SCO's Roadshow Coming Soon

AndyFewt writes "TheRegister has an article on the latest form of SCO FUD, their Roadshow. Funded by HP and kicking off on Oct. 7, SCO users throughout the U.S. and Canada can get their chance to go show Darl just how much they "love" SCO. But of course, Linux users are free to attend."

Comments

What Does Darl Get Out Of It?

[waitigetit]

I posted this in a previous SCO thread, but I'm reposting it here, because it's the best answer I can think of to explain SCO's "business model"

What Does Darl Get Out Of It?

Darl gets a big fat payoff if he can deliver four straight profitable quarters. Most of it is in stock, which means he'll have to keep up the fiasco for extra quarter or two to cash out.

At that point, I think we can expect him to leave SCO -- if there is any SCO left to leave. Maybe the final legal showdown will be Darl v. Ralph, to be filed in late 2004 or early 2005. We all know how much Darl loves to sue his employers.

Anyway, this means the SCO v. IBM case is not likely to ever make it to court because there's *no* motivation for Darl to go that far.

In the meantime, he'll do whatever it takes to show profit on the next two or three 10-Q's. He'll slash personnel, support, anything, doesn't matter how it affects SCO's long term prospects, as long as he shows profits each quarter.

He'll try to get people to pay for SCO IP in Linux licenses NOW, not after the case is resolved in court, because he doesn't care what happens that far down the line.

He needs the money on the books and in the 10-Q next quarter and the following quarter. He's got two profitable quarters in a row now, though he probably wouldn't have made it this quarter without cutting personnel and associated costs. Two more to go, and he's golden.

If he hasn't done it already, we can expect some *extremely* creative accounting over the next two quarters. Personally, I think that asset listed as "Goodwill" is just the start of SCO's attempts at creative accounting. Or maybe more money from MS. MS, according to the latest 10-Q (available at SEC), has apparently purchased those "expanded licensing options" that were mentioned in the April 30 10-Q.

Darl's biggest fear is that something will shut down SCO and/or it's FUD machine within the next two-three quarters. If he sounds irrational and afraid, well, that's because he is. He can't pull any more profits out of Germany. Australia, Austria, and Poland are lining up to gag him in their countries. Red Hat's trying to do the same in the U.S. Of course, none of this matters much as long as no court decisions are reached within the next 3 quarters. Which means delay, delay, and delay will be SCO's legal strategy going forward.

Re:What Does Darl Get Out Of It?

[Jaywalk]

Anyway, this means the SCO v. IBM case is not likely to ever make it to court because there's *no* motivation for Darl to go that far.

Actually, he does have motivation. If he makes it obvious that the scheme is a pump and dump, he runs afoul of the SEC and shareholders, who will bleed him white with lawsuits. Even if he doesn't believe it, he has to act like he thinks the case has merit and that SCO actually does own the entire UNIX universe. A poor business decision is not a punishable offense, fraud is.

Re:What Does Darl Get Out Of It?

[Theatetus]

When SCO falls the asset strippers are going down with it.

SCO's assets include strippers? I want to work there now...

Slashdot Press

[Davak]

Slashdot needs to learn to treat SCO like a child. Just ignore their attention-grabbing techniques!

Hell, if slashdot didn't have 4 SCO stories a day, average shmucks like me wouldn't know or care! Quit elevating them to a position of importance!

Sorry. Rant off. Down with SCO. They suck, etc.

Davak

Re:Slashdot Press

[thesupraman]

Actually, I would say this is one of the more useful SCOish pieces for a while - SCO coming out into the wild and talking to people could quite likely backfire on them if the masses can get a little organised.

I'm not of course talking about the crowds of screaming protesters approach here, but with a little consideration, organisation, and information a lot of their FUD spreading could be turned around on them.

To me this looks like a great opportunity - if this doesn't backfire on them, nothing will, IMHO.

Of course they may be hoping for, and may unfortunately get masses of idiots there making the non-SCO *nix comunity look like the revolting peasants, lets hope not.

A list of 'standard' questions should be distributed to be asked of SCO at these events, and the list should be tuned and improved as we find out what they have the most trouble answering.

Nothing scares these kinds of lawyers like an organised and informed public!

Re:Slashdot Press

[mr_sas]

you mean articles about american cable companies prices? that sort of thing?

or about how some guy is connecting to the internet in the middle of australia?

I agree more of this type of world changing news should be posted more often

Re:Slashdot Press

[richie2000]

with a little consideration, organisation, and information

I consider organizing a good old-fashioned pitchfork-and-torches party, stay tuned for more information.

Re:Slashdot Press

[Intosi]

I for one suffer from a Slashdot SCO overkill.. It even pushed me as far as posting a non-funny, troll-like post... I'd really like to see Slashdot go back to it's core business -- news for nerds, stuff that matters.

