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SCO's Open Letter to Open Source Community
joefish_only_1 writes "SCO CEO has posted an open letter to the open source community. There's some things Mr McBride mentions that I hadn't heard of yet, like an admission by Bruce Perens that "UNIX System V code is, in fact, in Linux, and it shouldn't be there."" A slashdot reader posted a comment recently
that breaks it down quite well.
All your cash are belong to us!
Now, reap what you've sown.
You can have $699 for my SCO Intellectual Property for Linux License when you pry it from my cold, empty wallet.
Sincerely,
Anonymous Coward
Sure this letter is really open? No strings? Will I be sued if I don't include parts of this letter into my own?
I could be wrong. I'm always wrong...
Don't be fooled by this "open" letter! We've all heard that word used before and now it is costing us $699 per proc!!!
It seems the time is right to move to the Hurd...
Chris Sontag - Senior Vice President and General Manager, SCOsource
I have written an open letter to the open source community. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to reveal its contents since that would mean compromising our trade secrets. However, I welcome you to license a copy of my open letter by signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement and payment of $699.
Yours affectionately,
Darl McBride
CEO, SCO Inc.
DDoS attacks, maybe your getting DDoS because everyone's trying to get to your site to buy a Linux license from you.
SCO CEO Posts Open Letter to the Open Source Community
By Maureen O'Gara
The most controversial issue in the information technology industry today is the ongoing battle over software copyrights and intellectual property. This battle is being fought largely between vendors who create and sell proprietary software, and the Open Source community. My company, the SCO Group, became a focus of this controversy when we filed a lawsuit against IBM alleging that SCO's proprietary Unix code has been illegally copied into the free Linux operating system. In doing this we angered some in the Open Source community by pointing out obvious intellectual property problems that exist in the current Linux software development model.
This debate about Open Source software is healthy and beneficial. It offers long-term benefits to the industry by addressing a new business model in advance of wide-scale adoption by customers. But in the last week of August two developments occurred that adversely affect the long-term credibility of the Open Source community, with the general public and with customers.
The first development followed another series of Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on SCO, which took place two weeks ago. These were the second and third such attacks in four months and have prevented Web users from accessing our web site and doing business with SCO. There is no question about the affiliation of the attacker - Open Source leader Eric Raymond was quoted as saying that he was contacted by the perpetrator and that "he's one of us." To Mr Raymond's partial credit, he asked the attacker to stop. However, he has yet to disclose the identity of the perpetrator so that justice can be done.
No one can tolerate DDoS attacks and other kinds of attacks in this Information Age economy that relies so heavily on the Internet. Mr Raymond and the entire Open Source community need to aggressively help the industry police these types of crimes. If they fail to do so it casts a shadow over the entire Open Source movement and raises questions about whether Open Source is ready to take a central role in business computing. We cannot have a situation in which companies fear they may be next to suffer computer attacks if they take a business or legal position that angers the Open Source community. Until these illegal attacks are brought under control, enterprise customers and mainstream society will become increasingly alienated from anyone associated with this type of behavior.
The second development was an admission by Open Source leader Bruce Perens that UNIX System V code (owned by SCO) is, in fact, in Linux, and it shouldn't be there. Mr Perens stated that there is "an error in the Linux developer's process" which allowed Unix System V code that "didn't belong in Linux" to end up in the Linux kernel (source: ComputerWire, August 25, 2003). Mr Perens continued with a string of arguments to justify the "error in the Linux developer's process." However, nothing can change the fact that a Linux developer on the payroll of Silicon Graphics stripped copyright attributions from copyrighted System V code that was licensed to Silicon Graphics under strict conditions of use, and then contributed that source code to Linux as though it was clean code owned and controlled by SGI. This is a clear violation of SGI's contract and copyright obligations to SCO. We are currently working to try and resolve these issues with SGI.
This improper contribution of Unix code by SGI into Linux is one small example that reveals fundamental structural flaws in the Linux development process. In fact, this issue goes to the very heart of whether Open Source can be trusted as a development model for enterprise computing software. The intellectual property roots of Linux are obviously flawed at a systemic level under the current model. To date, we claim that more than one million lines of Unix System V protected code have been contributed to Linux through this model. The flaws inherent in the Linux process must be openly addr
You missed out '11th Sept 2003 - 'Bob' comes a ridin in on a giant fire-breathing Atlantean Penguin.'
Best. Troll. Ever.
Negotiate with who? Why? For what? If you're referring to the alleged infringing code, reveal what it is so it can be confirmed and replaced. Otherwise, shut your trap, sell your stock and go out of business like the market demands.
No one is going to claim responsibility for X. Not even sco.
.....
Remove/re-write? hmm....
*rimshot*
When in doubt, parenthesize. At the very least it will let some poor schmuck bounce on the % key in vi. (Larry Wall)
Plead insanity of course...
