paying attention to the financial sites or the open source sites. If you don't research your companies before you buy them you deserve what you get.

Please stop running this story over and over again.

Vanguard

Re:Isn't this getting old???

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Just because you've seen this story seventeen times doesn't mean that everyone has.

2. Just because you've seen stories like this seventeen times doesn't mean there isn't new information about this story to be gained.

3. Just because you've seen stories like this seventeen times doesn't mean that your neighbors, friends, business associates, golfing buddies and bowling team has, or that they shouldn't still be warned not to touch this turkey with a ten-foot battle lance.

4. It takes almost as much effort to click on a story you're really interested in as one you've seen seventeen times, and probably less because you won't be tempted to post a comment like this about a story you haven't seen seventeen times.

Re:Isn't this getting old???

[segmond]

You are missing the point! This is not about protecting dumb investors. This is about protecting the quality of Linux. If Linuxone goes IPO, they will thrash the quality Linux has, better to be safe than to be sorry. The word Linux stands for all things good, we don't want it to mean evil tomorrow.

Re:Isn't this getting old???

[Anonymous Coward]

The DVD hackers are already in the process of trashing what good name Linux had in the marketplace.

If Slashdot and the "Linux Community(tm)" doesn't become more careful about the way it's starting to become "the bully of the Free Software playground" we're going to have to ask the government to invoke RICO and shut 'em down.

Re:Isn't this getting old???

[Saxifrage]

I disagree. The DVD hackers are not exactly doing what I'd call `trashing what good name Linux had in the marketplace.'

The reason I say this is that despite the fact that there are a large number of us, not all of whom have the scruples necessary to function as citizens of any country besides Djazaharazakhstania (if anyone's from there, I'm sorry to offend them :P), I'd hardly say that we soil the reputation. In this same light I'd say that it's hard to accuse us of acting as the Free Software bullies; after all, there's free Windows software, but not all Free Software is Linux software and not all Linux software is Free Software. Note my capitalization.

But back to the point. One of the draws, at least where I come from, to Linux is actually its rebellion-style status. -- If someone in, say, the BeOS world had done the DeCSS stuff, or maybe the Solaris or SCO realms, would you be screaming about how we're defiling the OS' reputation?

The fact remains that for every bad apple, there about three hundred million good apples (every one of which is also a Michigan apple that tastes better than three hundred trillion cheap Chinese apples made into apple juice [eg Windows -- no flames, it's a valid economics analogy!], even if it's harder to find in the modern supermarket).

Disgusting

[seandunn]

I really have to raise my eyebrows at any company that releases a rather shoddy product, makes a lot of noise (read hype), and offers support, which they charge an arm and a leg for; and I'm not talking about MS.

But seriously, after reading the previous poor reviews. of LinuxOne and this mans story I have to wonder if its just a bunch of MBAs, and their MSCE friend who "saw that Leenux thing" and the RedHat IPO, who thought "Linux=Money".

This is a sad state of affairs, but I'm reminded of other fly by night companies that I have run across, such as one company who wanted to get content from a magazine that my company publishes. After finding out that they use a redundant array of iMACs as their web servers (no, I'm not kidding) we turned them down.

The best way to kill these companies is just to ignore them, they only live on hype and MBAs who want to IPO real quick to make money. If no one buys their stock, they shrivel up and die after their initial investment dries up.

Re:Disgusting

[-cman-]

The best way to kill these companies is just to ignore them, they only live on hype and MBAs who want to IPO real quick to make money. If no one buys their stock, they shrivel up and die after their initial investment dries up.

I disagree. The best way to kill them is to expose them to the light. While Derek's methods were somewhat unconventional and his narrative is a bit weird, he does manage to raise and not get answers for some very fundamental questions.

1. Where is the source code?
2. What is up with Dr. Chio being on the board of Global Village? This just stinks to high heaven.
3. Where are the Chinese and Japanese products, do they even have alpha builds to share with the community

And so forth. I say beat on them until they cry, "Uncle!" or come clean. This is what the community needs; clear, insightful analysis and collective oversight. Saying let them go public and caveat emptor is irresponsible. And if LinuxOne is perpetuating a scam or fraud at any level, it makes those of us with some insight into their motives complicit in their actions.

That's just my opinion. I could be Wrong.

Re:Disgusting

[Anonymous Coward]

Put them to the sword. If they are strong and worthy, they will survive; if not, they will get the demise that is their due.

Re:Disgusting

[zeck]

I say beat on them until they cry, "Uncle!" or come clean.
But supposing they are genuine, are perpetrating no fraud, and have really done nothing particularly wrong? Sure, maybe their product stinks. So don't buy it! And maybe they've exagerated their claims a little bit, but I can name at least 5 toothpaste brands that get my teeth the whitest. Give them a chance before you beat them to death with suspicion.

Let's tell all underwrites we can contact!

[mjuarez]

Let them try to sue us then... :)

I believe all this nonsense will reach a point where all authorities will eventually see that it's useless trying to stop all of Slashdot mirroring cryptographic source code.

Re:Let's tell all underwrites we can contact!

[Anonymous Coward]

It wouldn't be that hard to shut Slashdot down, however. I'm surprised that it hasn't been tried.

The heavy handed, irresponsible, mobster-type attitudes of the people with the power on this site is stunning.

This smells to high heaven

[jd]

The directors donate their stocks, piecemeal, to "charitable organisations" that they run, which no doubt get cashed in ASAP. Soon, the board of directors have liquidated their stocks, and are free to fly the coop. And there's not a damn thing anyone can do.

Do I have hard evidence that this is their intent? No. Do I have any evidence at all? I have the evidence we've all got that LinuxOne is a rip-off. The RPM files speak for themselves, the documentation is a rip-off, the SEC filing is a clone of Red Hat's, there's nothing "value added" there at all, the ticker name is a blatant mis-use of the Linux name (and -may- fall afoul of Linus Torvald's trademark) and (as Bruce Perens has pointed out), some of their alleged financing has come from a corner store. Sorry, but most corner stores don't have $500,000 in the till, even if they had a till large enough.

Re:This smells to high heaven

[wmorein]

Note also that their underwriter has about as much legitimacy as they do. If you take a look at Capital West Securities' list of attempted IPOs, you'll see a pretty weak effort. Of the four registered IPOs:

- Holloman was never priced (1.5 years after the initial docs were filed)
- Lorecom was withdrawn
- Talisman Enterprises came out at $5 and closed down 12% (not easy in this frothy market)
- LinuxOne - we'll see

Compare that to Goldman Sachs or CSFB (underwriters for Red Hat and VA Linux, respectively; note the "next page" links) and you'll see a slight difference in the legitimacy of the lead underwriter.

Based on the above I just don't think that this deal is going to do much and might not even get out. Having said that, you never know what the magic incantation "Linux" can do in the markets (with a "China" thrown in for good measure).

This press is not good for Linux

[348]

Derek- I am the lawyer for LinuxOne, Inc. I have read with disgust the lies you have been spreading over the internet recently regarding the company, its principals and products.

This really upsets me. First off LinuxOne is not really the sort of positive culture we are looking to help promote Linux as an industrial strength OS, also with their history of "shadiness" it give the Linux community a black eye.

Some say, any press is ggood press, but in this case I think Linux could do without the association with LinuxOne. With the statement above, (from a Hotmail account, feel the professionalism), the lawyer references lies which I would question which party is not being up front. The whole LinuxOne mess is going to dammage the Linux effort as a whole if it doesn't go away soon.

We don't need firms with reputations as poor as LinuxOne waving the opensource flag.

Never knock on Death's door:

Re:This press is not good for Linux

[PigleT]

Indeedie.

Sounds simple to me.
Claim to agree with the "demands" of this michael morrison creep, and then do nothing - after all, you'll have removed your "lies"...

And no it does not constitute written demand at all either. Anyone can impersonate hotmail, and we *know* their security is non-existent anyway.

Personally, I wouldn't have even bothered with the retraction type email; I don't see the point in sounding contrite over something of which I'm not guilty.

I shall await LinuxOne's "lawyer"'s threats against me for this comment, with interest...

Re:This press is not good for Linux

[Atreide]

First I do not know Derek Simkowiak, so I cannot say his statements are sincere. Maybe is he some competitor trying to hit LinuxOne ? We need to know the official answer from LinuxOne before we flame them, but if they are in IPO that means we need to wait after the silence period...

Second, if LO are real bad guys, it is not necessarily bad to have that publicity, as long as we show we can figth it. Since Linux rise lots of hype, it is normal some people will (did ?) try to leverage this hype to their own very profit. This is Linux comunity to point out the bad guys... If we do, the community will earn a better reputation towards fiancial investitors. But we must not kill some knew-innocent corp...

... Well I do not know about LinuxOne either... :-) We need just some wisdom...

Re:This press is not good for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

This sounds like a real good suggestion.

Re:This press is not good for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

We don't need firms with reputations as poor as LinuxOne waving the opensource flag.

Who the hell is this "we" you're ranting about?

Is there a guild of OpenSource Programmers I hadn't heard of? Where do I apply to receive my secret decoder ring??

Writing Style is Important

[Accelerated Joe]

The author of the web page and of the emails sounds very confrontational in his initial letter by making statements without any proof, such as saying investors are "bound to lose their investment", and that all of LinuxOne's claims are "absurdly false". This is highly accusatory, and is not appropriate without point by point explanations of what they did. I can't blame the investment firm for being angry!

Re:Writing Style is Important

[-cman-]

I can't blame the investment firm for being angry!

Read it again Joe. The investment firm was interested in what he had to say. It was LinuxOne that was pissed off. Granted, he was not as diplomatic as he possibly should have been, but his points are valid nonetheless.

We can't expect everyone in the community to be both master statesmen and master technologists now can we? I was satistfied that there were only a couple of spelling errors and the grammar was passable. :)

Re:Writing Style is Important

[BJH]

Read it again, bozo - he received the threatening mail from LinuxOne's lawyer, not from the investment firm.

And to the moderator who gave the above post an "Insightful": try reading the article yourself before moderating, so you actually know what all these posts are talking about...

Re:Writing Style is Important

[ebbv]

hellooo, mcfly,... the investment firm
wasn't angry, the LinuxOne crooks were. if
the creeps at LinuxOne get rich off of this
scam i swear i'll move to Guam and live like
a pygmie for the rest of my days.
...dave

Very suspicious, on both sides!

[Duxup]

This whole LinuxOne deal has gone beyond shocking to the point where it's just weird. To me it seems there's allot more going on than just what we've heard. A lawyer writing from a Hotmail account just screams of a prank (and not a very good one at that). I'm also a bit confused by Derek Simkowiak's stated intent to write "to clear up the nasty reputation they've received on the Internet" since he never actually explains how he intended to do so. This just seems awfully questionable since some key info is also not provided (i.e. the name of the investment firm he wrote). I'll wait until I hear some independent info before I believe this one.
However regarding LinuxOne, I wouldn't' be shocked if the whole LinuxOne thing turns out to be a bizarre prank or something more than just a ploy to release an IPO and make some bucks, it just seems that there is something else there. Not to say it shouldn't be watched closely.

Re:Very suspicious, on both sides!

[Danse]

I'm also a bit confused by Derek Simkowiak's stated intent to write "to clear up the nasty reputation they've received on the Internet" since he never actually explains how he intended to do so.

Well, I don't know whether this is an elaborate hoax or not, but if so, Derek's statements, at least, make sense. He's giving them the opportunity to assuage the Linux community's misgivings about the company by explicity asking the questions that everyone wants the answers to. This gives them the ability to respond and explain why they've done things the way they have. If they are legitimate, they should have decent explanations, even if they only say that they screwed up and explain how they will fix the matter. If they are not legitimate, they will continue to hide behind psuedo-legal bs and dodge questions as long as possible.

Re:Very suspicious, on both sides!

[nft]

To this, I can only reply, "no shit." : )

Re:Very suspicious, on both sides!

[NoWhereMan]

At least one side is logical. And if you review history and see all the people who became famous due to their discoveries, consider what it might be like to say you found value in LinuxOne ;-)

Free LinuxOne OS and LinuxOne Lite for Students

[aliebrah]

Students can get a free copy of LinuxOne OS or LinuxOne Lite mailed to them for free (no S&H). Check out:

http://www.linuxone.net/misc/students.ht ml

Only one copy per student, and only the first 100 students to fill the form get it.

Re:Free LinuxOne OS and LinuxOne Lite for Students

[mistalinux]

LinuxOne has had other "First 100 persons to sign up" offers. Of all of those who have signed up, nobody had received a copy.

At Comdex 1999 in Vegas last year, I did not recall seeing LinuxOne, but aparantly they were there, becuase I brought back a LinuxOne CD. Perhaps if they are at any other large conventions, they can be confronted face to face about these issues.

Re:Free LinuxOne OS and LinuxOne Lite for Students

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, you mean they'll send out 100 free CD's to students? Wow, at $2.00 a shot, that's $200.00 dollars. You mean LinuxOne is giving $200.00 towards educations. What a great company! HAHAHAHA! Sounds like greedy marketing scheme in the disguise of a valiant effort on the part of sorry LinuxOne. Excuse me.. All other Linux distros give their linux out for free. You can install it via ftp. Students can install RedHat Linux all day long, every day. I think guy who posted this is the CEO of LinuxOne.

Just for fun...

[aav]

Here are some interesting facts about LinuxOne and their distribution. Read them and see what you can conclude : 1. I've been trying to download a copy of this distribution for a couple of days at extremely different moments of the day (actually I was hammering on their site every half an hour). I have a very reliable connection to the internet (500kB/s to VAResearch, 70kB/s to SuSE's ftp, another 300kB/s to cdrom.com). Each end every attempt failed with a "there are too many users" mesage. 2. the only way of usage they support (at least in the web page) is from Windows. IMHO - why would I have (or want) to buy Windows in order to run Linux ? 3. Excerpt from their FAQ (hilarious I would say): Q: Can I acces the Internet ?Certainly. A : To access the Internet, return to Windows because the Lite version is built on top of Windows. As some would say : I rest my case.

Re:Just for fun...

[aliebrah]

I'm getting 530 Too many users as well (and have been for a pretty long time). Could they be deliberately trying to stop people from getting their distribution? Like setting maxusers to 0 or something? :)

Re:Just for fun...

[BJH]

You can actually get into their site (if you're very lucky), but it's incredibly slow (apparently a cable modem link, and we all know what the upstream speed is like for cable...), and they seem to have their maxusers set very low (2? 5? 10? Who knows?)

In any case, they sure aren't making it easy to get in there.

Re:Just for fun...

[um... Lucas]

Or maybe it's just slashdotted? And they don't have much bandwidth because they don't have the money, hence the IPO. Sounds feasible. I'm sure there's lots of /. that's dying to get their hands on this distro, if only so that they too can be men and LinuxOne bashers.