Re:Slashdot Press

[Exatron]

I've been stockpiling torches and pitchforks just in case an angry mob was needed. Looks like I might get a chance to use them.

Re:Slashdot Press

[Hugh George Asm]

> Nothing scares these kinds of lawyers like an organised and informed public!

This is mearly posturing. The show itself is meaningless. Seats are limited to 50 people per show!! The point of the roadshow is to tell people who ARE NOT THERE what they missed, and to make SCO appear to be a big, vibrant operation that requires road shows. When they talk about it, they won't mention that it was a volkswagon bus with 1 stoned driver talking to 50 sleeping people. The'll make it sound like you missed the world if you weren't there.

It's all an illusion, smoke and mirrors, because they're banking on the fact that most people are ignorant, and have no clue what a farce their company has become. Future customers--but especially future investors who don't know SCO-- might be impressed by this circus act.

Re:Slashdot Press

[drakaan]

Stories that lead to bitching about how SCO is bad doesn't qualify as "News for Nerds"??? Dear god, man (or woman...less likely, but possible), what *does*?

Re:Slashdot Press

[richie2000]

It's time we stop documenting every breath Daryl & Co. make

Agreed. Unless it's the last breath, I'd really like to know about that one. And soon.

Re:Slashdot Press

[mattdm]

Hell, if slashdot didn't have 4 SCO stories a day, average shmucks like me wouldn't know or care! Quit elevating them to a position of importance!

Average schmucks don't read slashdot. And I'm not saying this to praise the l33tness of /. -- obviously it's Not Very. But the segment of geeks that visit here is relatively narrow. Meanwhile, SCO has a pretty much free reign in the mainstream press, where their statements go largely unchallanged and their press releases go to print as news. It doesn't hurt to have a few channels for the real story. I'm not likely to go digging up SCO stories, but I like that I can follow along by checking in here.

Re:Slashdot Press

[kjshark]

If there's a limit of 50 seats, I suggest filling registering with fake names so no one shows up !

Re:Slashdot Press

[Gleef]

Hugh George Asm wrote:

It's all an illusion, smoke and mirrors, because they're banking on the fact that most people are ignorant, and have no clue what a farce their company has become. Future customers--but especially future investors who don't know SCO-- might be impressed by this circus act.

I find it particularly telling that, while they have no showing in New York City, they have one in Newark, NJ. To be blunt, Newark is the place to go if you want to be in the New York metropolitan area, but also want to discourage New Yorkers from coming.

I liked Yesterda's news better.

[joostje]

here it is.

Don't buy their story!

[TopShelf]

Yeah, Linux users may attend free, but then on their way out Darl will try to charge them $699, claiming that somebody else gave away the admission...

Cream pie?

[Short Circuit]

Are we going to see a cream pie in Darl's face?

It seems like the traditional response...

What to ask them?

[turambar386]

What should I ask SCO when I'm there if I get a chance to ask one question?

Re:What to ask them?

[mr_z_beeblebrox]

What should I ask SCO when I'm there if I get a chance to ask one question?

Ask what tcp/ip stack they use in their proprietary "IP".

Re:What to ask them?

[bfields]

What should I ask SCO when I'm there if I get a chance to ask one question?

Based on previous stories the best thing to bring may just be a digital camera good enough to reproduce the text of any slides....

But personally I think it's most interesting to ask when we'll see evidence to allow us to evaluate SCO's claim that Linux infringes SCO's copyright. They seem to like the idea of turning this into a "free" vs. "proprietary" debate, which is of course just an attempt to draw attention from the main question of whether there's actually any infringement going on.

--Bruce Fields

Re:What to ask them?

[mikeee]

"Will you be indemnifying SCO users against violation of IBM's patents?"

Free indeed

[91degrees]

But of course, Linux users are free to attend."

They wil later becharged a $699 admission fee when SCO decides that they were actually trespassing.

Will they be teaming up with PBS?

[k98sven]

I'd sure like to have a price estimate on my old copy of Sys V..

The REAL news

[Anonymous Coward]

At the end of the day who cares about SCO, really? The real news is HP. Are we going to let HP think that it's okay to back SCO. That's the REAL question.

Re:The REAL news

[mr_z_beeblebrox]

Are we going to let HP think that it's okay to back SCO.

I sure am. I think it would be cool if Compaq tech support started answering their phones like this:
"HP Compaq Tech support, a tiny division of a Big Blue Monolith. How can I help you?"

Like the Antiques Roadshow?

[Dancin_Santa]

If you bring your copy of Linux will they tell you what they think it's worth?

Re:Like the Antiques Roadshow?

[CGP314]

SCO Roadshow guy: Hmmmm.... Red Hat... 6.3... That was a good year... yes... I'd say this is worth about -$699.95 to you.

Re:Like the Antiques Roadshow?

[kurosawdust]

"Ooh, an original Yggdrasil CD-ROM! This is extremely rare; you should consider yourself very lucky."