An Open Letter from Darl McBride
"Want a BIG Business? Experience the results you've always wanted with a MASSIVE scientific breakthrough: SCO Will Actually Expand, Lengthen And Enlarge Your Business. 100% GUARANTEED! Best of all... There Are NO Agonizing Hanging Weights, NO Tough Exercises, NO Painful And Hard-To-Use Pumps, And There Is NO Dangerous Surgery Involved. WE GUARANTEE GENUINE LASTING RESULTS! SCO WILL WORK FOR YOU 100%, OR YOU GET 100% OF YOUR MONEY BACK! If YOU want to massively enlarge your business and experience big gains in only weeks,this may be the most important email you'll ever read. Here's why:
SCO has helped 1000's of men cope with and conquer serious business dysfunction issues. These painful problems include small business size and poor self-image, as well as lack of potency and premature authentication. To help these men our dedicated team of researchers has developed an amazing formula called SCO. SCO has carefully tested this unique new product so that it is fully doctor-approved. And, it is 100% guaranteed to work. It has been described as a true 'miracle cure', and we are now offering SCO in easy pill form to men everywhere. The SCO research team invites you now to experience this miracle for yourself. Now You Can Forget Forever the Pain,
Effort and Expense of Having a Large, Manly Business! Imagine for a moment how you will feel:
You'll radiate confidence and success whenever you enter a meeting, and other men will look at you with real envy.
But the best part is when you reveal your business in all your glory to the woman in your life. When she sees how massive and manly, how truly long and hard your business is, she will surrender and give you everything you have always wanted. The feeling of power is sensational, and the transactions are unbelievable!
As you show her your business she'll gasp as you dominate her. And the intense satisfaction you give her will be the BEST transaction she has ever had. I promise you, she will not be able to keep her hands off you when you give her everything she needs from a business. YOU Are In Total Command!
SCO will make you long-lasting and rock hard. You will never worry or be concerned about losing your connectivity or reaching authentication too fast. With SCO these problems are completely eliminated.
How SCO Works, and Exactly How it Will MASSIVELY ENLARGE YOUR BUSINESS
On either side of your business, you have two spongy areas called the firewalls. Authentication happens when you become excited, and the natural flow of data fills these servers. SCO has been scientifically developed to expand these servers and make them much larger. As it does this the transactions can hold more data than ever before.
The result? A MUCH larger business in thickness and length, and a rock solid authentication.
And all you have to do to experience these massive results is take SCO pills. That's it.
There is - No exercise required No surgery required No pumping required No painful stretching required
With SCO, it all happens easily and gently in just a few weeks. How BIG Can You Get? Realistically, you can grow up to 3 FULL INCHES IN LENGTH. This growth is so remarkable that it has been described by many as a real 'miracle'.
If you are ready to experience this amazing miracle for yourself, [you can make it happen with SCO, GUARANTEED]. Do YOU Want To Be Better Than 'Average'? According to medical records, the average business length is 6 inches. This is not based on where you are from, your race or nationality. This is true all over the world.
So if 6 inches is all you want to be or for some reason you want to be even smaller than this, please don't read any further.
But IF you want to be a lot better than average - UP TO 3 FULL INCHES BETTER - we can help. Remember, SCO is completely safe and completely private. It
I bet the IBM lawyers were laughing their collective asses off while they compiled *that* list... "Ooh, Ooh, I've got a good one! Let's ask for any documents that mention the GPL! Bwaaahaahaahaa!". I love the way the points about "any documents relating to Microsoft" and "sales of stock" that slipped in there too. Now where do you suppose *that's* going? ;)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
Yeah, Europe, that well-known country...
Sheesh!
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
Let me quote you:
"I ra pe d Bruce in te h as s"
Does that make it any clearer?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
This guy [Darl McBride] really is in his own world. And it's obvious there is no oxygen on it.
It's the necktie. No, really.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
----
a paragraph-by-paragraph interpretation
of what he really meant to say
----
blah blah blah opening fluff
what we're doing is beneficial for us and for our secret
backer in Redmond because we want to spread as much fear about Linux
as possible before 90% of the people realize it is a superior product
to Windows for a cheaper price
whine whine whine, our website got DoS'd
keep attacking us and your company will fire you when they
find out that you're a Linux advocate because they will
just associate you with other open source "outlaws"
now I'm going to talk about how we paid people to put
System V code into Linux. normally these people would
be fired and sued, but we would rather go after Linux.
now I want to talk about why the Linux model can never
succeed because nobody can possibly ever be sure that
people with access to System V source won't sneakily
inject more into Linux. The Catch-22 here is that the
people auditing Linux code most likely don't have access
to AIX, IRIX, Solaris, etc source code. "Hey Bill, isn't
this great!! we're gonna make a fortune on this lawsuit!"
Now I'm going to spend 10 paragraphs explaining copyright
laws, but I will conveniently omit the reasons why we are
persuing the *product* of a crime rather than the people
that perpetrated the crime itself. Remember how I mentioned
the SGI programmer and how we know plenty more like him?
