Linus Not The Father Of Linux, According to Report

MrIrwin writes "According to this article on Yahoo, Linus is not the real father of Linux and Open source software is really just code nicked from other sources. " Groklaw has done a dissection of the press release. It's a press release by the Alexis de Toqueville Institution, who gets funding from MSFT, as well as believes that US IT troubles are because of free software. Oh, and terrorism works better because of open source, and the "Star Wars" program was a good idea.

Comments

Seeing as they like history......

[MrIrwin]

.....and seeing as how they have such close ties to MS, perhaps they could run a study as to how Microsoft came to be born.

Re:Seeing as they like history......

[MrIrwin]

I was reffereing to the fact that Paul Allen and Bill Gates started Microsoft porting Basic interpreters from a "borrowed" open source base.

Re:Seeing as they like history......

[Handyman]

Boy, that's a lousy article:

1. Since when did NT stand for "Network Technology" instead of "New Technology"?

2. It calls Windows 3.1 "the second OS with a GUI" (after the Mac), as if 3.1 was the first version of windows ever.

3. I quote:

Windows 3.1 was still based on MS-DOS because it was really just a front end. All it did was pass commands to MS-DOS which then passed commands to the kernel.

Excuse me? What is this "MS-DOS" thing that passes things to "the kernel"? The only thing I can think of is that he might mean the MS-DOS prompt. This sounds as if Windows 3.1 did everything by simulating typing on the DOS prompt (i.e., "pass commands to MS-DOS") and letting the DOS prompt pass things on to "the kernel". My take on this: the kernel is actually what "MS-DOS" really is -- the command prompt is just the equivalent of a shell. I have no clue what separation between "MS-DOS" and "the kernel" this guy had in mind.

4. Since when did Windows 98SE stand for "Special Edition" instead of "Second Edition"?

5. Since when was Windows ME a bugfix release for the Y2K problem? I quote: The Y2K (Year 2000) problem was discovered and fixed with the release of Windows ME (Millennium Edition). This is actually funny, so it might be intended as a joke, but I don't think it is.

6. If Windows NT was really based on the source of VMS, M$ would have definitely been sued. And they haven't AFAIK. Instead, M$ had just been done with the OS/2 cooperation debacle, and it's pretty probable that they took quite a bit of code from that to get them started on NT.

There's more I could say, but I think this enough.

Re:Seeing as they like history......

[txviking]

Alexis de Toqueville would spin in his grave if he would know that an institude with his name is publishing a report slandering free (as in freedom) software. They should maybe study Alexis' book about the US democracy a little more !!!

Shenanigans

[Anonymous Coward]

the "Star Wars" program was a good idea.

Is that the one where they destroy all copies of Episode 1 and 2 by firing lasers from satellites orbiting Earth? I still think that's a good idea.

TFA also mentions that Kenneth Brown (braindead author of the book about the study) interviewed RMS, but I fail to see any references to GNU/Linux in the write-up. I call shenanigans. Is it April 1st?

And finally, cheers to Hemos. There five times as many links in the editorial insert than there are in the actual submission. Someone buy this man a beer.

My initial reaction?

[SocietyoftheFist]

Acutal out loud laughter. I don't think that I need any more proof that Microsoft feels very threatened when I see puff pieces like this.

AdTI: -1 Troll

[Xipe66]

They're obviously trolling. Don't feed.

Strawman..

[k98sven]

Interesting how the whole report seems to be one big straw-man argument.
(i.e. claiming the other is saying something they're not, and then showing that it is false)

Their straw-man seems to be the idea (which noone, of course, has claimed) that Linux somehow was created in a vacuum.

From there they proceed to show how Linux was (*shock*) a clone of Unix!
(Probably leaving out the fact that there are literally dozens of them.)

De Tocqueville

[colmore]

De Tocqueville was a late French Enlightenment writer who traveled America and wrote in praise of American civil society, as opposed to French (which after having just gone throught the first revolution, and the dictatorship of Napolean, was looking pretty shitty.)

Anyway, it's way too early in the morning for me to pull out a page reference, but one of the major themes in his _Democracy in America_ is that American society functions well due to the large number of volunteer organizations that Americans joined in, fire departments, sewing circles, sports clubs, free publications and that sort of thing. These things raise community awareness, and allow the democratic process to work, since he believed that it would fall apart if all democracy was was everyone voting their own pocketbook.

Anyway, I'd say the Free Software movement in America is certainly a continuation of that civic spirit.

Obvious problem

[tonythepony]

While you cannot group all open source programmers and programs together; many are rigorous and respectful of the intellectual property rights, while others speak of intellectual property rights with open contempt.

Here's one immediate problem with the way this guy thinks - the two groups of programmers he mentions are not mutually exclusive as he implies. One can speak out about the problems with IP rights and still be respectful and careful about not violating them.

Re:What a farce.

[swordboy]

The article lost all credibility when they used the word, "invent" to describe the process by which software is created.

Software is developed, not invented. This is also one of the main reasons that the patent world is all screwed up.

Oh well...

"Scrupulous" Imitation

[Bob9113]

people have chosen to scrupulously borrow or imitate Unix.

I guess he's saying this to contrast the way Microsoft unscrupulously imitated CPM/DOS, Lotus 1,2,3, Macintosh, WordPerfect, Stac . . .

Ok, I'll bite

[jaymzter]

the "Star Wars" program was a good idea</sarcasm>

_Star Wars_ was a good idea. The same way successive U boat campaigns against the British were a good idea, the same way Sherman's march to the sea was a good idea. IOW, hit them in the wallet or flatten their production capability. Because of the great debate on Star Wars and the intransigence of the Reagan administration on the issue, the Sovs had to take it as something plausible, and thus we were able to force them to divert funds and resources to a possible chimera.