"Yeah I found it in my parents' attic underneath a copy of VRML Unleashed and The 1994 Complete Internet Yellow Pages. I have some other stuff I was hoping you'd look at too..."

"...Stradawhovius?"

Re:Like the Antiques Roadshow?

[u-235-sentinel]

Personally I would return my unopened box of Caldera Linux. Version 6 sucked. I've been using RedHat and SUSE for years. Figured returning the Caldera box would save in landfills and wasted space on my shelf.

SCO's latest filings

[eddy]

SCO's stalling.

Docket Text: Motion by SCO Grp to extend time until 2/4/04 for pla to amd pleadings and add parties

So, any guess on parties?

Re:SCO's latest filings

[elvesRgay]

I found this off groklaw

Looks like they will be sueing SGI according to this filing.

We recently received a notice from SCO Group stating its intention to terminate our fully paid license to certain UNIX-related code, under which we distribute our IRIX operating system, on the basis that we have breached the terms of such license. We believe that the SCO Group's allegations are without merit and that our fully paid license is nonterminable.

Sponsored by HP !?!?!??!?!?

[Psyborgue]

The same HP that ... no it can't be true. I am rapidly losing faith in society. When will corporations learn that this kind of "i love you i hate you" attitude will get them nowhere. Sheesh. Reminds me of my ex girlfriend. Seriously. The parralells are striking. These people belong on Jerry Springer.

Re:Sponsored by HP !?!?!??!?!?

[Psyborgue]

I just looked at Sco's site. It doesn't say anything about HP sponsoring. Perhaps this was a mistake of The Register. If it is. I suggest a moderator fix the article heading and append that HP is not sponsoring it.

Re:Sponsored by HP !?!?!??!?!?

[AstroDrabb]

What a stab in the back. Maybe it is time to send HP a few thousand emails of complaint to let them know that this kind of behaviour is not supported in the Linux community. What bone-head at HP thought this was a good idea? Talk about the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

Re:Sponsored by HP !?!?!??!?!?

[MarcDuflot]

I just looked at Sco's site. It doesn't say anything about HP sponsoring. Perhaps this was a mistake of The Register.

I read the article at The Register yesterday and looked at the page at SCO. There was a logo about HP sponsoring. It was removed since then.

Re:Sponsored by HP !?!?!??!?!?

[leomekenkamp]

I used this link some time ago to state that I am often asked by people what they should buy (I'm considered to be a nerd). Because of the previous sponsor action for SCO Forum and because of hp-s abysmal support for linux drivers for their scanners, I now advice people to buy Epson, and bought an Epson scanner myself as well.

If enough people send notes like this, we might make a difference. Just remember to keep it simple and refrain from cursing and swearing.

Re:Sponsored by HP !?!?!??!?!?

[Pembers]

A post further down says the page about the roadshow on the SCO site no longer mentions HP. Instead, it says the sponsor is a company called Microlite, whom I'd never heard of before today. From a cursory glance around their site, it appears they do backup systems for UNIX and Linux. I'd suggest letting them know how you feel about their sponsorship of these events, but they mention some SCO products by name, so presumably, they already have some idea of the kind of people they're dealing with...

Re:Sponsored by HP !?!?!??!?!?

[hackstraw]

The SCO page says its sponsered by Microlite, which appears to be backup solutions for SCO products (and Linux).

Doesn't everyone remember that HP was the main sponser of the SCO 2003 forum in Las Vegas, but they backed out because of the SCO linux licensing. You can read about it here.

Just what we need

[SuperBanana]

But of course, Linux users are free to attend.

Great. World's first physical DDoS- if enough linux geeks show up, everyone else will want to leave, either because they'll be obnoxious, or look like something out of a cross between an RMS-lookalike-contest and a anti-globalism protest- and smell like one(take your pick on whether tear gas is a curse or a blessing with that crowd).

Here's an idea everyone- show up at these things impeccably dressed, clean cut, and be a perfect gentleman(or lady); wear only a small linux penguin pin like our lovely "patriots" in the US gov't are so fond of doing these days with the american flag pin. That will impress people far more than a freakshow, no matter how valid your ideas are. Rowdyness, immaturity, and messyness do not impress. They intimidate, scare, and irritate.

Show the world we're serious, because folks- the linux "community",unlike a real community, we have yet to stand up for ourselves, especially those whose work is being whole-heartedly claimed by someone else- writing opinion pieces, open letters, etc is not "standing up". Legal action is what we need, but showing up in person is a step; we need a face, and we need one better looking and more tactful than RMS.

Nah.... Re:Cream pie?

[bazik]

I vote for sharpend AOL CD's.

Make mine "tossed"

[YetAnotherName]

I have a suspicion this Roadshow might be just the boost that America's and Canada's egg farmers need.