Re:Just for fun...

[SeanNi]

I dunno... maybe I'm missing something here, but I was able to get through to their FTP site on the first try.

Granted the links they provided on their website were wrong, but still...

ftp://140.174.127.95/, no?
--
- Sean

Just for fun...

[aav]

Here are some interesting facts about LinuxOne and their distribution. Read them and see what you can conclude : 1. I've been trying to download a copy of this distribution for a couple of days at extremely different moments of the day (actually I was hammering on their site every half an hour). I have a very reliable connection to the internet (500kB/s to VAResearch, 70kB/s to SuSE's ftp, another 300kB/s to cdrom.com). Each end every attempt failed with a "there are too many users" mesage. 2. the only way of usage they support (at least in the web page) is from Windows. IMHO - why would I have (or want) to buy Windows in order to run Linux ? 3. Excerpt from their FAQ (hilarious I would say): Q: Can I acces the Internet ?. A : Certainly. To access the Internet, return to Windows because the Lite version is built on top of Windows. As some would say : I rest my case.

LinuxNONE, er one, or some fucking thing

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd have said, go ahead and sue me you shitheads and when everyone got to court we could have seen just what kind of SCAM these fuckers are running.... One could subpoena every goddamned document in that lying bunch of assholes' "company". "My lawyer has a hotmail account, and he is a DIGITAL SHARK, goddamit....hehehe" Hey.......Has anyone thought it might be BGATES' new job to be the CTO for this company??

Ok lemme get this straight...

[Merk]

According to the warning letter, LinuxOne's lawyer uses a hotmail account. Sounds like a pretty prestigious law firm.

The letter doesn't even look like a letter written by a lawyer. For example when does a lawyer call him/herself a lawyer and not an attorney? I, unfortunately, have received a "cease and decist" letter from a lawyer at one point, and this looks nothing like what I received. The one I received gave specific directions on what they wanted me to do, and legal specifics of what they were accusing me of doing. Maybe you poor folks who have been involved with the DeCSS stuff can comment on your legal letters? This one talks about "lies you have been spreading over the internet". Last I heard, lying on the 'net was legal.

Btw, I'm a hot blonde, 6'2", 36-24-36... *grin*

Re:Ok lemme get this straight...

[anonymous loser]

Actually, in this case I believe the correct term should be slander, which _is_ illegal. Lying isn't illegal until it damages a person's or company's character or reputation.

Re:Ok lemme get this straight...

[evildogeye]

Actually, in this case I believe the correct term should be slander, which _is_ illegal. Lying isn't illegal until it damages a person's or company's character or reputation.

This is libel not slander. Slander is oral defamation, while libel is defamation in a permanent form. And you can be sued for libel even if it doesnt damage a person's character or reputation.

Ok Ok

[Anonymous Coward]

While I agree with what Mr Cox said, but Score 4? Maybe a point or two thrown in because he is Alan Cox afterall, hehe.

OT, but

[angelo]

He started at 2, dropped one for "flamebait", gained 1 for "Interesting" and 2 for "Informative".

He Is correct, however, the SEC should investigate this as a case of fraud; that is their duty.

www.linuxone.net

[phee]

Derek mentions in his letters to LinuxOne et al that telneting to www.linuxone.net resulted in a "welcome to Red Hat" type message. They've fixed that now (it claims "LinuxOne release 1.2" now) but they apparently don't even know how to hack the Apache code so that it too doesn't claim "Apache/1.3.6 (Unix) (Red Hat/Linux)".
Try it yourself...

"All truth passes through three stages: first, it is ridiculed; next it is violently attacked; finally, it is held to be self-evident."

Re:www.linuxone.net

[sash]

And, just by chance, it happens to use the same kernel version, and RedHat internal release number, that you find in RedHat 6.1:
Kernel 2.2.12-2 on an i686

And they don't even know how to administer a web server (left there with each and every port open)
But it is true that they have a different FTPd (BeroFTPD instead of WuFTPD) :-)

Re:www.linuxone.net

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds suspiciously like Mandrake in a lot of regards.

YATRC

[Nicolas MONNET]

Yet
Another
"This is
Repetitive"
Comment

;)

Re:YATRC

[JordanH]

In Haiku:

• Yet, another one A repetitive comment This is getting old.

-Jordan Henderson

Wait a second

[Anonymous Coward]

What does this tell me about their product when they are running Redhat on their web server. What is next, claims that they developed some new kernel extentions for sendmail...or no...they actually DEVELOPED sendmail...these people are thieves, and I think we should all download their product over and over again until their pipe is totally saturated. A legal DoS attack...prevent the spread of this disease called linuxone!!!

A lawyer writing this???? C'm'on!!!!

[Nicolas MONNET]

Apparently LinuxOne can't even afford a real lawyer. Have you met one who would speak thusly?

Software Applications

[Thomas Charron]

What bothers me the most about the LinuxOne distrobution, is that they blatently *LIE* on their web page regarding the nature of their product. Over and over again, they claim to have developed 'LinuxOne OS', and how it includes all of the capabilities, etc..

I *TRUELY* hope they end up with some software in their distro with a BSD licence, so someone can sue the pants off of the company..

530 Message

[shinji]

Try this! That 530 message in not a real 530 message. They have posted it to fool you. FTP to
140.174.127.95 (the site listed on their webpage).
try Anonymous login. first you get back.
530-There are too many users ...
but next you get back a real 530 message
530 Login Incorrect
I think linuxone does not want anyone to download linuxone and make everyone think lots of people are downloading it

Re:530 Message

[Anonymous Coward]

Their site seems to (sorta) work right now...

Re:530 Message

[juniorbird]

I did in fact get throough to their server and downloaded a couple of files. I'm at work, not near my Linux machine so I can't see if any of them are actually real files, but they seem to be out there.

Virtually all the files in their Source directory seem to be from Mandrake, just as alleged... and none of the source seems to be for anything I haven't heard of before. Where's the value-added?

Motley Fools Covered LinuxOne Also

[mssymrvn]

http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2000/rule maker000106.htm

Rob Landley didn't seem to have too many positive things to say about them. The article above is an interesting read. They go into a little more detail about the background of the founder(s).

The real reason no one should invest in LinuxOne

[hald]

I posted this yesterday. Basically, we should be avoiding LinuxOne because of the differences from RH, VA, etc. not because of the similarities of their S-1 filing.
Hal Duston

That lawyer was fake.

[papa248]

I have to agree with you on this one.. I can't possibly imagine that any legit law firm, or corporation for that matter, would use Hotmail as a corporate email system. I mean come on, how many people do you know have used an "anonymous" hotmail account to send a nasty email to someone you didn't like? Besides that, the "demand" for a retraction is awfully flaky, and to my understanding has no legal backing. Even still, a real attorney would certainly send this kind of order by mail, on company letterhead. Although, if this law firm is using Hotmail, they probably don't have letterhead. Some disgruntled or bored person probably saw a copy of the email at the investment firm and set that back out.

Re:lawyer's letter -

[whitey07]

I looked up the lawyer (Michael Morrison) named in the demand letter in Martindale-Hubbell http://lawyers.martindale.com/marhub which is probably the best place to look up a lawyer to see if the lawyer is really a lawyer. I found a Micheal J. Morrison licensed in Nevada and a Michael J. T. Morrison licensed in New York. Who knows whether or not the guy who wrote the letter is really a lawyer? Maybe the lawyer will post to Slashdot - but only believe the post if the guy provides a bar license number that anyone can lookup at the appropriate state bar webpage. The whole situation is very weird. By the way I tried to download a copy of Linuxone and I got nothing! Ed

Of course it is!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh for Christ's sake! Love your kernel hacking and all that, but isn't this predictable rubbish, everyone? I can only assume that Gods like Alan Cox start with a +4 bonus.

Well, it's a Brit writing about something important and what's his suggested solution? No, don't tell me, let me guess ... I guess that he's suggesting BIG GOVERNMENT as the answer to everything. Open eyes ... I was right!

Allowing the SEC into what is essentially a private matter between LinuxOne, its investors and its competitors sets a horribly dangerous precedent. Next thing you know, the SEC will be deciding that all sorts of businesses are "valueless". Like, i don't know, ... a "News for Nerds" site with no obvious sources of revenue! Like hell do we want this arm of Big Brother meddling in technological issues which is has no way of understanding! Perhaps you think that they should be allowed to decide what companies are allowed to float? In which case I'll point out that Micro$oft has put more $ into the pocket$ of the $EC's pay ma$ter$ than Red Hat is ever likely to!

Linux is freedom and freedom is Linux, and freedom is America -- work out the implications for yourself. If we go down the British road (where according to a law still on the books EVERY publication, including source code still has to be submitted to the Lord Chamberlain for censorship -- it was overzealous application of this principle that caused the kernel to be banned in Australia), then perhaps we can look forward to becoming a dismal rainy economic backwater too! Played much crickt lately?

Like I say, Alan, we all admire your mad leet hacking skills, but if you're going to advocate this kind fo big government nonsense then I for one am going BSD. They don't have an anti-business, anti-enterprise attitude (although I have other reasons for supporting LGPL over FreeBSD)

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[Hard_Code]

Yeehaw! Let's start a geek militia and kick those Brits with their damn "government" bs, out of here. We're Americans...we don't need no steenkin' gover-ment!

(bonk)

Jazilla.org - the Java Mozilla

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[Hard_Code]

Yeehaw! Let's start a geek militia and kick those Brits with their damn "government" bs, out of here. We're Americans...we don't need no steenkin' gover-ment!



(bonk)

Jazilla.org - the Java Mozilla

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[um... Lucas]

Actually, I agree with Alan. With all the bickering using words such as "Fraud", "IPO, etc, the SEC really is the only organization that has a possibility of affecting the outcome of this, whichever way it goes.

For one, THERE ISN'T A MATTER BETWEEN LINUXONE, ITS INVESTORS AND COMPETITORS. The investors don't seem to have any problems, as they've given their money. They can divest themselves at anytime. Their competitors don't seem to have any problems. Is there a link on Redhat's homepage that says "Go here to see how we feel about LinuxOne?" No. If (and I'll only say if) LinuxOne is as half-assed as everyone here hopes they are, then their competitors have nothing to fear... They can sit quietly, smirk, and laugh at people who get burned.

This is an issue between the Linux community that does not want to see LinuxOne IPO and no one else. LinuxOne seemed to have been looking the other way until they finally got egged on. I've said it before I'll say it again. The GPL allows what they're doing. That's why I don't particularly like that license, but apparently all of you did, and this is exactly what it gets you. But you are all supposed to be coding for the joy of coding and not care about such things as money...

I believe in all that American stuff, like "innocent until proven guilty", etc, and feel that they should be allowed to proceed. Sure, they can have their IPO... maybe they'll raise another $100 million on a second round offering. And maybe they'll do something that hadn't been done before. They haven't violated the GPL... They may seem a little bit shady, but give them a chance.

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

then I for one am going BSD.

Good riddance.

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Even the most rabid free-marketers tend to support the idea that government has a role in fraud enforcement. Of course, if you happen to be Dr. Chiou or another LinuxOne principal out astroturfing then I can understand your viewpoint.

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[techwatcher]

In the good old days of computing, those of us who knew what we were doing went out of our way -- sometimes WAY, WAY out of our way -- to help what this community might call "newbies." We who understood the terminology, and were thus competent to evaluate possibly fraudulent claims, debunked outrageous computer salesmen, steered users away from buggy or more-than-usually dysfunctional software, and otherwise protected the innocent (i.e., ignorant) from the dangers to their pocketbooks.

Now, although many of you seem not to know this, most lawyers, investors, and other non-geeks (including teachers and ordinary folks) STILL know practically nothing about computers/software/OS's/Internet -- or any other "hi-tech" stuff. I am not at all surprised a "real" lawyer is using Hotmail, for example... take a look at most lawyers' sites and they are still basically poorly designed 'brochures'... doctors are equally ignorant/incompetent in this arena, which is why so many patients have taken to carrying along the latest from Medline to their appointments. (Or perhaps doctors are just too busy to keep up with new discoveries?)

Some of the folks burned if this apparently bogus company -- which is at a minimum violating the generous license which permits its own existence -- would also be "innocents," regardless of their expertise in other matters. I think we should still continue to regard our own expertise as entailing a duty to protect and assist the innocent. (Btw, being able to read a balance sheet and judge a business plan has never implied competence at the actual "business" of the company being evaluated.) Thus, I believe those of us who have information about scams should in fact come forward in situations such as this; however, the proper entity to notify may not be the SEC, but a state or federal Attorney General, since fraud is a criminal, not civil, matter.

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Jeezuz calm down! All he said was it was tne SEC's job to do the policing, not the competitors. You you think that it should be RedHat's responsibility to scrutinize every move that LinuxOne makes?

Re:Of course it is!!!!

[Saxifrage]

Well said. The poor people that will have attempted to go for a product -- or to simply invest in a new company -- when/if LinuxOne gets its IPO, are the innocents, and they are going to get sneered down at by those of us in the More Fortress-like Position of knowing the technology.

That's not really fair to them, is it?

OK, besides that point, there's another point that I wanted to make. We actually don't have a responsibility, necessarily, to protect them; it's actually a MORAL obligation, instead. I'm nitpicking, I know, but it's an important hair-split and someone has to make it. Some of us will be so amazed that they even selected LinuxOne at all that they will be recalcitrant to help out; so on the whole, it will become less `obligation' and more `moral duty.'

Lastly, to all of you who believe that getting the SEC or anyone else is a use of government power that is unnecessary in the United States -- I have to ask you a simple question. "Did you say the same thing when the government went after Microsoft? Or do you do this in the same light as Woodrow Wilson, who once said (I'm paraphrasing here), `Never get involved when your enemies are destroying themselves.' I personally support the government's actions in both -- they are, after all, charged with the protection of the citizens' rights, and if the government does not, then as John Locke envisioned in his _Second Treatise on Government_, the people must rebel. Because their fundamental rights are not being protected.

Email me at: wesleym@teleport.com.

No kidding

[Anonymous Coward]

He looks like an incompetent "60 minutes" wannabe.

Of course, LinuxOne comes off looking like a bunch of scam artists.

Basic IPO mechanics: there's a reason the investment bank is called an underwriter. The bank guarantees that if they can't find other people who will buy all of the stock at the offering price, they will buy all of the unsold stock, themselves, at that price. They underwrite the offering.

So the underwriters have a $25 million direct interest in investigating LinuxOne themselves. I expect they are very interested in these clumsy allegations, and are right this moment asking a series of professionally-worded blistering questions to the LinuxOne executive officers.