It doesn't matter whether you think Star Wars can work now or not, it's been almost 20 years since it was first proposed, so the reality now has no bearing on then. For what it was used to accomplish, Star Wars was a great idea.

Uh huh..

[Anonymous Coward]

And Honda cars are a 'stolen product' because they have steering wheels and gearshifts just like Fords.

That is not terribly accurate

[FreeUser]

Linux started out as a Minix clone. Though it is more than that now, it's roots lie much closer to Andy Tannenbaum than they do to the Finn.

There is nothing to "admit." Linus wrote Linux as a i386 replacement for MINIX (which only ran on 80286 machines) because he wanted a UNIX he could use and play with on his hardware. He wrote the entire thing from scratch ... not using a single line of Tannenbaum's available, but not open source or free, source code.

Anyone looking at the old Tannenbaum book (which has the source code to MINIX in it) and the early Linux kernel code can easily tell they were written independently of each other. Anyone, that is, without an anti-free software agenda and ax to grind...

Calling Linux a MINIX clone is about as accurate as calling Linux an AT&T Sys V or generic UNIX clone ... that is to say, partially true, but also not really correct, and an overall mischaracterization of the effort (an OS written completely from scratch, not copied from another) and the goal (a usable, free UNIX-clone, not a usable, free, specific-UNIX-implimentation clone).

Windows Vs. Linux in TCO

[Orion Blastar]

I love the Linux Mainframe comparison, they compare Linux on an IBM mainframe to Windows 2003 Server on a dual Xenon server. Then cite the Linux machine as having a higher TCO becuase of the cost of the mainframe, the power bill, the maintenance contract, etc.

Or how about the Windows vs. Linux report that does not put a cost on the security breaches and malware attacks on Windows systems?

Re:Linus Torvalds should sue the author

[jdreed1024]

Linus Torvalds should sue the author for libel and defamation of character (and extend it to slander if the author is making oral statements publicly).

If you RTFA, you'll see there's a whole lot of conditionals in there. AdTI might be a bunch of idiot sheep, but I bet they have a halfway competent legal department that would make them stop short of anything that could get them sued. And we don't know the sources. I mean, I could go find a bunch of conspiracy mags and websites and use them as a source to write a press release that says "Surgeon General might be controlling minds with flu shots". Heck, I have my "sources". And I didn't make any accusations, just threw the idea out there. I'm pretty sure the surgeon general can't sue me for that. (The government can throw me in Guantanamo Bay, but that's different).

What Linus _should_ do is write a well-thought-out rebuttal and get it into the major news outlets to let everyone know how ridiculous these claims are. This is one of the few times when something ridiculous does merit a response. If it was from some wacko on Usenet, sure, ignore it, no one will care. But rebutting their claim and providing solid proof will help publically discredit this istitute, which is exactly what is needed.

Re:What a farce.

[Giant Panda]

Yes. This is sort of like saying one architect stole a building design from another because it has four sides and a roof.

No rebuttal necessary

[TrekkieGod]

What Linus _should_ do is write a well-thought-out rebuttal and get it into the major news outlets to let everyone know how ridiculous these claims are.

I don't think Linus should bother. As it is, everyone who matters can see how ridiculous that is. If Linus places a rebuttal in major news outlets, it'll give credibility to these people (or at least more public controversy, as they will post a response themselves, then Linus will have to reply, and this will continue to go on fueling publicity for Brown's book). They WANT people to take them seriously and reply. They're powerless if we don't.

Really...I'd just rather see Linus's usual witty replies in a board somewhere, definitely not in a major news outlet. It won't give them fuel to their campaign and I'll be able to laugh, perhaps as much as I laughed after reading their press release.

Its not invention

[tkrotchko]

There is a creative process involved with writing software, but its no more invention than the act of writing music is called "inventing music".

Music is "composed".
Software is "developed".

There's nothing "inventable" about software.

Unless you think Hayden should have took out a patent on the "Symphony"

"Collection of music that is played by many musicians such that music is broken into theme, counterpart, resolution in 1 to multiple parts. Music is group together to form a sound picture which is then used to inspire both performer and audience. It includes the following elements:
1) White pages with black dots on them to represent exact musical score
2) Wood or metal instrument which is plucked or blown to create sound
3) Sound in claim #2 is used in accordance with claim #1 to produce sound that has coherence
4) Each musician has a slightly different copy of the music
5) The claims in #4 when performed in exact time increments produces sound variations that are impossible with a single instrument.
6) Additional performer (known as conductor) will stand and wave arms
7) Said conductor in claim 6 will wave arms in unique motion depending on type of time in part 5 above such that there is a distinct way of waving arms according to number of beat in measure
8) As music is broken into movements, time may be taken to give audience a rest. Audience may leave to get drinks in the lobby at this time.

Re:Microsoft's history of dishonesty and crime

[Anonymous Coward]

Also:

MICROSOFT DEFEATS STACKER (Disk Compression) BY:

- Fraud: Microsoft incorporates the Stacker code, even the comments. MS lawyers drag out their defense of the suit against them until Stacker is bankrupt, then settle when the company has been forced out of business.

Re:Microsoft's history of dishonesty and crime

[feidaykin]

This is easily one of the best posts I've ever read on Slashdot. Not only did you manage to site examples in which Microsoft has abused its monopoly position, you never once actually called them a monopoly, allowing the reader to come to that conclusion by reading the examples.

Also, you didn't use the term "M$" and refrained from calling their employees "cockmasters" which, I must say, is somewhat of a rarity on Slashdot when discussing Microsoft. So bravo, AC. Excellent job. A lot of my Microsoft-loving acquaintances will find the URL to this post in their inbox very soon.