Not that I'm suggesting anything quite so blatantly immature. Don't stoop to SCO's level, please.

Funded by HP?

[Anonymous Coward]

All of the articles I read about Sun on Slashdot end up mentioning Sun "funding" SCO regardless of the fact they were coming up to date on a 10 year old license.

Now, HP is directly funding SCO and nobody has mentioned anything yet. I was under the impression HP was another major friend of Linux who helped in development (such as LVM) and pushed Linux servers.

If this is true, who is on Linux side in the SCO vs IBM battle? Right now, it seems only Red Hat, IBM and the community. 50% of IBM's revenue comes from Global Services. Linux is a perfect opportunity to continue to expand this revenue since they are the only major player with both brand appeal and the size to appeal to almost any customer. With HP directly funding SCO to help them market their products they don't seem like much of a friend.

It looks like the OSS community might need to re-evaluate who their true friends are.

Re:Funded by HP?

[e40]

The language of the article is poor, and the paragraph after it says HP is the sponsor implies so merely because HP is protecting its customers.

If you follow the link to the SCO site, they say it is sponsored by Microlite (the logo on this page is the same as the one on the SCO page).

Re:Funded by HP?

[mec]

HP has not bought a SCO Source license. Sun has, for $7.5 million and counting. See the 10-Q's.

HP has not acquired warrants to buy stock in SCO, and Sun has. See the 10-Q's.

If there's any evidence that HP is supporting SCO, it's not showing up in SCO's 10-Q's.

HP decreased its existing support of SCO since SCO filed suit this year. HP pulled its sponsorship of SCO Forum, and I don't think they are not sponsors of this road show. SCO keeps trying to use HP's logo, but HP keeps making them stop.

Sun increased its existing support of SCO, and then lied about it. Sun tried to push the story that they paid up their license years ago, when in fact they were buying a secret license in February 2003.

Ask to buy a licence

[eadz]

As far as I know, you still can't buy a so called SCO Linux licence.

If they ever have any Q&A sessions, some well formed questions about this would show the visitors that SCO is full of it.

My 2 on SCOx

[tetrahedrassface]

Does SCO even have a product anymore that is worth investing in? I would rather use microsoft than SCO now. Maybe thats what M$ wants. I just dont see how SCO can continue to be in business (long term). Also doesnt Ransom Love just look like a stupid dick? I truly hate him. I am a Christian mank yet i hate him. You see to me this level of greed is where all our U.S. corps are. There is no difference in my mind between business and morality. Sadly SCO and M$ and whoever else are thrteatend by us choose to try to kill us off rather than embrace us. The truth is that they are calling us thieves while they are the ones that run the monopoly on IT. I would switch to BSD,but you know what? I gonna stick with Linux and they can come fight me for it. If BSD were doing what linux is, then SCO would be suing BSD again. Ransom Love is an asshole son of a btch and he can kiss my ass. I am tired af coorporations being able to trample the little people. My restaurant is incoorporated, but at least I am smart enough to know that you cant run customers off and stay in business. I have Karma to burn so do with me what you may.

Re:My 2 on SCOx

[Zocalo]

Um, no, Ransom Love doesn't look like a stupid dick at all. What with having left the company and being replaced with Darl McBride before this all kicked off and all. Love was all for integrating SCO code with Linux code and giving the code to the community, it's McBride who is the money grubbing SOB with the briefcase full of FUD.

Nobody forces you to read.

[Psyborgue]

Although i do aggree that these articles are at the very least annoying, I would rather be informed anyway. SCO is a danger and they should not be ignored. That doesn't necessarily mean that the comments should string on endlessly. Perhaps Slashdot should have an "SCO ticker" for the time being where people can take a glance at the latest news and not feel obligated to comment. If it appears on the "front page", (some) people will just have to comment. And at length. And at length. (-1 redundant joke.) for crying out loud, half of the comments on the linus interview were debating whether or not it was ethical to copy and paste the NYT article. Good god people. Don't you have anything better to say?!?!?

in USA and Canada only...

[mirko]

Obviously, they would not risk to come to Belgium where Noel Godin would have "entarted" their faces like he did to Bill Gates ;)

How much Linux-friendly HP is ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Use of Microsoft products is still a 'political correct' inside HP (vide: dumping OpenMail for Exchange) - their attitude in this matter propably hasn't changed significantly for last few years. After seeing HP from 'inside' for some time (as a contract worker) I've noticed that their Linux support is limited to and only to sell more intel servers and protect their back in case of Microsoft' failure (ie. losing monopoly in OS market). The last thing they want is causing Microsoft angry. In other words, they won't bet on Linux unless they're forced to. And they'll do whatever they can to NOT let Linux gain a dominance in OS market, while being careful to not to lose their 'Linux friendly' PR image. It's definitely NOT the way, IBM has chosen. It's safe to treat them as (mostly) Microsoft shop.