And that's how the Street deals with scam artists.

The Linux community and business: oil and water?

[InsomniacsDream]

Not that I have anything against Linux and business, but the two don't really mix very very (at least in the traditional business model). I mean, business is all about competition, and Linux is all about cooperation. However, if Linux DOES succeed (in the marketplace), then it may very well change the way people think about business in general.

One of the concepts that LinuxOne has apparently not managed to grasp yet is that you can't isolate yourself from the Linux community and still expect to succeed. This does work in the traditional business model where competition is the rule, but not in a community founded on the principles of cooperation and sharing ideas openly.

I have no doubt that many investors will get burnt by LinuxOne and related scams, but that is just because they are ignorant of the 'way Linux works'. These investors probably deserve to lose their money because they did not spend the time researching the company's credentials. When they lose their money, however, they will learn a valuable but harsh lesson.

This sounds a bit awful...

[seebs]

Why would a potential underwriter share the information about the complaint *with the company*? If I'd given him permission to share my name with colleagues, I would *NOT* expect him to share it with the company under suspicion, but rather, with other people who might be affected if the suspicions were correct.

Am I just crazy?

Re:This sounds a bit awful...

[bero-rh]

Why would a potential underwriter share the information about the complaint with the company?

To get their view on it?
I'd do that (without mentioning his name though).
It's always best to get the opinion from both sides, and maybe some neutral parties, before making a decision.

check them out

[Anonymous Coward]

It'd be nice if someone on their lunch break would drive over and check out:

LinuxOne Worldwide Headquarters
201 San Antonio Circle, C250
Mountain View, CA 94040
Phone: (650) 948-6201
Fax: (650) 948-2932
Email: robert@linuxone.net
URL: http://www.linuxone.net/

Here's a map.

Re:check them out

[Anonymous Coward]

I took a quick look at lunch. There isn't much to see. They are in one office in a small complex of buildings. The directory doens't list LinuxOne as the resident of the office, but Pacific Micro something. From the outside it looks just like anyone of hundreds of small SV companies.

Re:check them out

[Robert S Gormley]

Pacific Micro is one of the CEO's companies, supposedly the one that was to do the Linux-Mac stuff... Apparently even won a contract from "Steve Jobs" (quotes because wouldn't you win it from Apple??)

Hello Mr. Chung, I'll be your server today.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's me, your anonymous friend again. I'm still out here, working against you. I've caused mentions of your LinuxMac product to be withdrawn from two major Mac web sites. That's just the tip of the iceberg, too. I'm out here, Mr. Chung. I'm watching you. And I don't take kindly to what your firm is doing to the Linux world.

Signed,
The Tuxedoed Pimpernell

Re:LinuxOne is good for Linux

[Overfiend]

Oh yeah, moderate down the parent post just because it is a little different than the normal Slashdot opinion.

Oh, come on, this has to be a troll.

Maybe if you all pulled your heads out of Richard Stallman's dirty asshole you'd have a more rational worldview.

What a load of crap... I'm out of here.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out...on second thought, do. :)

Only time will tell if Mr. Chiou's attempt to sucker the gaijin pans out...

Re:LinuxOne is good for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

"complete lack of a real file system"
Care to explain what you think is wrong with the existing one?

Order now!

[Anonymous Coward]

As recommended by yhaoo.com, LinuxOne is now available for online ordering!

Check out http://gabriel.linuxopen. com/linuxone/ordering/order.html. What, it's not a secure server? Why worry about your credit card number getting sniffed in the clear, when you are already transmitting it directly to theives?

Requires Student ID?

[Zalini]

I find it somewhat interesting that they want your Student ID number in order to get the free CD shipped to you. Are they actually going to call up the school and check the enrollment records?

And I am not going to be giving out my SSN (Purdue Student ID = Social Security Number) to LinuxOne!

Re:Requires Student ID?

[phil reed]

And I am not going to be giving out my SSN (Purdue Student ID = Social Security Number) to LinuxOne!

Use 078-05-1120. This was a number printed on millions of demonstration billfold inserts. The Social Security Administration has retired it permenantly. For more info, look here.


...phil

So... Look him up! (Re:lawyer's letter)

[dbc]

There is a directory called the "Martindale-Hubble" (sp?) that lists law firms large and small in the US. If a lawyer needs to sue someone (or defend a suit) in a state where they are not licensed to practice, this is how they find a someone with a ticket. If he's real, he's in there. So find someone that has one of these and look him up (or not...)

Interesting Comments

[tsx]

It interests me that there are several Anonymous Coward comments that are trashing someone as a "60 minutes wannabe," etc. when in reality he was asking valid questions. After reading some of the material on the main story link, I'd be nervous about buying into LinuxOne. Frankly the close ties that the CEO has to Global whatver (the company he donated 50% of his stock to) just seems a little too odd for my tastes. And the writer was right on when asking things like about stock freezes for that other company. I looked at the site for LinuxOne a while ago, and wasn't to impressed. After hearing all of this stuff being tossed around, I think that LinuxOne is not on the up and up. What do you guys think given the recent deveopments? That would be an interesting poll ;)

Re:Interesting Comments

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, the 60 minutes comment is telling. Consider who the 60 minutes people focus on, and how rarely they are wrong.

Sounds like someone's subconcious is turning them in.

Re:Interesting Comments

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, what's really interesting is your narrow mind. Check out what the original AC (me, actually) also said about LinuxOne. You will have to read as far as the second line of the post. But I guess people don't read that far any more.

60 minutes is great. But being an incompetent wannabe of a great operation isn't great.

Mr. Simkiowak claims he was trying to "vindicate" Linux One. Bullshit. He accuses LinuxOne of being a "fly-by-night operation"; flat out states "Anyone investing into LinuxOne is bound to lose their investment"; and "I believe this to be a get-rich-quick scam".

That's not vindication; that's a hatchet job. It marks him as disingenuous from the start. If he had just flat out said "My interest in this is protecting the reputation of the Linux movement" he would have more credibility.

The unnamed investment banker displays good ethics by explicitly asking Mr. Simkiowak for permission to share his comments with the company. Mr. Simkiowak then demonstrates his ignorance by asking "which company". Duh -- the company that you chose to write about, Mr. Simkiowak!

Hence my comment.

Meta Tags

[CMiYC]

These are the keywords from the meta tag of one of their pages..

meta name="keywords" content="Linux, LinuxOne, kernel, S.O., Distribution, Labs, Red Hat, Redhat, Caldera, OpenLinux, SuSE, S.u.s.e., applixware, news, resources, Operating, System, OS, KDE, GNOME, GNU, Server, Network, application, Penguin, Onestop, Free, Download, commerical, support"

Interesting that they'd want someone searching for Red Hat or RedHat to come to their site...

---

Re:Meta Tags

[Guy Harris]

I think that's a common trick - put competitor's names in the meta tags.

Cashing in on LinuxOne the right way.

[segmond]

I smell lots of $$$. How? First of all, it took these guys age to figure out that they had to edit /etc/issue to make their red hat box say linuxone whatever. I could have cashed in on this, by telling them how, and having them pay me. As everyone knows, their webserver still says redhat, we can cash in on this too. Hey, how about we modify apache for you to say linux one for only $500. They kludged the ftp server to give message that the server is full. But it is obvious, heh, we can hack your ftp fake message to appear more authentic for only $5000. These guys are porting windows programs to linux and stuff, they said so. In order to do this, they need developers, Heh, why don't we code for them. I will port notepad.exe and calc.exe, I will leave clock.exe and paintbrush.exe for you. This is money making opportunity people!

Re:Cashing in on LinuxOne the right way.

[Chazman]

Another option: short the stock. While I'll be just as saddened as the rest of you by the press Linux will get when LinuxOne's IPO sinks like a rock and never comes back, at least we can cash in on their misfortune, and that of the poor hapless fools who bought the stock. What will it tell Wall Street if, from the very first day of trading, over 25% of LinuxOne's publicly traded shares are shorted? It'll say that LinuxOne is a sham and we expect them to tank. Such messages tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies in the marketplace, even when not true from the start.

Let's move on already..

[pbk105]

The same rules that make Linux free and available to people who will promote it are the same rules that allow people to exploit it. Is it wrong? It sure is. But there will *always* be people who exploit a good thing for their own gain. Let the players take care of LinuxOne and let us move on already. There's too much good stuff going on with Linux to waste energy swatting away the flies.

Paul

Re:Let's move on already..

[Col. Panic]

OK - I agree let's not waste too much energy screaming about it, but /. and the rest of the Linux community should continue to publicly decry LinuxOne as being outside the respected community until mainstream media has recognized the fact.

One of the great things about Linux and OS is the community/peer review and scrutiny. We should make it clear that just because LinuxOne wants to do an IPO it does not represent the same quality of products and services available in other corners of the Linux world so that those who seek to damage the growing reputation of Linux don't influence those who don't know any better than to listen.

Fun with nmap

[Anonymous Coward]

Although it appears LinuxOne has figured out how to change the /etc/issue.net from saying "RedHat" to saying "LinuxOne" they still don't know how to secure a system:


nmap -sS -O www.linuxone.net


Starting nmap V. 2.12 by Fyodor (fyodor@dhp.com, www.insecure.org/nmap/)

Interesting ports on (140.174.127.98):

Port State Protocol Service

21 open tcp ftp

23 open tcp telnet

25 open tcp smtp

53 filtered tcp domain

80 open tcp http

98 open tcp linuxconf

110 open tcp pop-3

111 open tcp sunrpc

113 open tcp auth

515 open tcp printer

974 open tcp unknown

993 open tcp simap

998 open tcp busboy

1003 open tcp unknown

1024 open tcp unknown

1025 open tcp listen

6000 open tcp X11


TCP Sequence Prediction: Class=random positive increments

Difficulty=2275189 (Good luck!)



Boy that looks like crap....

Re:Fun with nmap

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if they've patched lpd against the recent vulnerabilities? I'm not curious enough to find out, though.

The Lawyer exists! Enough Already!

[IrishLeo]

A quick search from www.adanet.org nets:

MICHAEL J. MORRISON
1995 Ridgeview Dr.
Reno, Nevada
(Washoe County)

ADMITTED: 1976

LAW-SCHOOL: McGeorge School of Law (J.D.)

COLLEGE: United States Air Force Academy (B.S.)

BORN: 1945

ISLN: 902352344

The IPO was filed in Nevada was it not? Seems to me that this could be a legit lawyer.

URL: Abanet link to Mr. Morrison's Info


Also of interest is the Business Address cited in the LinuxOne S-1/A:

BUSINESS ADDRESS:
STREET1: 1495 RIDGEVIEW DR
STREET2: SUITE 220
CITY: RENO
STATE: NV
ZIP: 89509
PHONE: 7758276300


URL: FreeEDGAR S-1/A Filing for LinuxOne, Inc.

Conclusion. This e-mail was most likely sent by a real lawyer working for LinuxOne. Unless, of course, you want to get really paranoid and say that they saw the name on the building while renting their fake business office and decided to steal it for harassing honest, hardworking netizens...

Read the S-1/A a little further down and find:

With Copies To:

Michael J. Morrison, Esq.
1495 Ridgeview Drive, Suite 220
Reno, Nevada 89509
Telephone: (775) 827-6300

My guess is they had a real lawyer involved with the filing of their IPO material.

Nuf Said...

Re:The Lawyer exists! Enough Already!

[ericfitz]

Here's the link to both the original S-1 and the S-1/A amended form.

According to the forms, the underwriter is:

CAPITAL WEST SECURITIES, INC.
One Leadership Square, Suite 200
211 North Robinson
Oklahoma City, OK. 73102
Telephone: (405) 235-5728

Re:LinuxOne is good for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean other than the fact it was written by drug addicted child molestors?

Attorney Or Lawyer?

[Anonymous Coward]

How many attorneys call themselves a 'lawyer' in legal correspondence? Sounds like a fake letter created to try and scare the recipient, by someone who doesn't know the jargon.

LinuxOne FTP Server...?

[Anonymous Coward]

Their web page lists their FTP server as residing at IP 140.174.127.95.. However, if you finger ftp.linuxone.net, it says the IP is 216.101.248.93... Four directories, /bin, /etc, /lib, and /pub. /lib is the only one with any files in it. Netcraft reports no information on this ftp box, as port 80 is shut off.

Whose Jurisdiction is it?

[Anonymous Coward]

My honest opinnion is that if they are claiming to have a product that does not exist, then they can be screwed legally. I'm wondering however if its the FBI or the SEC's jurisdiction over the matter.

Re:LinuxOne is good for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah... I'm sure you'd love to hit me right in the ass with your little door-knob.

SOMEONE SHOULD HIJACK THE LINUXONE.NET DOMAIN

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone who knows what they are doing should hijack their domain and repoint it to Mandrake or RedHat's site. That would just be *cool*.

Does anyone else find this incredibly funny?

[fence]

The whole situation just seems so asinine.

"530-There are too many users. Please try to download at a later time. Thank You."

BTW, I'm looking for gullible investors for my latest project-->LinuxToo

LinuxToo is a company that thrives on people who say "you run linux? me too!"

Humor-challenged.

[phil reed]

Uh, read it again. He was pulling your leg so hard it came off in his hands.


...phil

More interesting...

[LinuxTek]

They seem to be working on at least modifying some of the messages for the default installation of Apache:

http://140.174.127.44/

Another thing. Mr. Chiou is using Windoze, acording to queso. (How did I found out the IP address for Mr. Chiou's computer? It's a simple matter of searching thru all the records for their DNS server, which btw are a very few)

I would thought that a pre-IPO company would have thousands of computers (well, hundred maybe) available for testing, programming, sales, management, etc. But the DNS only shows 25 records.

Seeya!

Did LinuxOne Lie About Red Hat?

[cburley]

A lot of people forget than [sic] a large number of programmers were promised stock by Red Hat and never received any.

That quote comes from the 5 Jan 2000 10:01:22 -0800 email Robert Philips wrote to Derek.

Being a recipient of the famous email Red Hat sent out to contributors to invite them to participate in the RHAT IPO, I don't recall any promise made that we would actually receive stock.

Can anyone provide actual evidence of such a promise, or is this just a case of Mr. Philips inflating his rhetoric to make Red Hat look bad (and, therefore, LinuxOne look better by comparison)?

Note that this could be considered "splitting hairs" by some -- I'm distinguishing Red Hat offering contributors the opportunity to purchase shares from an actual promise that they would receive shares. There's no need to accuse Red Hat of the latter, which is what Mr. Philips appears to have done, if all they did was the former. (It's like the distinction between right to free speech and the right to be heard -- the former is not equivalent to the latter.)

Actually the 530 message IS legitimate.