Well we're letting him off the hook because his criminal
acts have been the best thing that ever happened to SCO
and SCO's Redmond backer.
Finally I would like to end by justifying SCO's behavior
on the whole. Why should we go around suing the living daylights
out of everyone and spreading FUD about a platform
that was the result of countless volunteer hours and
philantropic contributions? Because we can! Isn't this great?
We live in a world where this behavior is not only allowed,
but also encouraged!! Now just wait until Bill^H^H^H we
pay off a few judges and lawmakers and have Linux officially
owned by SCO so at long last Windows^H^H^H we can prevail!
Sincerely,
Jerkoff McBride
A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.
"a situation in which companies fear they may be next to suffer computer attacks if they take a business or legal position"
"Until these illegal attacks are brought under control, enterprise customers and mainstream society will become increasingly alienated from anyone associated with this type of behavior."
"IP sources should be checked to assure that copyright"
"resources and abilities than to defend and justify flawed intellectual property policies that are out of sync with the needs of enterprise computing customers."
"For several months SCO has been involved in a contentious legal case that we filed against IBM. What are the underlying intellectual property principles that have put SCO in a [...] legal case? I'd summarize them in this way:"
""Fair use" [...] does not justify commercial misappropriation."
"[...] because SCO software code was present in software distributed under the GPL, SCO has forfeited its rights to this code."
"SCO [...] gave permission, [...] granted rights, for this to happen."
"Transfer of copyright ownership without express written authority of all proper parties is null and void."
"Customers need to know that Open Source is legal and stable."
"Further, the SCO Group is open to ideas [...] to monetize software technology and its underlying intellectual property for [...] just SCO."
I loved the bit about giving them $30 to help out with copying costs. Talk about adding insult to injury...
ESR doesn't know the identity of the DDoSer
Silly me. I automatically believed something Darl McBride said was the truth, and the whole truth, without checking the real facts. I won't make that mistake again.
Gerv
Ah, but I'll be sober in the morning, and you'll still be a humourless asshat.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
This is in the business plan, right before "No.2363 - Profit!"
Skiing? Check out The Independant Skiers Portal
Damn straight, my genes are copyright by a major drug company, anyone trying to copy them will have to get permission from them. And its hell to get permission for "derivitive works".
Funny, the way I read the OpenLetter from SCO, Darl seems to be in favor of OpenSource. Now that he's dumping all of his SCO stock maybe he doesn't care anymore. Or maybe he's realized that there is not case...
Here is quotes from the letter that support my statement:
"This ""Open Source software is healthy and beneficial. It offers long-term benefits to the industry by addressing a new business model in advance of wide-scale adoption by customers."
"My company, the SCO Group, became a focus of this controversy when we ""fought ""to ""cast...""a shadow over the ""Open Source movement ""by ""alleging ""that UNIX System V code"" in fact"" proprietary software code""."
"Linux ""is a ""authorized ""work ""not ""derivative ""of ""the ""UNIX System V code""."
"No one can tolerate ""SCO's ""business model that is ""built only on ""a lawsuit against IBM"". ""Finally, it is clear that the ""SCO Group is ""increasingly alienated from anyone associated ""with ""software ""and ""community."
"I will continue to ""sue... ""everyone ""...as... ""CEO""."
Check the letter, every quoted word is in there in some context or another. I see this as just as valid of an interpretation of his letter as he does Bruce Peren's letter and ESR's statements.
"Everybody knows the moon's made of cheese," Wallace.
....and exception is rarely taken.
Well, in the case of business correspondence, letters to the editor or to elected representatives the use of such terminology get's your precious prose dumped with the crackpots and conspiracy theorists.
It's not like I called him a "eunuch".
But I though Darl was all about protecting eunuchs....
--
As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.
The letter is misleading and rife with out of context quotes and even misinformation. It serve no other purpose other than to harm the U.S. economy.
Quick! Call Homeland Security! Finally, a productive use for the new laws....
--
As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.
25. All documents concerning purchases of the substance known as "crack", by plantiff's employees.
By reading this sig, you agree to the terms of my sig license.
simply because one individual chooses to act in discordance with the group's stated goals doesn't at all reflect on the group.
Larry Niven puts it a little more succinctly, if slightly differently: "there is no cause so noble that it will not attract fuggheads".
-- Alastair
> > This guy [Darl McBride] really is in his own world.
> > And it's obvious that there is no oxygen on it.
> It's the necktie. No, really.
You don't get it. He wears the necktie to keep the foreskin pulled back from his face.
Ah, but wasn't fair use only valid for educational and non-commercial purposes? (according to Mr. McBride)
Wouldn't a PR campaign in a billion-dollar lawsuit process qualify as a commercial endeavor?
Freedom is the freedom to say 2+2=4, everything else follows...
That was a new one. The only wording I've heard before was that Michael Jackson is living proof that American truly is the land of opportunity.
...for where else in the world, you tell me, could a poor black boy grow up to be a rich white woman?