Google always knows the answer

[greppling]

Try googling for "Darl McBride" --- and google will answer "Did you mean Dark McBride?"

Well, of course...

[cperciva]

SCO users throughout the U.S. and Canada can get their chance to go show Darl just how much they "love" SCO. But of course, Linux users are free to attend.

Well, of course Linux users are free to attend. Linux is full of SCO code, so Linux users are really just SCO users who obtained the code through unauthorized means.

An Idea..

[thesupraman]

How about people (well behaved of course) turning up outside these functions and giving all attendees free linux distributions and information as the arrive and leave?

Nothing like spreading a little information - and if SCO tries to block it, it makes them look like the bad guys.

For the cost of a couple of hundred writable CD's and some time a lot of good could be done to a very good target audience.

Re:An Idea..

[zerocool^]

For the cost of a couple of hundred writable CD's and some time a lot of good could be done to a very good target audience.

That would be AWESOME! Get a spindle of those little bitty CD's that hold like 175 MB's (the 3 inch ones like these) and just burn the linux kernel onto each one.

Write on them, in sharpie, "SCO's business model is based on selling you this free software".

Then hand them out at the show.

Oh, it's brilliant! Also, put like an autorun.info or whatever makes things run in windows and have it pop up like a flash or html presentation of why we think SCO is full of shit.

~Will

P.S. The SCO code bounty is up to $350 on pink fairies, and no one has claimed it as of yet. Not that I suspected that anyone would, but no one has come forth with code "from the inside" yet.

Avoiding States with Strong AGs

[Anonymous Coward]

I find it interesting that they're not setting foot in New York and several other states with strong Attorney Generals.

FAQ on SCO and Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

I have posted an FAQ on the SCO vs Linux controversy, designed for use by Penguinistas at SCO's road show. Pass it out to others at the meeting, or to the press. See:

http://home.swbell.net/mck9/sco/

This FAQ focuses on the legal viability of Linux, and on the likelihood that SCO will succeed at bullying the rest of the industry. (Warning: I am not a lawyer.) I have tried to avoid the name calling and inflammatory rhetoric that would be offputting to those not accustomed to Slashdot culture.

Re:FAQ on SCO and Linux

[gvc]

From the FAQ:

Has IBM disclosed any of SCO's trade secrets?

SCO says it has, and IBM says it hasn't. Until
SCO identifies the trade secrets that IBM has
allegedly disclosed, it is impossible for an
outsider to evaluate SCO's claims.

I believe that a stronger conclusions may be drawn from SCO's statements. SCO's (specious) argument is this:

1. IBM is bound to keep derivative works secret
2. AIX is a derivative work
3. JFS, and other components, by virtue of being
added to AIX, are part of the derivative
work.
4. Releasing any part of the derivative work
(i.e. JFS et al) is a violation of the
secrecy agreement.

IMO, the fallacy is in step 4. It is fairly subtle, but has been adressed in the courts.

In any event, in the remote chance that some judge (and appeal judge etc.) agree with this logic, it would not affect the fact that IBM owns the copyright on JFS. On that matter the copyright act is very clear: the 'new stuff' added to a derivative work remains the property of the deriver.

Damn! Out of Range!

[Lord Custos]

They're not stopping off in Philly!
If they'd stop by Philly, I coulda nailed Darl with my rotten-tomato-launching slingshot!

Sounds like "Let's organize a protest time!"

[farrellj]

Go and make signs and pamphlets, protest and hand out the pamphlets outside the venue...then go in when it starts. Leave the signs outside if they have a problem with it...but have t-shirts with the same signs on under another shirt, and then take off the outter shirt when the "show" starts. But be quiet (but ask lots of questions!), be nice, but take every legit oportunity to disrupt their MEME!

If they are comming to our areas, let's take it to their front doors...find out what hotels they are at, and call them at 3 am to express your displeasure with what they are doing. Remember, do anything legal to disrupt their Mobile FUD Factory.

ttyl
Farrell

A delicate question to US readers

[greppling]

I have a question to the few American slashdot readers, if there are any:

In a German article on SCO/Cannopy, I recently learned that Darl McBride is a "devout mormon". Now, I have never seen this mentioned anywhere in the many articles on SCO/McBride, even when they were specifically talking about McBride's personality.

Of course, his beliefs do in no way at all affect my factual views on his mission against Linux/GPL. But nevertheless, knowing he is a believing Mormon changes my understanding of him as a person, and possibly of his motivations. Maybe it should not, but it does change my reaction to many of his strongly worded statements.

Now I wonder why I never saw this mentioned in American articles. Is this because Americans don't think it matters? Is this because, while they know it might matter, they want to keep that out of the discussion? Is it an unwritten rule that religion is kept out of controversal discussions? Even when analyzing personalities? Or is it just not widely known that he is Mormon? Or is it, to the contrary, just implicitly assumed by US readers that a person such as McBride is probably strongly religious?