[bero-rh]

That 530 message is not a real 530 message. They have posted it to fool you. [...] first you get back: 530-There are too many users ... but next you get back a real 530 message 530 Login incorrect

Which is just what the ftp server they're using does when there are too many users.
It first send some 530-Whatever-the-admin-puts, then a 530 Login incorrect.
This is perfectly valid according to the RFCs, as long as all but the last line have a "-" after the 530.

I wrote the server program they're using, so rest assured I know how it behaves.

It's entirely possible, though, that they set a limit of 1 user and they have that one permitted connection opened for themselves - I can't get in either.

Typical Hong Kong business style

[Anonymous Coward]

It Looks like Mr. Wun C. Chiou is working hard on changing California business tactics into Hong Kong business style.
One IPO at the time.

Check this for more info: http://www.smu.edu/~mbonilla/stories/misc/governme ntcows.html

Oh?

[Anonymous Coward]

Care to enlighten us as to why you believe LinuxOne is legit then? If this is all just a TacoFud campaign then perhaps you can counter it with some REAL arguments as to why LinuxOne is legit?

Didn't think so.

There are worse things to be than a barefaced liar

[Anonymous Coward]

I challenge you to demonstrate that this exchange of words ever happened.

It did happen, but only inside my head.

I have no doubt that you have provided us a patent fabrication.

You are absolutely right, your deductive prowess amazes us all.

You are a shameless asshole with your own agenda of fraud to submit such a post.

You, on the other hand, are unable to spot the output of the Dilbert Zone's Performance Review Generator, despite there being at least three posts in this thread which correctly identified my original post as an almost-funny parody.

Gawd, slashdot likes to think of itself as a place for intelligent people, but is it? As a longtime resident of "trolltalk", I've recently taken to posting the most extraordinary rubbish on threads, and you can guarantee that at least one person (usually more) will be taken in. This wasn't even meant to be a troll, just a joke, but it ended up pulling in at least five sincere responses (including two rather angry ones -- how smart you all must feel)

Particular kudos must go to the moderators who scored (4, Funny) to a line-by-line exegesis of a joke which only received (3, Funny), albeit that it also received (1, Interesting) from another goat.

Do yourselves a favour, lads. Don't ever invest, in anything. Or do me a favour and check out my IPO Prospectus for the Brooklyn Bridge.

jsm

Dr Chouia's Miracle Snake oil

[Dr Caleb]

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, available now and for a limited time, I present you Dr Chouia's miracle cure for what ails you!

Want to run Wintel programs on your Mac?

Want to run Wintel programs on your Wintel box?

It'll do that and more! It runs Linux programs on Wintel too! It cures bad breath, athletes foot, bad grades, hair loss and the common cold!

It invisibly translates Chinese to Japanese to English! It improves your sex life!

And, as an added feature, at no extra charge to you, we'll pipe /dev/null to \Windows\temp just in case you really wanted that output and have a little extra disk space!

But act fast, because this offer is only good for the next 30 days, or as long as we are in town!

Counterpoint: we need the story to break open!

[hardcorejon]

It seems to me that the only way to truly expose the facts on LinuxOne is for this story to break in the mainstream media.

It may be a blemish on Linux, but if we make sure the story covers the strong scepticism to LinuxOne found in the Linux Community, I think we can turn this into Good Thing: The message is that the Linux Community, by virtue of its openness, ensures a safer world (insert warm fuzzy here).

Any takers? Come on, /. and Andover -- get this story on 60 Minutes!

- jonathan.

info

[Anonymous Coward]

He probably sells your info and email address, then accidentally forgets to ship the CD. Oh well, it was free anyway right?

Linus and his trademark

[Anonymous Coward]

didn't slashdot just run a story about how Linus Torvalds enforced his trademark of "Linux" to stop illegitimate domain hording? if "LinuxOne" is truly a scam and will cause harm to "linux" the name, then isn't Linus directly resposible for enforcing his Trademark? and if he does not, then isn't the trademark worthless? seems a simple refusal to allow LinuxOne to use "Linux" would be a good start, IF in fact this company is basically a scam (as it appears to be). wardk (ac'ing from a cookieless browser)

"LinuxOne Opens Offices in Taiwan"

[damyan]

From http://www.linuxone.net/news/press/press14.html

It seems they have an office in Taiwan. The web address is http://www.LinuxOneTaiwan.com

AFAIK there is no such site.

$whois linuxonetaiwan.com
[rs.internic.net]



Domain Name: LINUXONETAIWAN.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: www.networksolutions.com
Name Server: RINOA.LINUXONE.NET
Name Server: DCAT.LINUXOPEN.COM
Updated Date: 12-jan-2000


Oh yeah, try going to http://rinoa.linuxone.net

I hope LinuxOne doesn't set my default Apache up with that page (check out the source of the logos).

To be redundant, these people are as suspicious as you can get.

Re:"LinuxOne Opens Offices in Taiwan"

[MadAhab]

At http://rinoa.linuxone.net:

This version of Apache comes with PHP3 modules and its documentation.

Try it, it's 404. Doh.

Re:"LinuxOne Opens Offices in Taiwan"

[peh]

The domain is registered... As InterNic tells you, you must use NetworkSolutions' (the dot commie people) whois-server: mycroft:~$ whois -h whois.networksolutions.com linuxonetaiwan.com The Data in Network Solutions' WHOIS database is provided by Network Solutions for information purposes, and to assist persons in obtaining information about or related to a domain name registration record. Network Solutions does not guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a WHOIS query, you agree that you will use this Data only for lawful purposes and that, under no circumstances will you use this Data to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail (spam); or (2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that apply to Network Solutions (or its systems). Network Solutions reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. By submitting this query, you agree to abide by this policy. Registrant: LinuxOne, Inc. (LINUXONETAIWAN-DOM) 201 San Antonio Circle C250 Mountain View, CA 94040 US Domain Name: LINUXONETAIWAN.COM Administrative Contact: Network Engineer (NE1172-ORG) admin@LINUXONE.NET 650-948-6201 Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Dr. Wun Chiou (DWC3-ORG) wchiou@LINUXONE.NET 415-948-6201 Fax- 415-948-6296 Billing Contact: Dr. Wun Chiou (DWC3-ORG) wchiou@LINUXONE.NET 415-948-6201 Fax- 415-948-6296 Record last updated on 12-Jan-2000. Record created on 12-Jan-2000. Database last updated on 25-Jan-2000 14:44:20 EST. Domain servers in listed order: DCAT.LINUXOPEN.COM 140.174.127.2 RINOA.LINUXONE.NET 216.101.248.91

Re:"LinuxOne Opens Offices in Taiwan"

[peh]

Whoops... I fscked up the formatting on that one. Sorry about that. Anyway, try it out yourself:

whois -h whois.networksolutions.com linuxonetaiwan.net

Re:"LinuxOne Opens Offices in Taiwan"

[damyan]

It wasn't the fact that the domain isn't registered; its the fact that the website doesn't exist! Leads me to suspect that the Taiwan operation doesn't exist except maybe on paper.

Fraud

[johnos]

I used to think that LinuxOne was a bunch of people out for a fast buck. Now I think it is a fraud. The Linux community has a duty to expose this fraud. At least some of you must be US Citizens :). Why don't you do your civic duty and complain to the SEC, detailing some of the shenanegans LinuxOne has been up to. Like a non-existent product for download, and the share transfer. I believe that once they have filed for an IPO, these type of things become securities fraud and punishable.

And please leave MBAs out of it. I am an MBA, and an employee of a startup (not a Linux startup). Hard as it may be to believe, some MBAs are capable of running Linux. Some even like it because it is a great operating system rather than because it is a potential gravy train.

And another thing, I know a lot of MBAs and none of them are stupid enough to try the kind of things LinuxOne is up to. Puhleeez. This is a scheme cooked up by amateurs, not professionals with graduate degrees in business (or obviously Computer Science either).

All part of Hong Kong Capitalism

[Anonymous Coward]

Take from here:

HONG KONG CAPITALISM:

You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly-listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt / equity swap with associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax deduction for keeping five cows. The milk rights of six cows are transferred via a Panamanian intermediary to a Cayman Islands company secretly owned by the majority shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows' milk back to the listed company. The annual report says that the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Meanwhile, you kill the two cows because the feng shiu is bad.

Oh my God, they branded Tux!!

[ripcrd]

Look, some jerk-weed put a brand right on his chest. He looks like he's owned like a horse or cow, instead of the free-wheeling, herring-eating flightless bird I once knew.
At least they got a better web designer for their new page. It doesn't look like a 5 yr old designed it anymore.

Re:Oh my God, they branded Tux!!

[Jakenuts]

I nearly puked on my keyboard when I saw the seared red scar on his belly. What bastards.

Frankenstein's Popcorn Stand

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh please ... these clowns can't even run a halfway convincing scam with both hands and a flashlight. Getting jeered out of the marketplace by the Slashdot talk-show audience is letting them off easy.

The lawyer letter, and company, look bogus

[Animats]

What's wrong with this picture?

• Mailed from a Hotmail account.
• No contact information, phone, or address for the lawyer.
• There is no such thing as "civil prosecution". There's criminal prosecution and civil litigation.

So it's probably a bluff.

I just ran a Dun and Bradstreet report on LinuxOne. I highly recommend this to investors.
As of January 10, 2000, LinuxOne has 10 employees, including the three officers, and 2500 square feet of rented office space. This is way too early for a full-scale IPO. Usually, at this stage, you go for venture capital funding. Or you make some profits and reinvest. They don't claim to have any unique intellectual property that makes them valuable; they're a me-too company. This is not good.

I've received threats twice in the past when I exposed various scams. My usual response is "I am represented by (name of attorney). Send them the paperwork." Nobody ever did, although one bozo made a big deal of calling me up to ask for my attorney's name and address.

Advice to people who expose scams: follow the Associated Press Libel Manual, buy a liability umbrella policy, and don't worry too much. The last thing most scammers want is a real libel suit, because you get to do discovery on them, examine their records, and question their people, creating a public record of the inner details of the scam.

Re:The lawyer letter, and company, look bogus

[rlb]

I am sorry that the email address is such a problem. Mr. Morrison was under this mistaken impression, probably that who he used for his email was his own damn business. Also, he had this idea that it should be easy to access his email anywhere in the world.

But be of good cheer, I've suggested he look into another provider just to reduce the noise level.

r.b.

Re:The lawyer letter, and company, look bogus

[paul.dunne]

"The Associated Press Libel Manual" -- have you got a link for that, or a source, or an ISBN? Sounds like it could be very useful. Lord knows I don't generally have much time for Katz, but his ranting about "corporatism" does have a kernel of truth: it's hard for the individual to stand up to big corporations on such matters, and often knowing the law can help a great deal.

Re:The lawyer letter, and company, look bogus

[Animats]

Per request, here's the amazon.com link for The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.

That book is US-oriented; British law, for example, is quite different. In the US, generally anything you say which is either factually accurate or is obviously an opinion is safe from libel claims. You can go further than that under US law; read the book if you want to act like Rush Limbaugh.

Re:The lawyer letter, and company, look bogus

[Anonymous Coward]

Fuck you, whorebat.

linuxone topic of userfriendly

[_martini_]

you all did read the user friendly they had around christmas, didn't you?

go read it for a good laugh.
Sunday, 12-26-1999

Let's hear him....

[Anonymous Coward]

how about having a slashdot interview of the ceo/director of LO?
i know, i know, it's an insult to all other OSS geeks and noble laureates and others we've interviewed till now. but gotta listen to the other side before coming to a conclusion, right?
let's give them a chance to present their side...
it sure would be fun, atleast!

Re:Let's hear him....

[rlb]

I've asked Cmdr Taco to give me a call. Richard Bottoms Dir. Business Development LinuxOne

see what the fool has to say:

[Anonymous Coward]

motley fool (investor site) has an article about Linuxone: http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2000/rule maker000106.htm It is titled: LinuxOne: The Beauty of a Bad Example

WELL PUT!!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

jason.salopek@usa.net

It doesn't matter

[Anonymous Coward]

It doesn't matter whether the "lawyer" is real or not. If he sent a "cease and desist" letter via e-mail, I can't imagine the letter standing up in court as a legal notification.

An e-mail "cease and desist" is too unreliable and easily forged to be considered credible. The notice will most certainly be entered as evidence in a future lawsuit. Such a notice should be sent via registered mail so that the sender has a verifiable record (1) that the letter was really sent and (2) of the date on which it was postmarked.

I am not an attorney, but had I received a similar e-mail, I would have replied with a simple statement that I could not verify the sender's identity and a request that they send me something in writing. I would probably include a brief sentence to the effect that impersonating an attorney is a serious criminal offense and that I will not hesitate to notify my local District Attorney's office if it appears the sender is committing such an offense.

Bottom line -- to be admissible, legal notices still have to be in writing -- even if your client is a vaporware software distributor.

Pacific Micro?????!!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

> First of all, Dr. Chiou founded a company called Pacific Micro.
> Under contract to Steve Jobs for NeXT, a product called Common-Link
> for UNIX was developed.

I remember hearing that Pacific Micro was money-laundering operation that folded under very suspicious circumstances about seven years ago. I remember hearing about this at NeXTWorld Expo at that time.

-jcr

Or maybe he did...

[Anonymous Coward]

and the TacoFud Conspiracy deleted it ;-)

Signal 11 naked and petrified

[sig_sig]

Visit the Signal 11 Shrine to see Signal 11 naked and petrified.

Sounds like Linux people going M$

[Anonymous Coward]

This sounds like they are using M$ like tactics, and I don't think it will run over for them too well. The reasons that it's an M$ product is the fact that they make false claims, it's bug ridden, and they don't like people talking nasty about them.

Re:You are a barefaced liar.

[Anonymous Coward]

You confirm all our suspicions. There are some truly idiotic people who post here.

gaijin

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, I know, it means "foreign person" in JAPANESE; as far as I know, Mr. Chiou is not Japanese, and I'm sure a lot of Japanese people are insulted by this implication that he is...

Re:gaijin

[Overfiend]

I knew gaijin was a Japanese word, believe it or not, and I knew that Chiou was not a Japanese name. Chinese names are very, very easy to distinguish from Japanese ones even to an ignorant Westerner like myself. In fact, it's pretty straightforward to learn to distinguish Chinese, Japenese, Korean, and Vietnamese names from each other -- at least the ones I've encountered in history books.