I am posting this despite knowing that it might be misunderstood as being negative on religious people, or religion in general. It is not meant that way. It is just that knowing whether someone is deeply religious or not is an important aspect in understanding his motivations.

Re:A delicate question to US readers

[bhima]

I would say that generally Americans do not bring up their religion, unless they either are very zealous or trying to sell you something you aren't likely to buy (Which I suppose is the same thing). Mormons aren't really a large group in the places I've been to in the US (meaning anywhere but Salt Lake) so Mormons generally aren't out to tell you much.

With the large exception of the kids that are out on their see the world and proselytize tour, which I found to be quite bizarre and the kids quite fun and interesting. Now what does that have to do with SCO and Linux and the law suite we here about every day? My theory NOTHING, as a CEO of a sizable company

Darl McBride by definition is a devout capitalist and his only God is money. Copious quantities of easy and tax free money. I would bet that his religion is more of flag convenience or upbringing than anything else, but then again I could be talking out of my ass and the Mormon CEO's really are building runways for Gay Martians to destroy GNU / Linux.

Re:A delicate question to US readers

[phrostie]

There have been a number of articles that paint McB' as a perfect mormon. most of these articles have been in local papers(saltlake etc). they read like a press release. they have stayed a hair away from proclaiming this whole mess as an anti-mormon struggle and SCO/Canopy as the second coming. who after all are just trying to keep jobs for other good mormons.
most US papers/news services do not recirculate these stories.
i've worked with enough mormons to know that they are not all this way, so i'm glad the sories are not circulated. it would be a dis-service.

Re:A delicate question to US readers

[Anonymous Coward]

Americans are loathe to discuss religion publicly;
though privately they will talk about it. Mormons
are not a well liked religion; they are thought of
as a little crazy. Mormonism is a relatively new
religion and I guess all religions start off as
a bunch of crazy fanatics. Mormons are having
a little trouble shaking their reputation.
Most people in the US are familiar with their
door-to-door salesmen dressed up in circa 1960s
nerdy business casual outfits.

McBride's religion is not a big issue here in the
US. Though the Mormons are a bit clanish and the
SCO suit is filed in Utah: the only state with
a Mormon majority. There is some fear that the
Mormons "may scratch each other's back"; though
it's not discussed.

Americans will complain privately about
"Hebrew dominated media", "too many blacks
in the NBA", "bunch of white frat boys
running business", "too many Indians in hi-tech" ,
etc. But we don't discuss them openly in public dicsourse.

Re:A delicate question to US readers

[Anonymous Coward]

In a German article on SCO/Cannopy, I recently learned that Darl McBride is a "devout mormon"

That was a typo. They must have meant "moron".

Re:A delicate question to US readers

[Mephie]

That's a good question.. I didn't know his religious affiliation, or even that he had one, until now. For the purposes of my theory on this, one could just as easily substitute "Mormon" for any other non-Catholic/Christian belief, such as Shin-tao, Athiest, or the current hot bed, Muslim.

Religion is an extremely touchy matter in the States. Depending on the matter in which that information was introduced, it would be very easy for any journalist to appear to be "branding" Mormons based on the McBride model.

The more .. how to put this delicately .. "unconventional" the general view of said religion, the more likely it becomes that you'd see backlash. Additionally, I'd wager most Americans don't know much about the Mormon faith. I personally do not. If we assume this to be true (it's a safe assumption.. Most Americans are very zealous about our own religion and avoid studying any other religions), then the vast majority of what the general population knows about Mormons, or any non-highly publicized religion, then, comes from what we "learn" on TV. So the danger of branding the religion becomes greater.

Ultimately, though, his religious affiliation would theoretically not make a difference in the business world, so religion would be irrelavant (much like there wasn't much said about the religious affiliation of Ken Lay, the Enron guy). The only time America seems to (openly) care about the religion of an individual is if they're a religious extremist or a politician. How's that for separation of church and state?

Re:A delicate question to US readers

[Kismet]

I am a devout Utah Mormon. I believe there are a number of us who frequent Slashdot and are Linux and Open Source enthusiasts.

I find Mr. McBride's behavior really very unfortunate. In Utah, we do consider each other to be good, upstanding people. We like to think that our Church gives us a certain quality by virtue of membership, and we expect that other Mormons try to live as best they can. We support each other based on this assumption.

As Mormons, our reputation with the rest of the world is very important. We like to make a good impression because we think our message is important, and we think that others would benefit if they listened to what we have to say. I know that we have critics and detractors, but there is also a significant good that we try to stand for.

I am concerned that Mr. McBride, by his association with the LDS Church, has poorly represented my religion to uncounted millions of Open Source enthusiasts around the world. I get this feeling each time I read an article like this one, which metions the Mormon Church. In my opinion, McBride has no business aligning himself with such a cause when he is publically dishonest.