I hope no one except people at LinuxOne and the Anonymous Coward I replied to took offense. Maybe no one else did; you tell me, does it give offense to presume that someone else would take offense when they would not? :)

Finally, you might conclude that a person who took his slashdot username from Urotsukidoji both knew a little bit about Japanese words, and might be inclined to troll. :) I hope you guys had as much fun flaming me as I did flaming the clueless idiot. :)

-- Overfiend, who can tell Hideyoshi from K'ang-hsi even on a bad day

Re:gaijin

[Anonymous Coward]

Yesss, gwasshoppa, you say sorry-sorry nice.

finally logged in to their FTP

[roadtrip]

ncftp /pub/LinuxOne/Source > pls
AfterStep-1.7.90-4mdk.src.rpm
AnotherLevel-0.9-2mdk.src.rpm
BeroFTPD-1.3.4-1mdk.src.rpm
BeroList-2.5.9-1mdk.src.rpm
ElectricFence-2.1-2mdk.src.rpm
GXedit-1.23-2mdk.src.rpm
IglooFTP-0.6.1-5mdk.src.rpm
ImageMagick-4.2.3-5mdk.src.rpm
MAKEDEV-2.5-2mdk.src.rpm
MandrakeUpdate-6.0-5mdk.src.rpm
Mesa-3.0-2mdk.src.rpm
ORBit-0.4.3-2mdk.src.rpm
SVGATextMode-1.8-5mdk.src.rpm
SysVinit-2.76-3mdk.src.rpm
TRANS.TBL
TiMidity++-2.0.2-2mdk.src.rpm
WMRack-1.0b5-3mdk.src.rpm
WindowMaker-0.52.0-4mdk.src.rpm
X11R6-contrib-3.3.2-7mdk.src.rpm
XFree86-3.3.3.1-59.src.rpm
XFree86-ISO8859-2-1.0-9mdk.src.rpm
XFree86-ISO8859-9-2.1.2-10mdk.src.rpm
--More--
XFree86-ISO8859-9-2.1.2-10mdk.src.rpm
Xaw3d-1.3-2mdk.src.rpm
Xconfigurator-4.2.3-1.src.rpm
adjtimex-1.3-7mdk.src.rpm
aktion-0.3.3-2mdk.src.rpm
am-utils-6.0-5mdk.src.rpm
anacron-2.0.1-2mdk.src.rpm
anonftp-2.8-2mdk.src.rpm
apache-1.3.6-1.0.src.rpm
apmd-3.0beta5-9mdk.src.rpm
ash-0.2-18mdk.src.rpm
at-3.1.7-9mdk.src.rpm
audiofile-0.1.6-4mdk.src.rpm
aumix-1.18.2-3mdk.src.rpm
authconfig-1.8-1.src.rpm
autoconf-2.14.1-6mdk.src.rpm
autofs-3.1.3-3mdk.src.rpm
automake-1.4a-5mdk.src.rpm
awesfx-0.4.3a-3mdk.src.rpm
basesystem-6.0-3mdk.src.rpm
bash-2.03-5mdk.src.rpm
bash1-1.14.7-14mdk.src.rpm
bc-1.05a-5mdk.src.rpm
--More--
bc-1.05a-5mdk.src.rpm
bdflush-1.5-11mdk.src.rpm
bin86-0.4-8mdk.src.rpm
bind-8.2-7mdk.src.rpm
binutils-2.9.1.0.24-5mdk.src.rpm
bison-1.27-5mdk.src.rpm
blt-2.4g-5mdk.src.rpm
bootparamd-0.10-3mdk.src.rpm
byacc-1.9-2mdk.src.rpm
bzip2-0.9.0c-4mdk.src.rpm
caching-nameserver-6.0-3mdk.src.rpm
cbb-0.78-2mdk.src.rpm
cdecl-2.5-10mdk.src.rpm
cdp-0.33-3mdk.src.rpm
cdparanoia-IIIa5-mdk2.src.rpm
cdrecord-1.8a22-2mdk.src.rpm
chkconfig-1.0.6-1.src.rpm
chkfontpath-1.4.1-2mdk.src.rpm
cleanfeed-0.95.7b-4mdk.src.rpm
comanche-990405-3mdk.src.rpm
compat-binutils-5.2-2.9.1.0.23.1.src.rpm
compat-libs-5.2-2mdk.src.rpm
comsat-0.10-3mdk.src.rpm
--More--
comsat-0.10-3mdk.src.rpm
console-tools-19990302-8mdk.src.rpm
control-center-1.0.5-4mdk.src.rpm
control-panel-3.11-3mdk.src.rpm
cpio-2.4.2-13mdk.src.rpm
cproto-4.6-3mdk.src.rpm
cracklib-2.7-7mdk.src.rpm
crontabs-1.7-4mdk.src.rpm
ctags-3.2-2mdk.src.rpm
cvs-1.10.6-5mdk.src.rpm
cxhextris-1.0-6mdk.src.rpm
desktop-backgrounds-1.0.0-7mdk.src.rpm
desktopcfg-1.1.0-2mdk.src.rpm
dev-2.7.3-5mdk.src.rpm
dhcp-2.0b1pl6-7mdk.src.rpm
dhcpcd-1.3.17pl2-2mdk.src.rpm
dialog-0.6-5mdk.src.rpm
diffstat-1.25-8mdk.src.rpm
diffutils-2.7-15mdk.src.rpm
dip-3.3.7o-5mdk.src.rpm
dosemu-0.99.10-5mdk.src.rpm
dump-0.4b4-8mdk.src.rpm
e2fsprogs-1.14-5mdk.src.rpm
--More--
e2fsprogs-1.14-5mdk.src.rpm
eMusic-DR0.9-1mdk.src.rpm
ed-0.2-14mdk.src.rpm
ee-0.3.8-7mdk.src.rpm
efax-0.8a-2mdk.src.rpm
egcs-1.1.2-10mdk.src.rpm
eject-2.0.2-4mdk.src.rpm
elm-2.5.0-9mdk.src.rpm
emacs-20.3-12mdk.src.rpm
enlightenment-0.15.5-12mdk.src.rpm
enlightenment-conf-0.15-5mdk.src.rpm
enscript-1.6.1-9mdk.src.rpm
esound-0.2.10-3mdk.src.rpm
etcskel-1.62-12mdk.src.rpm
ethemes-1.0-1mdk.src.rpm
exmh-2.0.2-8mdk.src.rpm
ext2ed-0.1-10mdk.src.rpm
faces-1.6.1-7mdk.src.rpm
faq-6.0-2mdk.src.rpm
fbset-2.0.19990118-3mdk.src.rpm
fetchmail-5.0.3-2mdk.src.rpm
file-3.26-5mdk.src.rpm
filesystem-1.3.4-6mdk.src.rpm
--More--
filesystem-1.3.4-6mdk.src.rpm
fileutils-4.0-1mdk.src.rpm
findutils-4.1-28mdk.src.rpm
flash-0.4.3-3mdk.src.rpm
flex-2.5.4a-8mdk.src.rpm
fnlib-0.4-8mdk.src.rpm
fortune-mod-1.0-11mdk.src.rpm
freeciv-1.8.0-1mdk.src.rpm
freetype-1.2-7mdk.src.rpm
ftp-0.10-3mdk.src.rpm
fvwm-1.24r-8mdk.src.rpm
fvwm2-2.2.1-6mdk.src.rpm
fwhois-1.00-12mdk.src.rpm
gaddr-1.0.1-2mdk.src.rpm
gated-3.5.10-10mdk.src.rpm
gawk-3.0.3-8mdk.src.rpm
gd-1.3-6mdk.src.rpm
gdb-4.18-7mdk.src.rpm
gdbm-1.7.3-20mdk.src.rpm
gdm-1.0.0-36mdk.src.rpm
gedit-0.5.1-3mdk.src.rpm
genromfs-0.3-5mdk.src.rpm
gettext-0.10.35-9mdk.src.rpm
--More--
gettext-0.10.35-9mdk.src.rpm
getty_ps-2.0.7j-8mdk.src.rpm
ghostscript-5.10-9mdk.src.rpm
ghostscript-fonts-5.10-4mdk.src.rpm
giftrans-1.12.2-5mdk.src.rpm
gimp-1.0.4-3mdk.src.rpm
gimp-data-extras-1.0.0-5mdk.src.rpm
gimp-manual-1.0.0-6mdk.src.rpm
git-4.3.17-6mdk.src.rpm
glib-1.2.3-2mdk.src.rpm
glibc-2.1.1-9mdk.src.rpm
gmp-2.0.2-9mdk.src.rpm
gnome-audio-1.0.0-4mdk.src.rpm
gnome-core-1.0.4-7mdk.src.rpm
gnome-games-1.0.2-8mdk.src.rpm
gnome-libs-1.0.9-9mdk.src.rpm
gnome-linuxconf-0.22-2mdk.src.rpm
gnome-media-1.0.1-4mdk.src.rpm
gnome-objc-1.0.1-4mdk.src.rpm
gnome-pim-1.0.3-3mdk.src.rpm
gnome-python-1.0.1-3mdk.src.rpm
gnome-users-guide-1.0.5-2mdk.src.rpm
gnome-utils-1.0.1-6mdk.src.rpm
--More--
gnome-utils-1.0.1-6mdk.src.rpm
gnomehack-1.0.1-5mdk.src.rpm
gnomeicu-0.63-2mdk.src.rpm
gnorpm-0.8-6mdk.src.rpm
gnotepad+-1.1.3-2mdk.src.rpm
gnuchess-4.0.pl79-4mdk.src.rpm
gnumeric-0.25-2mdk.src.rpm
gnuplot-3.7-3mdk.src.rpm
gperf-2.7-7mdk.src.rpm
gpm-1.17.7-1mdk.src.rpm
gqview-0.6.0-4mdk.src.rpm
grep-2.3-3mdk.src.rpm
groff-1.11a-10mdk.src.rpm
gsl-0.3f-3mdk.src.rpm
gtk+-1.2.3-6mdk.src.rpm
gtk+10-1.0.6-6mdk.src.rpm
gtk-engines-0.5-16mdk.src.rpm
gtkzip-0.5-1mdk.src.rpm
gtop-1.0.1-3mdk.src.rpm
guavac-1.2-5mdk.src.rpm
guile-1.3-8mdk.src.rpm
gv-3.5.8-8mdk.src.rpm
gzip-1.2.4-15mdk.src.rpm
--More--
gzip-1.2.4-15mdk.src.rpm
hdparm-3.5-5mdk.src.rpm
helptool-2.4-8mdk.src.rpm
hexedit-1.1.1-1mdk.src.rpm
howto-6.0-5mdk.src.rpm
ical-2.2-10mdk.src.rpm
icewm-0.9.37-3mdk.src.rpm
icewm-themes-0.9.34-2mdk.src.rpm
imap-4.5-5mdk.src.rpm
imlib-1.9.4-6mdk.src.rpm
imwheel-0.9.6-4mdk.src.rpm
indent-1.9.1-2mdk.src.rpm
indexhtml-1.0-3.src.rpm
initscripts-4.16-16.src.rpm
inn-2.2-9mdk.src.rpm
interconfig-1.0-4mdk.src.rpm
intimed-1.10-10mdk.src.rpm
ipchains-1.3.8-4mdk.src.rpm
ircii-4.4-8mdk.src.rpm
irssi-0.7.6-2mdk.src.rpm
isapnptools-1.18-3mdk.src.rpm
isdn4k-utils-3.0-3mdk.src.rpm
isicom-1.0-2mdk.src.rpm
--More--

isicom-1.0-2mdk.src.rpm
ispell-3.1.20-6mdk.src.rpm
jed-0.98.7-3mdk.src.rpm
joe-2.8-9mdk.src.rpm
kBeroFTPD-1.0.0-1mdk.src.rpm
kaffe-1.0.b4-3mdk.src.rpm
kbdconfig-1.9.2-1.src.rpm
kcmlaptop-0.82-1mdk.src.rpm
kdeadmin-1.1.1final-5mdk.src.rpm
kdebase-1.1.1final-1.0.src.rpm
kdegames-1.1.1final-5mdk.src.rpm
kdegraphics-1.1.1final-4mdk.src.rpm
kdelibs-1.1.1final-8mdk.src.rpm
kdemultimedia-1.1.1final-6mdk.src.rpm
kdenetwork-1.1.1final-3mdk.src.rpm
kdesu-0.4-1mdk.src.rpm
kdesupport-1.1.1final-9mdk.src.rpm
kdetoys-1.1.1-2mdk.src.rpm
kdeutils-1.1.1pre1-6mdk.src.rpm
kdf-0.5.1-1mdk.src.rpm
kdpms-0.2-6mdk.src.rpm
kernel-2.2.12-2.src.rpm
kernelcfg-0.5-6mdk.src.rpm
--More--
kfortune-1.11-3mdk.src.rpm
killustrator-0.6-5mdk.src.rpm
kimon-1.0-3mdk.src.rpm
kjumpingcube-0.7-1mdk.src.rpm
klyx-0.9.9-fl4mdk.src.rpm
kmpg-0.5-1mdk.src.rpm
knfsd-1.2-9mdk.src.rpm
kpackage-1.3-1mdk.src.rpm
kpilot-3.1b8_pgb-2mdk.src.rpm
kpppload-1.04-4mdk.src.rpm
krubik-1.04-2mdk.src.rpm
ksendfax-0.3-3mdk.src.rpm
ktelnet-0.61-2mdk.src.rpm
kterm-6.2.0-9mdk.src.rpm
kthememgr-0.8-5mdk.src.rpm
ktop-0.9.9p1-1mdk.src.rpm
kvirc-0.9.0-3mdk.src.rpm
kvoice-0.3-3mdk.src.rpm
ld.so-1.9.5-12mdk.src.rpm
ldconfig-1.9.5-14mdk.src.rpm
less-337-1mdk.src.rpm
lha-1.00-12mdk.src.rpm
libPropList-0.8.3-3mdk.src.rpm
--More--
libPropList-0.8.3-3mdk.src.rpm
libc-5.3.12-31mdk.src.rpm
libelf-0.6.4-5mdk.src.rpm
libghttp-1.0.2-3mdk.src.rpm
libgr-2.0.13-9mdk.src.rpm
libgtop-1.0.1-3mdk.src.rpm
libjpeg-6b-10mdk.src.rpm
libjpeg6a-6a-5mdk.src.rpm
libpng-1.0.3-3mdk.src.rpm
libtermcap-2.0.8-15mdk.src.rpm
libtiff-3.4-7mdk.src.rpm
libtool-1.3a-4mdk.src.rpm
libungif-4.1.0-4mdk.src.rpm
libxml-1.0.0-2mdk.src.rpm
lilo-0.21-5mdk.src.rpm
linux_logo-3.0-5mdk.src.rpm
linuxconf-1.15r2.2-7mdk.src.rpm
linuxone-release-1.2-1.src.rpm
linuxone_desk-1.0-3.src.rpm
logrotate-3.1-3mdk.src.rpm
lout-3.08-8mdk.src.rpm
lpg-0.4-5mdk.src.rpm
lpr-0.35-2mdk.src.rpm
--More--
lpr-0.35-2mdk.src.rpm
lrzsz-0.12.20-3mdk.src.rpm
lslk-1.19-6mdk.src.rpm
lsof-4.42-2mdk.src.rpm
ltrace-0.3.6-3mdk.src.rpm
lynx-2.8.2pre5-5mdk.src.rpm
m4-1.4-13mdk.src.rpm
macutils-2.0b3-3mdk.src.rpm
mailcap-2.0.1-3mdk.src.rpm
mailx-8.1.1-11mdk.src.rpm
make-3.77-7mdk.src.rpm
man-1.5f-7mdk.src.rpm
man-de-0.2-3mdk.src.rpm
man-es-0.7a-3mdk.src.rpm
man-fr-0.6-4mdk.src.rpm
man-it-0.3.0-5mdk.src.rpm
man-pages-1.23-4mdk.src.rpm
mandrake_doc-0.1-6mdk.src.rpm
mars-nwe-0.99pl15-4mdk.src.rpm
mawk-1.2.2-2mdk.src.rpm
mc-4.5.31-14mdk.src.rpm
metamail-2.7-2mdk.src.rpm
mgetty-1.1.14-9mdk.src.rpm
--More--

mgetty-1.1.14-9mdk.src.rpm
mikmod-3.1.5-5mdk.src.rpm
mingetty-0.9.4-11mdk.src.rpm
minicom-1.82-6mdk.src.rpm
mkbootdisk-1.2-4.src.rpm
mkdosfs-ygg-0.3b-13mdk.src.rpm
mkinitrd-2.0-2mdk.src.rpm
mkkickstart-1.2-2mdk.src.rpm
mktemp-1.5-2mdk.src.rpm
mkxauth-1.7-2mdk.src.rpm
mod_perl-1.19-3mdk.src.rpm
modemtool-1.21-7mdk.src.rpm
modutils-2.1.121-14mdk.src.rpm
mouseconfig-3.9-1.src.rpm
mpage-2.5.1-9mdk.src.rpm
mpg123-0.59q-7mdk.src.rpm
mswordview-0.5.8-1mdk.src.rpm
mt-st-0.5b-4mdk.src.rpm
mtools-3.9.5-7mdk.src.rpm
multimedia-2.1-6mdk.src.rpm
mutt-0.95.5us-2mdk.src.rpm
mxp-1.0-2mdk.src.rpm
nag-1.0-5mdk.src.rpm
--More--

nag-1.0-5mdk.src.rpm
nc-1.10-5mdk.src.rpm
ncftp-3.0beta18-4mdk.src.rpm
ncompress-4.2.4-15mdk.src.rpm
ncpfs-2.2.0.12-8mdk.src.rpm
ncurses-5.0_990516-1mdk.src.rpm
net-tools-1.52-4mdk.src.rpm
netcfg-2.20-3mdk.src.rpm
netkit-base-0.11-11mdk.src.rpm
netscape-4.60-4mdk.src.rpm
newt-0.40-9mdk.src.rpm
nmh-0.27-9mdk.src.rpm
open-1.4-7mdk.src.rpm
p2c-1.22-4mdk.src.rpm
pam-0.66-20mdk.src.rpm
passwd-0.50-15mdk.src.rpm
patch-2.5-9mdk.src.rpm
pciutils-2.0-2mdk.src.rpm
pdksh-5.2.13-4mdk.src.rpm
perl-5.00503-3mdk.src.rpm
perl-MD5-1.7-7mdk.src.rpm
perlftlib-1.2-1mdk.src.rpm
pgcc-1.1.3-3mdk.src.rpm
--More--
pgcc-1.1.3-3mdk.src.rpm
pidentd-2.8.5-4mdk.src.rpm
pilot-link-0.9.0-9mdk.src.rpm
pine-4.10-3mdk.src.rpm
playmidi-2.4-8mdk.src.rpm
pmake-2.1.33-6mdk.src.rpm
popt-1.3-2mdk.src.rpm
portmap-4.0-6mdk.src.rpm
postfix-19990317pl04-2mdk.src.rpm
postgresql-6.4.2-4mdk.src.rpm
ppp-2.3.7-3mdk.src.rpm
printtool-3.40-4mdk.src.rpm
procinfo-16-4mdk.src.rpm
procmail-3.13.1-3mdk.src.rpm
procps-2.0.2-3mdk.src.rpm
psacct-6.3-1mdk.src.rpm
psmisc-18-1mdk.src.rpm
pump-0.6.7-2mdk.src.rpm
pwdb-0.58-4mdk.src.rpm
python-1.5.1-11mdk.src.rpm
pythonlib-1.22-6mdk.src.rpm
qt-1.44-10mdk.src.rpm
quota-1.66-7mdk.src.rpm
--More--
quota-1.66-7mdk.src.rpm
raidtools-0.90-4mdk.src.rpm
rcs-5.7-1mdk.src.rpm
rdate-0.960923-9mdk.src.rpm
rdist-6.1.5-8mdk.src.rpm
readline-4.0-2mdk.src.rpm
rhmask-1.0-7mdk.src.rpm
rhs-hwdiag-0.35-3mdk.src.rpm
rhs-printfilters-1.51-3mdk.src.rpm
rhsound-1.8-2mdk.src.rpm
rootfiles-6.0-6mdk.src.rpm
routed-0.10-5mdk.src.rpm
rpm-3.0.1-9mdk.src.rpm
rsh-0.10-6mdk.src.rpm
rsync-2.3.1-2mdk.src.rpm
rusers-0.10-4mdk.src.rpm
rwall-0.10-3mdk.src.rpm
rwho-0.10-4mdk.src.rpm
rxvt-2.6.PRE3-2mdk.src.rpm
sag-0.6-4mdk.src.rpm
samba-2.0.3-8mdk.src.rpm
sane-1.00-1.src.rpm
sash-2.1-5mdk.src.rpm
--More--
sash-2.1-5mdk.src.rpm
screen-3.7.6-7mdk.src.rpm
sed-3.02-5mdk.src.rpm
sendmail-8.9.3-9mdk.src.rpm
setconsole-1.0-9mdk.src.rpm
setserial-2.15-3mdk.src.rpm
setup-2.0.1-4mdk.src.rpm
setuptool-1.2-1.src.rpm
sgml-tools-1.0.9-3mdk.src.rpm
sh-utils-1.16-23mdk.src.rpm
shadow-utils-980403-6mdk.src.rpm
shapecfg-2.0.36-5mdk.src.rpm
sharutils-4.2-3mdk.src.rpm
slang-1.2.2-5mdk.src.rpm
sliplogin-2.1.1-6mdk.src.rpm
slocate-1.4-8mdk.src.rpm
slrn-0.9.5.5-7mdk.src.rpm
sndconfig-0.33-1.src.rpm
sox-12.15-6mdk.src.rpm
space_sounds-1.1-1mdk.src.rpm
specspo-6.0-10mdk.src.rpm
squid-2.2.STABLE1-2mdk.src.rpm
stat-1.5-12mdk.src.rpm
--More--
stat-1.5-12mdk.src.rpm
statserial-1.1-4mdk.src.rpm
strace-3.99-1mdk.src.rpm
svgalib-1.4.0-6mdk.src.rpm
swatch-2.2-8mdk.src.rpm
switchdesk-1.7.0-2mdk.src.rpm
symlinks-1.2-6mdk.src.rpm
sysklogd-1.3.31-6mdk.src.rpm
talk-0.11-2mdk.src.rpm
taper-6.9-7mdk.src.rpm
tar-1.12.64011-1mdk.src.rpm
tcltk-8.0.4-10mdk.src.rpm
tcp_wrappers-7.6-8mdk.src.rpm
tcpdump-3.4-1mdk.src.rpm
tcsh-6.08.00-6mdk.src.rpm
telnet-0.10-8mdk.src.rpm
termcap-10.2.5-1mdk.src.rpm
tetex-0.9-9mdk.src.rpm
texinfo-3.12f-6mdk.src.rpm
textutils-1.22-10mdk.src.rpm
tftp-0.10-4mdk.src.rpm
time-1.7-10mdk.src.rpm
timeconfig-2.7-1.src.rpm
--More--
timeconfig-2.7-1.src.rpm
timed-0.10-4mdk.src.rpm
timetool-2.5-6mdk.src.rpm
timidity-instruments-1.0-1mdk.src.rpm
tin-1.4_990216-4mdk.src.rpm
tksysv-1.0-7mdk.src.rpm
tmpwatch-1.5.1-7mdk.src.rpm
traceroute-1.4a5-5mdk.src.rpm
transfig-3.2.1-4mdk.src.rpm
tree-1.2-7mdk.src.rpm
trn-3.6-7mdk.src.rpm
trojka-1.1-4mdk.src.rpm
ttfonts-1.3-3mdk.src.rpm
tunelp-1.3-1mdk.src.rpm
ucd-snmp-3.6.1-5mdk.src.rpm
umb-scheme-3.2-10mdk.src.rpm
unarj-2.41a-10mdk.src.rpm
units-1.0-3mdk.src.rpm
unzip-5.31-6mdk.src.rpm
urlview-0.7-4mdk.src.rpm
urw-fonts-1.1-9mdk.src.rpm
usermode-1.9-2mdk.src.rpm
usernet-1.0.9-3mdk.src.rpm
--More--
usernet-1.0.9-3mdk.src.rpm
utempter-0.3-2mdk.src.rpm
util-linux-2.9o-12mdk.src.rpm
uucp-1.06.1-10mdk.src.rpm
vim-5.3-14mdk.src.rpm
vixie-cron-3.0.1-37mdk.src.rpm
vlock-1.3-3mdk.src.rpm
w3c-libwww-5.2.8-3mdk.src.rpm
wget-1.5.3-5mdk.src.rpm
which-1.0-12mdk.src.rpm
wine-990518-3mdk.src.rpm
wmakerconf-1.99.4-2mdk.src.rpm
wmconfig-0.9.5-2mdk.src.rpm
wmnet-1.05-1mdk.src.rpm
words-2-13mdk.src.rpm
wu-ftpd-2.4.2vr17-4mdk.src.rpm
x11amp-0.9_alpha3-6mdk.src.rpm
x3270-3.1.1.6-8mdk.src.rpm
xanim-27070-5mdk.src.rpm
xbanner-1.31-8mdk.src.rpm
xbill-2.0-7mdk.src.rpm
xboard-4.0.0-4mdk.src.rpm
xboing-2.4-8mdk.src.rpm
--More--
xboing-2.4-8mdk.src.rpm
xcdroast-0.96e-2mdk.src.rpm
xchat-0.9.4-3mdk.src.rpm
xcpustate-2.5-6mdk.src.rpm
xdaliclock-2.14-4mdk.src.rpm
xearth-1.0-3mdk.src.rpm
xemacs-20.4-6mdk.src.rpm
xfig-3.2.2-6mdk.src.rpm
xfishtank-2.0-5mdk.src.rpm
xfm-1.3.2-4mdk.src.rpm
xgammon-0.98-5mdk.src.rpm
xinitrc-2.3-3mdk.src.rpm
xjewel-1.6-2mdk.src.rpm
xkobo-1.9-4mdk.src.rpm
xlispstat-3.52.9-3mdk.src.rpm
xloadimage-4.1-3mdk.src.rpm
xlockmore-4.13-3mdk.src.rpm
xmailbox-2.5-8mdk.src.rpm
xmorph-1996.07.12-8mdk.src.rpm
xntp3-5.93-3mdk.src.rpm
xosview-1.7.1-3mdk.src.rpm
xpaint-2.4.9-9mdk.src.rpm
xpat2-1.04-1mdk.src.rpm
--More--
xpat2-1.04-1mdk.src.rpm
xpdf-0.80-5mdk.src.rpm
xpilot-3.6.2-7mdk.src.rpm
xplorer-0.74-1mdk.src.rpm
xpm-3.4j-6mdk.src.rpm
xpuzzles-5.4.1-8mdk.src.rpm
xrn-9.01-4mdk.src.rpm
xscreensaver-3.09-5mdk.src.rpm
xsysinfo-1.6-6mdk.src.rpm
xtoolwait-1.2-3mdk.src.rpm
xtrojka-1.2.3-7mdk.src.rpm
xv-3.10a-3mdk.src.rpm
xwpick-2.20-2mdk.src.rpm
xxgdb-1.12-13mdk.src.rpm
yp-tools-2.2-2mdk.src.rpm
ypbind-3.3-21mdk.src.rpm
ypserv-1.3.6.91-2mdk.src.rpm
ytalk-3.1-4mdk.src.rpm
zgv-3.0-9mdk.src.rpm
zip-2.1-9mdk.src.rpm
zlib-1.1.3-6mdk.src.rpm
zsh-3.0.5-11mdk.src.rpm
ncftp /pub/LinuxOne/Source >

Re:finally logged in to their FTP

[roadtrip]

Sorry bout the spam of the previous post, but that's the listing of the /pub/LinuxOne/Source directory on their FTP site. I'm not familiar with my RPM nomenclature, but aren't *mdk.src.rpm RPM sourcefiles from Linux-Mandrake? On another note, I noticed that they were using BeroFTPD 1.3.4 I wonder if they keep up to date with their security patches? (insert witty quote here)

Re:finally logged in to their FTP

[rlb]

The net guys were happy we've got the FTP problems worked out. r.b.

Call me

[rlb]

Hi Cmdr Taco, please give me a call. Check your email for the number. Cheers, and see everyone at our LinuxWorld booth. Richard Bottoms Dir. Business Development LinuxOne

Re:Call me

[Anonymous Coward]

Good job, Dick.

Way to go ignoring all of the points raised in previous comments, Dick.

See you at LinuxWorld, Dick.


Armando

p.s.: Please don't forget that other people need to use the toilet stalls, too.

The penquin!

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it me, or did they deface the linux penquin? How dare they! They take the largest icon of Linux, that actually stands for a well built OS, as well as everything else that is associated with linux and brand it with their horrible version of the letter "O", that is wrong. Too cheap to come up with their own REAL logo..

Zealotry

[Anonymous Coward]

We can deal with the hucksters. It's the self-appointed "Defenders of the Faith" that worry me. History has shown them to be far more dangerous.

Re:Mob action is not needed (OT)

[Otto]

A posse has to be organized not just thrown together.

Did anyone besides me think of that Far Side cartoon where there's a pile of horses and people lying in the street of a western town, with a sherriff telling his deputy, "Damnit, Jenkins, you can't just throw a posse together, you have to organize!"

Okay, maybe it's just me. :-)
---

And the sources are here...

[SeanNi]

I haven't bothered trying to download any of them, but this directory is full of src.rpms...

ftp://140.174.127.95/LinuxOne/Source/
--
- Sean

Re:And the sources are here...