I do not know of any other LDS Linux enthusiasts who support SCO in any way. We do not feel that SCO's behavior merits any excuse, and we do not seek to justify the misrepresentations and falsehoods that SCO has propagated to the public.

I don't speak for the LDS Church at all, but this is my opinion on the matter. I trust that the Church will behave morally and responsibly as far as this matter is concerned.

Re:A delicate question to US readers

[An Onerous Coward]

Former Mormon here.

Generally speaking, I don't think his religious views are important. Most Mormons, if made aware of the facts surrounding SCO's activities, would probably see him as a complete hypocrite and an embarassment to their religion.

On the other hand, there does seem to be a cultural link between Mormonism and weird business practices. It would be going overboard to say that the LDS Church or its members are obsessed with money. But thanks to a tradition of devout tithe-paying, the LDS Church is the richest per-capita religion in the world. There is also a not-exactly-doctrinal but often implied belief that righteousness leads to material blessings. Between the tithe-paying, large families, and the desire to be seen as successful, Utah leads the nation in bankruptcies despite having a highly educated population.

The politics of Utah are themselves pretty weird, and there's a lot of backscratching that goes on. But I haven't lived in other states, which makes it difficult for me to say if it's really worse than goes on elsewhere.

Re:I'm there!

[turambar386]

Oh, they'll tell you the breakfast is free until you've eaten it. Then they'll explain that food was in fact supplied to you illegally by HP and that all of the recipes are actually their IP and anyway the original license under which they provided sustenance to you is in fact invalided by federal laws. Then they'll ask you for $699 if you want to avoid any further lawsuits.

They are using open source code for registration?

[gedeco]

I did have a look myself too the registration software they use for the famous roadshow

From the FAQ on the website of VRS
http://www.verite.com/htmlsite/etools/t2vrsfa q.htm l

Can I run VRS on my own web server?
Yes, but we don't recommend it. VRS, as it stands now, is programmed in Cold Fusion and utilizes MySQL database software. To install VRS on your web server, Verite would either need to reprogram the system in a language that you support (very costly) or you would need to purchase a Cold Fusion Server and pay consulting fees for Verite to install and set it up. (VRS supports any ODBC compatible database-like Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL server, Oracle, etc.-but we prefer MySQL because of high reliability and the fact that it is open source).

So probably (not for sure) they rely on mysql as database.

Amusing. This remind on the additional note of SCO posted by release of samba 3.0

Geert

HP's Position Finally Makes Sense

[Hugh George Asm]

First we're told that some Fortune 500 company licenced SCO's code. Later, we hear HP is indemnifying customers, much like Sun is (who also licensed the code.) Speculation that HP was that mysterious licensee seems to have been true.

HP wouldn't take the risk unless they knew they were safe, and since you can only run their version on their hardware, it's no wonder. Their promotion of linux was purely for marketing reasons, and their licensing of SCO code was a clever way to profit from SCO's foibles.

The only part of this that does not make sense is that HP is sponsoring the SCO parade. Perhaps having a close tie-in to sco is how they can ensure that they won't have to actually protect any of their indemnified customers.

Only a Pin?

[Jameth]

"wear only a small linux penguin pin"

I think that might be a bit of a mistake, especially for some of the geeks I know.

Schedual

[Picass0]

A rundown for the tour of suckage:

City:
Toronto, ON
October 7, 8:30am
Toronto Congress Centre

City:
Boston, MA
October 9, 8:30am
Renaissance Boston Bedford Hotel

City:
Chicago, IL
October 15, 8:30am
Indian Lakes Resort

City:
Vancouver, BC
October 21, 8:30am
Radisson President Hotel & Suites Vancouver Airport

City:
Dallas, TX
October 23, 8:30am
Marriott Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport

City:
Orlando, FL
October 29, 8:30am
Renaissance Orlando Hotel Airport

City:
Newark, NJ
October 8, 8:30am
Sheraton Newark Airport Hotel

City:
Minneapolis, MN
October 14, 8:30am
Minneapolis Airport Marriott

City:
St. Louis, MO
October 16, 8:30am
Radisson Hotel Clayton

City:
Irvine, CA
October 22, 8:30am
Marriott Irvine

City:
Atlanta, GA
October 28, 8:30am
Marriott Century Center

Counteracting the FUD

[Kazir]

Linux users are free to attend."

The best thing to do for counteracting their FUD is to have people hand out free disks of Linux at the roadshow and demo Linux. They probably won't allow this inside, but there's always the sidewalks.