[Mr. Piccolo]

Wrong.

Try ftp://140.174.127.95/pub/LinuxOne/Source/.

Re:LinuxOne is good for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

Chiou is a Chinese name, not Japanese. But they're all the same to you, right?

GPL Violation?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi There. I have finally succeded to access LinuxOne's ftp site. The LinuxOne-Lite (notice the "lite") binaries can be downloaded from: ftp://140.174.127.95/pub/LinuxOne/LinuxOne_Lite/Li nuxOne/ Here's the file list: LINUXSYS.IMG LinuxOne.ani LinuxOne.bat LinuxOne.pif SWAPFILE Uninstal.exe initrd.img loadlin.exe vmlinuz I looked for the sources of these programs and files, but I didn't find any. All I found was a sources directory for the LinuxOne distribution (without "Lite"). This directory includes RPMs for all sorts of packages, but there's no "LINUXSYS.IMG.src.rpm". As far as I understand the GPL, one is required to ship all the sources, including makefiles, and any tools required to build the program (except tools found as part of the OS). Isn't this a GPL violation?

Re:LinuxOne is good for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

Good point. Too many people forget their history - I'm sure many of both Chinese and Japanese people were insulted by that mistake.

Prove it.

[Anonymous Coward]

>You mean other than the fact it was written by drug addicted child molestors?

I'm calling you out - prove it.

Re:Prove it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Recently I was arrested for a minor felony. Of the 100 people in the processing area, exactly 83 were linux developers. Every single one of those 83 were brought in on multiple charges: drug posession and child molestation.

Oh wow! A LinuxOne employee!

[DragoonAK]

So please explain, then. Why the run-around, the legal threat, the impossibly low user level for the FTP, the questionable stock practices, the general lack of fulfillment of grandiose promises?

As it is, anyone who actually thinks your company is anything other than a fraud is a gullible moron. Prove me wrong. I'd love it, actually, to see a company put serious improvements (hopefully GPLd) into Linux, but all proof points to nothing ever coming out of LinuxOne except lawsuits.

I doubt that would work...

[SeanNi]

Somehow, I doubt that would work very well. Given the format of the Slashdot interviews, they only get useful information out of someone who is willing to honestly answer all the questions posed to them.

So far, the people at L1 have been rather evasive about answering any hard-hitting questions (as evidenced by the very article we are responding to). So what's to stop them from (assuming they were even to agree to the interview in the first place) giving poor- or non-answers to any questions?

However, on a slightly more encouraging note, check out the sibling comment to this one, by a "Lester Bottoms". He claims to be the "Director of Business Development" for Linux One. There is no proof for this, however I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and believe him until I see evidence otherwise.

I say "encouraging" because it indicates that someone from L1 at least reads slashdot.

Now, the interesting thing is that this guy seems more interested in talking to Rob Malda (doesn't even seem to know his name... just calls him "CmdrTaco") than responding to any of the questions posed on the website.

This is particularly discouraging, since the only reason (aside from wanting to to an interview) that I can think of for this is that he wants to coerce Rob to stop running stories on L1. Hmmmm...

Richard, if there is a different reason, please let us know!

However, if this guy is legit, maybe we'll be able to get some answers out of him. Too bad there's no email address -- Hotmail or not -- attached to his account...
--
- Sean

Global Village Foundation contact email

[Anonymous Coward]

Did anyone notice that Dr Chiou's email was given as the contact for Global Village Foundation? The email given was : wchiou@linuxone.net At LINUXONE.NET!!!! How dodgy is that!!! (Taken from http://www.gvfoundation.org/contact.html)

Daniel Morales

[Subwolf]

Does anybody have any kind of background on this guy?
Maybe its just a coincidence, but a Daniel Morales was CEO of @bigger.net. It was a San Jose based isp. One of the first free service providers. I used to work there. The company died back in 1998 do to some... interesting book work. It was believed (by other executive officers, employees and board members) that Daniel, with the help of his friends (the CFO and another officer, both of which he hired himself) pocketed some cash, tanking the company.

From what I understand, the Daniel Morales of bigger.net was the former CEO of Opus Communications as well. Does anybody have any information on whether or not this is the same guy? Or is it just a coincidence, two people with the same name, in the same area, in questionable businesses?

"I cant believe its a law firm!"

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe it should say. Lionel Hutz Esq.

Anti-Linux One Web Site

[Mavericks]

How about an anti-linux one website? Everyone can invest a dollar and we'll hire a real law firm to represent people like Derek (people would want the truth).

Bulls**tOne

[Jakenuts]

I'll tell you the worst part about this whole ugly affair, have you checked out the penguin at www.linuxone.net. It is branded with a seared red scar in the shape of the bsOne corporate logo. Scandalous.

Yup, you're just crazy

[Anonymous Coward]

It's called "getting both sides of the story". Like if someone came to your friends with nasty shit about you, wouldn't you want to hear about it?

A brief visit to LinuxOne Worldwide Headquarters

[Animats]

LinuxOne Worldwide Headquarters is at 201 San Antonio Circle, C250, Mountain View, CA. This is in the Old Mill Office Plaza, a nice little office complex where San Antonio Road crosses the railroad tracks. This office complex dates from the 1970s, and is in the classic California style, with an interior court open to the sky with a pond and well-maintained, mature plantings. Unfortunately, it's now surrounded by strip malls and a condo complex.

The complex contains four connected buildings, A through D. Outside Building C, there are the usual business directory signs. Suite 250 is listed as "Pacific Microelectronics" and as "NetUSA". (No surprise there; these two companies are the previous companies of the founder of LinuxOne, according to Dun and Bradstreet.) There's no mention of LinuxOne. On the lobby directory, we see the same two names, but this time there's a post-it note with "LinuxOne" glued to the NetUsa sign.

Upstairs, at suite 250, there's a little office with "Pacific Microelectronics" on the glass door. A big "LinuxOne" banner hangs on the back wall. There's a receptionist desk but nobody sitting at it. All the offices have glass fronts, and there appear to be a few adjacent offices belonging to the company. One has a nice fish tank. The office space is consistent with the headcount of 10 previously reported. Unclear how much of the operation is LinuxOne vs. NetUSA.

So that's LinuxOne. Now how much were they claiming the company was worth in the IPO?

whats their URL?

[zqrhegg]

I havn't been able to get onto the

http://www.linuxone.net

URL tonight. Am I going to the right place?

Don't worry everyone, the penguin will take his revenge!!!!

Unprofessional in front of the world

[Anonymous Coward]

That's the great thing about /. I bet that letter gets picked up, quoted, and mocked in the Wall Street Journal before this is over.

Amen

[Anonymous Coward]

It's downright funny to see Slashdotters beat up on a company because "they don't own their own IP" (sound familiar?) or "their lawyer didn't impress me enough" (yeah that's how I decide how to buy software ... whoever has the lawyer with the best stationery!)

I say: invite the principals of LinuxOne to Ask Slashdot. This is the best forum in the world. Hit them with Derek's questions and the best questions we have. Let them have 20 or 30 questions instead of the usual 10! And let them write 1000 lines of responses if they want!

Give them a fair chance -- a more than fair chance -- and then judge them.

terrible mind

[rumba]

I just saw the ads for BjornixOne on TV. They had Cheap Trick singing, "I Won Chiou to One Me."

Bjorn Snowballs, creator of the Bjornix OS, comments in his typical non-commital fashion, "You can't account for taste."

This thing is a terrible mind.

Someone should go confront them and see...

[dubaduba]

I live pretty darn close to them; unfortunately I'm not getting my driver's license for another 3 months. However it would be great for someone to go into their office (to the lobby) with some printed data (evidence of copied RH mans, printout of RH running on www.linuxone.com, etc.) and see what they do. It's harder to dodge the questions in person.

Man what all-stars!

[Anonymous Coward]

Their CEO is a con man; their software is a rip-off; their partnerships are sham; their projects are vapor; their lawyer and accountant are two-bit Nevada hustlers; and their underwriter is pathetic!

This is just too perfect!

BTW check out the subsequent price action on BATT (now trading with a 3 handle) and read up on their SEC filings. It's going even lower because their float is about to double: a bunch of convertible bondholders are exiting out ofa million shares (1/3 of the company) right after the public offering.

Talisman used to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TALS. They began trading at $34 in December 1997 and dropped to $3.40 by January 1999, at which time they asked the Canadian Dealer Network to suspend trading in their stock.

So they got themselves an American investment bank and re-listed on Nasdaq. And that is Capital West's only client whose deal has actually closed.

At least Talisman has a real product (private label batteries) with real customers and revenues. They just suck in business. LinuxOne doesn't even have the body parts to suck with!

if it smells like shit...

[BluSkreen]

Let's see...you are about to launch a multi million dollar IPO...your lawyer uses a Hotmail account, and is not familiar with the terms and conditions of his account. Most respected, professional companies use a business email account.

Of course, there is the little issue that Hotmail does not allow the accounts to be used for business purposes. The terms of use are pretty clear, and it looks like your "lawyer" didn't take the time to read http://lc2.law5.hotmail.passport.com/cgi-bin/dasp/ hminfo_shell.asp?_lang=&content=nospam, that specifically notes the terms and conditions for using Hotmail.

It appears your "lawyer" has violated a couple of the terms of his Hotmail account. Does he really exist?, If so he is obligated to to inform us as to what state he is licensed to practice, and provide complete contact information. Your "hey stop that" email threat is not binding, and would not be recognised in a court of law as a valid cease and desist. In fact, if it were found that such a lawyer did not exist, you could be sued for harassment.

My theory, there was never any "lawyer".

So, knock off the bullshit, deal with us like regular people.

Dave

hmmm, looks like he is your registered agent...

[BluSkreen]

Judging from your SEC filings and abanet, that your "lawyer" does exist. I'll be damned...

Is litigation his speciality? It appears though he is your Registered Agent. I don't know of too many registered agents that are consumate litigators, particularly in IP or libel/slander cases.

BTW, since you guys at LinuxOne are such technical powerhouses, you should know that it doesn't take a Hotmail account to access your email from all over the world. Maybe that fact just didn't trickle down to your legal department. Ask one of your "several" programmers just how to do that. The real trick to being able to get on the Internet from around the world, is the connection, something Hotmail doesn't provide. I'm sure you knew that, since you are the ones with the pre-IPO software company.

I'd think that a pre-IPO, multi million dollar, multi national software company such as LinuxOne, would have the infrastructure to be able to host a simple Web based email server. I mean, it appears his address is the address you guys used in your SEC filings, why doesn't he just log on via your WAN, to the LinuxOne mail servers. But, you guys are the pros, what do I know about any of this hi tech stuff. I'm only a lowly network administrator. I don't know too much about all this business stuff. Why there must be a real good reason that your attorney is using Hotmail to distribute LinuxOne legal documents, instead of the robust infrastructure that a pre-IPO potential multi million dollar, multi national software company would have.

You know, most of the stuff to set up your own mail server is available on a RedHat or Mandrake distribution. For the sake of argument, I'll just assume that you are familiar with Linux distributions other than your own.

I'm missing something in all this, right? ;->

Dave

No, Check your links first!

[SeanNi]

Sorry, dude. When I go to the link I provided, I get a directory full of src.rpm's (I copied that link directly out of my URL bar). When I go to the one you provided, I get a "FTP directory not found" or some such error.

Like I said, the URL's provided by LinuxOne are wrong.
--
- Sean

Underwriter

[stump]

FYI: It appears that Capital West is underwriting LinuxOne's IPO.

Here's some info:
http://www.hoovers.com/co/ capsule/6/0,2163,61366,00.html

Call transcript

[Anonymous Coward]

[This was briefly available at http://titanicnet.8m.com/lone.htm ,
and then taken down -- but was saved from oblivion via a Web cache.


This is a transcript of a Phone Call that I made to LinuxOne. Needless to
say, their sales associates know what they know from a product booklet. Yes,
I know that not everyone can be totally informed of a product, but that's
not an excuse for giving misinformation, as you will read below.

-------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
The audio file is 15 minutes and 7 seconds long. It has been compressed into
an mp3, and is available here.

00:00 - 00:21 (Call Connection)