Dee-Ann LeBlanc on O'Reilly Network has been making some good points about this:

• A SCO-Fighting Press Kit
  
• Share your annoyance with SCO
  
• SCO's Upcoming Tour
  

4 stories a day? BWAHAHAHA

[TrentC]

As someone who's actually interested in the SCO proceedings (I mean, if I wasn't I'd just uncheck the "Caldera" box in my user prefs, right?) This is the "4 times a day" schedule to date this month:

SCO's Roadshow Coming Soon (On September 30th, 2003 with 231 comments)
Ransom Love, Caldera Co-Founder Interviewed (On September 26th, 2003 with 237 comments)
IBM Adds SCO Counterclaim Charging Copyright Infringement (On September 26th, 2003 with 738 comments)
SCO's Plan Examined (On September 25th, 2003 with 576 comments)
HP Clarifies Indemnification Offer For Linux Users (On September 24th, 2003 with 274 comments)
HP Offers Linux Purchasers Indemnification (On September 24th, 2003 with 326 comments)
Groklaw Sends A Dear Darl Letter (On September 20th, 2003 with 268 comments)
SCO Claims $15,300,000 From SCOsource (On September 16th, 2003 with 404 comments)
SCO Volleys to Red Hat (On September 16th, 2003 with 469 comments)
More on SCO Code Snippets (On September 14th, 2003 with 339 comments)
Linus to SCO: 'Please Grow Up' (On September 11th, 2003 with 1163 comments)
Back To SCO (On September 10th, 2003 with 560 comments)
ESR to Shred SCO Claims? (On September 9th, 2003 with 554 comments)
SCO's Open Letter to Open Source Community (On September 9th, 2003 with 724 comments)
SCO Run-Time Licenses: Get 'em While They're Hot! (On September 8th, 2003 with 587 comments)
More Criticism of SCO's Claims To UNIX (On September 6th, 2003 with 400 comments)
SCO's Next Target: SGI? (On September 5th, 2003 with 338 comments)

17 whole stories. Throw in two or three Slashbacks or Ask Slashdots to make it a round number, and we have 20 stores in 30 days. Now, let's look at August. I mean, maybe the frenzied stories have been dying down:

SCO Roundup (On August 30th, 2003 with 471 comments)
SCO Says It Has No Plan To Sue Linux Companies (
On August 28th, 2003 with 478 comments)
SCO DOS Harming Innocent Bystanders (On August 28th, 2003 with 422 comments)
SCO Says IBM is Beating Up on Them (On August 22nd, 2003 with 1133 comments)
SCO: Code Proof Analyzed, Linus Interviewed (On August 20th, 2003 with 890 comments)
Samba Team Points Out SCO's Hypocrisy (On August 20th, 2003 with 612 comments)
Open Source Community Approaches SCO (On August 19th, 2003 with 521 comments)
SCO: FSF Reply To GPL Claims, Conference Sponsors Back Off? (On August 18th, 2003 with 580 comments)
RMS on SCO, Distributions, DRM (On August 17th, 2003 with 711 comments)
OSDL Releases Q&A on SCO Legal Actions (On August 14th, 2003 with 285 comments)
SCO Attorney Declares GPL Invalid (On August 14th, 2003 with 1137 comments)
SCO Announces Final Termination of IBM's Licence (On August 13th, 2003 with 807 comments)
SCO Execs Dumping Stock (On August 12th, 2003 with 691 comments)
FSF, GCC, and SCO Compiler Support (On August 12th, 2003 with 525 comments)
SCO: Fortune 500 Company Buys License, IBM Retort (On August 11th, 2003 with 557 comments)
SCO Calls IBM Countersuit "Unsubstantiated Allegations" (On August 8th, 2003 with 972 comments)
IBM Countersues SCO, And More! (On August 7th, 2003 with 1156 comments)
SCO Targets US Government, TiVo (On August 6th, 2003 with 1539 comments)
SCO Wants $699 for Linux Systems (On August 5th, 2003 with 1659 comments)
SCO "Disappointed" by Red Hat Lawsuit (On August 5th, 2003 with 778 comments)
Red Hat Sues SCO, Sets Up Legal Fund (On August 4th, 2003 with 787 comments)
OSDL Position Paper on SCO and Linux (On August 1st, 2003 with 421 comments)

Hmm, a little bit better, 21 stories in 31 days. And we've got some of the juicy nuggets of the story to date, so far.

Because ./ posting seems not like lots of short lines, I'll just summarize the first months of the SCO/IBM lawsuit: 6(!) stories in July, 14 in June and 5(!) stories for May.

63 stories in 153 days = .41 stories per day. Why, that's not even 1 story every other day! If you wanted to be ge

Re:4 stories a day? BWAHAHAHA

[Spackler]

And of those 25,320 comments, how many were in favor of SCO? Think about it Darl.

How To Futz With The Roadshow

[FrankDrebin]

The roadshow starts in Toronto then moves to Boston. One quick phone call to US Customs from Toronto concerning a new extremist splinter group calling themselves Secret-Comdrades-of-Osama (SCO) ought to end the whole fuss immediately.

HP Logo Gone

[bstadil]

Note the HP logo has wanished since /. posted this