00:22 - LinuxOne: "Good Morning, LinuxOne - How may I direct your call?"
00:24 - Accipiter: "Hi! Uh, Sales please?"
00:26 - LinuxOne: "And, you are, Sir?"
00:27 - Accipiter: "Ahh, My name is Roger."
00:28 - LinuxOne: "Okay..And, How can I help you, Roger?"
00:30 - Accipiter: "Well, I'm looking to purchase LinuxOne, the Operating
System..."
00:34 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh."
00:35 - Accipiter: "And I'm probably going to be deploying it for a small
business application..."
00:39 - LinuxOne: "Okay."
00:40 - Accipiter: "I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about
it."
00:42 - LinuxOne: "Ah, it is uh, the LinuxLite is probably the easiest to
install of all of our Competitors..."
00:49 - Accipiter: "Ok.......Who are your competitors?"
00:51 - LinuxOne: "Ohhhh.....Red Hat....Mandrake....Uh, VA Linux...I Mean,
there's a lot of competitors. Uh, anyway...We're the easiest to
install....You just have to drag and drop into a...one single file from our
CD on to the C drive...you have to have 600 megs free on your C drive, and
um...the full kernel is available. Uh, 2 2 1...1 2. It has all the
applications..."
01:23 - Accipiter: "In the kernel?"
01:24 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh! And, it runs on top of Windows..."
01:28 - Accipiter: "Wait a second..."
01:28 - LinuxOne: "98 or 95."
01:29 - Accipiter: "It runs IN Windows? I thought it was a seperate
operating system."
01:32 - LinuxOne: "It is. But it runs on top of Windows, yes. As an
application."
01:36 - Accipiter: "Ok...ummmmm, How about Stability?"
01:39 - LinuxOne: "It's as stable as any of the other uh, versions of
Linux."
01:43 - Accipiter: "Okay. ummmmmmm, Uh, who did you say the competitors
were? You said there was Red Hat, Mandrake, and who else?"
01:50 - LinuxOne: "Umm, VA Linux...There's uh, a lot. (laughs)"
01:53 - Accipiter: "They make a --"
01:53 - LinuxOne: "Corel.. (laughs)"
01:55 - Accipiter: "Oh, Okay...Corel? Yeah I've -- I think I've heard about
that one. Ummm, What kind of applications come with it?"
02:02 - LinuxOne: "There's umm...uh, umm....Programming. There's a C++
Programming tool. There is, um, a desktop organizer..."
02:13 - Accipiter: "Okay...Do you know what that's called, or...Do you know
which one it is?"
02:16 - LinuxOne: "Yeahhh...I can look that up, but, sorry I don't
remember..."
02:19 - Accipiter: "That's all right."
02:20 - LinuxOne: "It has...Sorry, Hold on..Um...Can't quite put my finger
on it...um, Hold on just a second."
02:32 - Accipiter: "Okay."
02:35 - LinuxOne: "Uhhh, the desktop organizer is called, um, The query tool
is called KDSQL. A word processor called Maxwell, The organizer is just
called organizer - It's like a Calander, an organizer, a schedule program.
There's a text editor, um, a um...Postscript viewer called Ghostview...uhh,
and there's a uhh, Voice Mail and Fax um......tool so you can recieve either
Voicemail or fax."
03:15 - Accipiter: "Can you send faxes?"
03:16 - LinuxOne: "Uh Huh!"
03:17 - Accipiter: "Oh, Great."
03:18 - LinuxOne: "And...There are various utilities, including an address book, an archiver, a scientific calculator, um, a clipper that does
[unintelligable] page history, so if you're updating files and things. A
file manager, uh...an editor for hexadecimal systems....A..um, HP Laserjet
control Panel, so that you can direct your printing."
03:45 - Accipiter: "Oh, a Laserjet?"
03:46 - LinuxOne: "Yep."
03:47 - Accipiter: "Ah, do you know which models it supports?"
03:49 - LinuxOne: "Ummmm....No, I'm sorry I don't...."
03:53 - Accipiter: "That's all right, Okay.."
03:54 - LinuxOne: "There's quite a -- I can get, I can get...If you wanna
hold on I can get that information."
03:58 - Accipiter: "I'd appriciate that."
03:59 - LinuxOne: "Okay, um, let me finish the utilities....There's a Floppy
formatter, a note taker..."
04:06 - Accipiter: "Do you know what formats that floppy, uh formatter can
format in?"
04:09 - LinuxOne: "Uhh..Linux."
04:11 - Accipiter: "That's it?"
04:12 - LinuxOne: "Yeah. Well, we have another utility if you want
to...format in Windows."
04:16 - Accipiter: "Okay."
04:18 - LinuxOne: "Ummmm...There's a terminal emulator, a RPM manager called
KPackage."
04:25 - Accipiter: "What is RPM?"
04:26 - LinuxOne: "RPM is uh, the program language that you program uh,
within Linux."
04:33 - Accipiter: "Oh, so you can actually make programs with RPM?"
04:35 - LinuxOne: "Yes, it's a C++ programming, uh, programming tool."
04:38 - Accipiter: "Oh! Very cool..."
04:40 - LinuxOne: "Uhhmmm... A --"
04:42 - Accipiter: "Does that include a compiler so if I want to...if I
write my - if I write my program in RPM, I can compile it with RPM too?"
04:49 - LinuxOne: "Yes."
04:49 - Accipiter: "Oh, Great!"
04:50 - LinuxOne: "There's a Moon phase that...something that displays the
phases of the Moon. It's really cool."
04:54 - Accipiter: "Okay."
04:55 - LinuxOne: "Uhhhh, a Mouse pedo...pedio meeta, which measures your
desktop mileage, how much heh, you've been moving around."
05:03 - Accipiter: "Okay."
05:03 - LinuxOne: "Uh, you can...There's a personal time tracker."
05:06 - Accipiter: "Oh, so that's like uh, what they have on the
little...the little handheld machines."
05:11 - LinuxOne: "Uh Huh!"
05:12 - Accipiter: "Oh, Great!"
05:12 - LinuxOne: "Um, Uhhhh...A process management tool, a tape backup
tool...and, um, another program called World Watch. Plus, there's utilities
on the other G-Nome that I haven't um,"
05:26 - Accipiter: "What is that?"
05:27 - LinuxOne: "There's...This is just the KDE desktop. There's another
whole set of applications."
05:32 - Accipiter: "Now what do you mean by desktop?"
05:34 - LinuxOne: "Uhh, a desktop is like, you know, like Windows. Or, a
Mac. It's a whole different set of Windows."
05:40 - Accipiter: "Oh, I thought you said this runs under Windows."
05:42 - LinuxOne: "Yeah, it does but it has it's own desktop."
05:44 - Accipiter: "Ohhhhh, I see. Okay, Interesting."
05:46 - LinuxOne: "And it's called KDE. You....The letters K D E."
05:50 - Accipiter: "Right, Right."
05:51 - LinuxOne: "And there's another desktop called G-Nome. That's
included also."
05:56 - Accipiter: "And that supports everything KDE supports?"
05:58 - LinuxOne: "Pretty much the same utilities, but I haven't explored
those at, at this time. Sorry."
06:02 - Accipiter: "Okay, no problem."
06:03 - LinuxOne: "Um, With regard to the um..."
06:05 - Accipiter: "Yeah, the HP LaserJet."
06:07 - LinuxOne: "Yes! I'm about -- Just hold on and I'll get..."
06:08 - Accipiter: "All right, Thank you very much."
06:08 - LinuxOne: "A device driver list."
06:11 - Accipiter: "Okay. Now, your website says you're going to be
developing some device drivers, is that correct?"
06:16 - LinuxOne: "Oh, we already have more device drivers than any of our competitors."
06:20 - Accipiter: "Great! Well, do you know what you support?"
06:21 - LinuxOne: "Yep, Yes I do. It's 3 or 4 pages, but you're most
interested in the HP..."
06:27 - Accipiter: "Well, uh I have several peripherals, like I have a um,
Memorex um CD Rewritable Drive, I have a DVD-ROM. Does Linux support DVD?"
06:36 - LinuxOne: "Yeah."
06:37 - Accipiter: "It does?"
06:37 - LinuxOne: "Yes it does."
06:38 - Accipiter: "Great, so you can play movies under it and everything,
huh?"
06:40 - LinuxOne: "Yep."
06:40 - Accipiter: "Coooool."
06:41 - LinuxOne: "Ahhhh....Device Drivers, Hold on. AGP, (mumbling),
network support..."
06:53 - Accipiter: "Oh, it supports networking too!"
06:55 - LinuxOne: "Yep."
06:55 - Accipiter: "Wonderful!"
06:56 - LinuxOne: "(mumbling)....Yeah, you can run Apache also."
07:02 - Accipiter: "What is Apache?"
07:03 - LinuxOne: "It's the...a Linux operating system server."
07:08 - Accipiter: "Uhhh, What do you mean by that?"
07:10 - LinuxOne: "It's a server architecture."
07:13 - Accipiter: "I don't understand. I'm sorry, I'm just, I'm a little
illeterate."
07:17 - LinuxOne: "It's just a server. Hold on just a second, Sir."
07:20 - Accipiter: "All right, thank you!"
07:28 - LinuxOne: "Ah, right now I'm the only person here, uh answering the
phone so could you hold on just a second..."
07:32 - Accipiter: "Absolutely."
07:33 - LinuxOne: "All right, thanks."
07:33 - Accipiter: "You're welcome."

07:34 - 08:31 (Dead Air)

08:31 - Accipiter: "You still with me?"

08:32 - 09:11 (Dead Air)

09:12 - LinuxOne: "Okay! Sorry to have kept you waiting."
09:14 - Accipiter: "No, not a problem."
09:15 - LinuxOne: "Looking for device drivers here, let's see..."
09:17 - Accipiter: "Yeah, because basically what I'm, what I'm really
interested in is....I have an HP Laserjet 4, and um, I'm very interested in
getting the drivers for that, however I also noted that your website says
that you're going to be developing several devide drivers, and you just told
me you have more than your competitors, correct?"
09:35 - LinuxOne: "True!"
09:36 - Accipiter: "Okay, Now, I was wondering if you um, Number 1 supported
DVD. Do you have, does LinuxOne have a DVD player under Linux?"
09:43 - LinuxOne: "Um, there is something a-brewing within the Linux
community that has a Linux driver."
09:51 - Accipiter: "For DVD..."
09:52 - LinuxOne: "For DVD. But, it's not currently available in our
version."
09:56 - Accipiter: "Okay."
09:56 - LinuxOne: "But it can be downloaded from the Linux....uh, community,
and I'll send you a free newsletter to - once you order, to um, sort of plug
you in to the network."
10:08 - Accipiter: "Okay, now how about um, I have a uh Memorex uh
Rewritable drive. It's a CRW-1622 ah, well basically what device drivers is
LinuxOne developing, or have developed?"
10:21 - LinuxOne: "Well, I have 4 pages. Can you send...do you have a
computer modem that accepts fax?"
10:28 - Accipiter: "Ohhhhh, no, not here at this location I don't."
10:33 - LinuxOne: "I can mail it to you, if you want or...I mean what, what
specifically, I mean, it does run HP machines. Like, I don't have all the
lists of specific HP drivers, but I know it runs HP because I have an HP at
home and it runs that, and..."
10:51 - Accipiter: "Oh, you run this operating system at home?"
10:52 - LinuxOne: "I have...uh, and the um, and it runs uh, in our office."
11:00 - Accipiter: "Well let me ask you a question. How do you like it?
Personally."
11:02 - LinuxOne: "Uh, I use it for work. So, it's a good operating system.
It's...I think it'll be much easier to program in Linux than in Microsoft."
11:14 - Accipiter: "Right, with that RPM that you suggested, right?"
11:16 - LinuxOne: "Yeah."
11:16 - Accipiter: "Yeah, that's very cool."
11:18 - Accipiter: "Ummm, I had a few more questions....I'm trying to
think....Okay, uh, Oh! Well, obviously price."
11:26 - LinuxOne: "Oh! $9.95"
11:27 - Accipiter: "And that's for..."
11:29 - LinuxOne: "That's a special price. That's for the entire...the
entire uh kernel."
11:34 - Accipiter: "Really?"
11:35 - LinuxOne: "Yeah!"
11:35 - Accipiter: "Just the Kernel?"
11:36 - LinuxOne: "The kernel, and all the applications. Yep!"
11:38 - Accipiter: "Great! Uh, $9.95 is that for the full operating system,
or is that for your Lite?"
11:42 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh!"
11:42 - Accipiter: "Okay, now as I said, I'm going to be deploying this for,
in a small business application environment, which consists of about 5 or 6
machines, each in a seperate office, ah plus there will be one machine uh
acting as ahh, an internet firewall. I have an internet connection coming in
to the building, and I would like a firewall set up. How is uh, LinuxOne on
security?"
12:04 - LinuxOne: "Umm, Our version, and most of the distributions do not
have -- eh, they are not secure at this time."
12:11 - Accipiter: "They're Not?"
12:12 - LinuxOne: "No they aren't."
12:13 - Accipiter: "Okay, ummmm."
12:16 - LinuxOne: "Uh, but you can add your own level of security to a
firewall."
12:20 - Accipiter: "Oh, oh that's great. Um, now, what is your website
running? Is your website running this, or...."
12:28 - LinuxOne: "I'm sorry?"
12:29 - Accipiter: "Is your website running this? Or..."
12:32 - LinuxOne: "Yes."
12:32 - Accipiter: "It is!"
12:33 - LinuxOne: "Yes."
12:33 - Accipiter: "Cool! Oh, all right, so it's definitely good on serving
pages and such, right?"
12:37 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh! It's fast."
12:39 - Accipiter: "Really...Okay...ummmm, so, let's see...It's good on um
stability you said, right?"
12:48 - LinuxOne: "Yep."
12:48 - Accipiter: "And obviously since your website is running LinuxOne,
correct...."
12:53 - LinuxOne: "Yes."
12:53 - Accipiter: "....and um, that would make it pretty secure I would
imagine. I mean, if you're running a website on it....All right, um....Tell
you what I'm gonna do. My associate had uh, had recommended a distribution
called Slackware, have you ever heard of it?"
13:05 - LinuxOne: "Uh Huh."
13:06 - Accipiter: "How uh, How does this compare to Slackware?"
13:08 - LinuxOne: "Ummmm, We have more device drivers than they."
13:11 - Accipiter: "Really?"
13:12 - LinuxOne: "Quite a bit more, yeah. From what I understand, our
program is easier to link after you run uh, your compiler."
13:22 - Accipiter: "I don't understand what that means."
13:25 - LinuxOne: "It's just the programming language."
13:27 - Accipiter: "Oh, Really...is that, Does that go back to that --"
13:28 - LinuxOne: "[unintelligable] in case you download applications."
13:29 - Accipiter: "Does that go back to RPM?"
13:32 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh."
13:32 - Accipiter: "Oh, Okay. All right, and How would somebody learn how to
program in RPM?"
13:37 - LinuxOne: "You'd plug yourself into the Linux community, and they'll
help you."
13:40 - Accipiter: "Really..."
13:41 - LinuxOne: "Yeah, it's like a, uhhhh, like a big umm, I don't, I
can't explain it's like..."
13:48 - Accipiter: "So basically if I go on to a website and ask everybody,
well..."
13:52 - LinuxOne: "There...I can send you the newsletter article that can give you all the places for signing up for...."
13:58 - Accipiter: "So Oh, cool! So they'll let me --"
14:01 - LinuxOne: "like 'I'm a new Linux user.' "
14:02 - Accipiter: "And I wanna learn how to program in RPM."
14:04 - LinuxOne: "Right."
14:06 - Accipiter: "Oh, Cool. And they'll answer my question?"
14:08 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh!"
14:09 - Accipiter: "All Right. And that's an, How much is that?"
14:11 - LinuxOne: "Oh, that's Free!"
14:12 - Accipiter: "Is it really?"
14:12 - LinuxOne: "Yeah, it's a free newsletter. I'll send it to you, no
problem."
14:15 - Accipiter: "All right, well, what I'm gonna do, is, can I get your
name first of all?"
14:18 - LinuxOne: "Sure, my name is (Name Withheld). (Name Withheld.)"
14:22 - Accipiter: "(Repeats Spelling)."
14:23 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh."
14:24 - Accipiter: "Okay, and uh, what I'm gonna do, is I'm gonna check
into, I mean yours sounds the best so far, I mean I've called Red Hat, and
um, they seemed a little uh, blase about it...but they were pretty
informative. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna check into um, I also have a
list of them here, Slackware is one of them. SuSE is another one."
14:45 - LinuxOne: "Well, call us back, I'd be glad to send you, ah, do you
want me to just send you the free newsletter? I'd be glad to do that."
14:50 - Accipiter: "Well, you know what, not yet, because I don't know how
this is gonna pan out just yet."
14:57 - LinuxOne: "Sure, not a problem."
14:58 - Accipiter: "So ahh, But I will call you back."
15:00 - LinuxOne: "All righty."
15:00 - Accipiter: "All right, thank you very much for your help."
15:01 - LinuxOne: "Uh huh."
15:02 - Accipiter: "Bye."

15:02 - 15:07 (Call Disconnect)