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Groklaw Debunks SCO's ELF Heist
Xenographic writes "Following SCO's earlier claims that ELF really belonged to them, in this Groklaw article, we find enough proof to show that SCO does not and never could have owned ELF or any part of it. Moreover, it shows that their real motive in this is to desperately raise new issues to stave off IBM's motion for summary judgement on IBM's 10th counterclaim. For those who don't remember, that's the one where IBM asked for certification that their Linux activities did not violate any of SCO's copyrights, and SCO replied (with forked tongue) that the case against IBM wasn't about copyrights... Let the "Santa Claus Organization" jokes commence."
Ah, SCO, SCO, SCO. This latest prank... Where to begin to unravel the latest brainstorm, the claim that ELF belongs to them, that Linux is using it illegally, and that it's the mortar holding the entire kernel together? I am smiling just typing this.
Here is what the ELF story is about, according to a Linuxworld article by Maureen O'Gara:
OK. ELF. Here we go. After all the research we have done, here are the conclusions I reach. First, ELF isn't mortar. It's not even in the kernel. It's interface stuff. It's not the only interface one might use, and in fact it replaced a prior interface, so it isn't essential for Linux to keep breathing and life to go on. It'd be annoying but not at all impossible to replace it.
Second, if TISC overstepped its authority, that is between SCO and SCO, because oldSCO was involved, oldSCO being a member of TISC.
Third, I don't believe they own it.
Fourth, Linux is not unique in using ELF.
Fifth, this is getting silly.
Let me explain, please, how I reached those conclusions.
Here's what the TISC document [PDF], regarding ELF version 1.2, told the world they were intending and what the world could do with ELF:
In case you haven't been paying attention to the replies to the posts suggesting this in other SCO threads, there isn't any stock available to be shorted, so nobody can short SCO (or at least of those people who wanted to short after SCO filed suit, nobody can).
There's no sig like SIGSEG
SCO says the ELF format was improperly released by the TISC.
But SCO was on the TISC. And so was Novell. And the TISC released ELF before assets were sold.
Plus, any format endorsed by the TISC is property of that committee. And anyone who joins the committee and donates standards must grant the TISC rights.
Finally, the ELF format is an interchange format, and not copywritable.
You're looking at a French re-insurance company. The SCO we all love and cherish trades as SCOX.
I managed to short SCOX in the upper teens and got out around ten. Not bad. The problem has been for months being able to borrow the stock in the first place. Just try getting a couple thousand shares - no way unless you've got better contacts than I (this is my profession BTW). The short interest that already exists in SCOX has dried up the stock available for borrowing and even when it goes to zero you haven't made all that much.
If you look at the charts, it looks like MANY people have been covering their short positions. That's the only reason I can figure that the stock price INCREASES after the bad/good news on the DC suit.
Looks to me like many of the shorts are now buying shares back to cover their short positions, and those swindlers at SCO are not really giving in to sell.
I simply recommend staying away from SCOX, it's really tough to outmanuver the stock swindlers on a company such as this. The company insiders and all the people on the SCOX insider phone-tree have been pumping up the share prices, selling back and then re-purchasing to manipulate the price. Simply stay away from these guys.... There's better money to be made somewhere else, and it doesn't tarnish your karma or expose you to the risks found here.
Well, the Financial Times has had two articles on this over the last couple of days. With a fairly pro-linux attitude, by the looks of it -- one of them starts like this:
A US judge yesterday dealt the controversial SCO Group a significant setback in its campaign to profit from Linux by throwing out much of the software company's lawsuit against DaimlerChrysler.
shenanigans!
proof: if you want to write a letter to Santa Claus, here's the address:
Santa Claus
North Pole
Canada
H0H 0H0
From:
www.the-north-pole.com/santamail.shtml
Basically, SCO want to hurry up and retire the A-1 stock (which gives BayStar a lot of say about how SCO runs the lawsuit and their business).
The SEC signed off on the deal, and SCO says "Ok. Here's your money and shares. You're now a commoner just like the rest of our stockholders."
Baystar: "I still have some questions about the SCOSource Licensing program... you're telling us one thing and doing another."
SCO: "Not Listening! TAKE THE STOCK AND MONEY! LA! LA! LA! (fingers in ears)"
Baystar: "Wait a second.. I have valid concerns, I haven't signed off on this yet.."
SCO: "Yes you have! You just own a ton of our stock now. Go away! We don't like you anymore"
People Talking in Movie shows.. people smoking in bed.. people voting republican.. GIVE THEM A BOOT TO THE HEAD!
There is no such thing as a non-existant word -- once you use it, it exists, and nothing can take it away. 'Misunderestimate' is a word (4,370 hits on Google) in much the same manner as 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'; it may be rare, but it has a definite meaning to a significant number of people.
We call it art because we have names for the things we understand.
In fact, there is a wired mag report on the evil twins behind the whole SCO story.
They cite it as "the new business modell for the new millenium", which is apparently to sue everyone for violating copyrights which doesn't belong to you, and then to wait for the scared little hacks to pay you nice sums, trying to avoid court proceedings.
But it seems that this nice new business modell is going to sink, crashing on the big blue iceberg...
yes and no.
at my local LUG we support Mandrake 10.0 only we have 1 guy specalized in KDE but most are used to and support Gnome. we will try to answer questions to newboes about other distros but we only officially support Mandrake 10.0 in it's standard config.
It's easy to do that also. tell your customer, we support you as the computer sit's right now, or with software disks you buy from us. anything else we will try to help but can not support it.
simple as that. if I run windows XP and install a windows desktop replacement like are floating around or nistall "windowshades" extensions to the computer that causes problems withthe standard computer Dell adn the likes will not support it.
why does linux have to play by different rules than the windows world? support the computer ONLY in it's current configureation or supported upgrades. anything else is $9.95 a minute with no guarentee of a solution.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The Santa Cruz Operation that was on the committee that specified ELF 1.2 with IBM, Novell, et al is still around and trading under the name Tarantella, and was indeed incorporated in Santa Cruz. The current SCO Group that has initiated all the lawsuits was also around trading under the name "Caldera Systems" at the same time. When SCO became Tarantella, Caldera acquired their rights to the "SCO" trademarks - the tree logo, the term "SCO", and their UNIX business/partnership with Novell.
I think it's going to be a no-brainer for IBM to blow the ELF claims out of the water. All they need is four bits of paper: SCO's incorporation, Caldera's incorporation, Caldera's acquiring of the "SCO" trademark and Caldera's official name change to The SCO Group. Line up the dates and it's all over; even if the current SCO had acquired the old SCO outright, they still can't arbitrarily revoke decisions made by their acquisition's directors. Aside from that being dangerously close to being a bait and switch, there is also the issue of the amount of time that passed from Caldera acquiring SCO. One of the reasons that the RIAA goes after copyright infringers with so much gusto is because they have to; if you fail to adequately defend your copyright then you are risking losing that copyright altogether. If SCO thinks it owns ELF, then why has it taken them so long to bring the matter up?
The answer of course is simple; SCO doesn't want the copyrights to ELF, although it probably wouldn't say no to them. What SCO wants is another delay in the case in order acquire more time to spread FUD and perform yet more legal shenannigans. Unfortunately no matter how good IBM's lawyers are they are going to get some of it at least.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
SCO says:
BayStar answers:
Belief is the currency of delusion.
The primary reason for the size of the English vocabulary (and why English is one of the most popular international languages) is that English is like the Borg: all new words are assimilated into the collective. When someone creates a new word, all it takes to be part of English is for people to use it. For that matter, English sucks in words from other languages continuously -- 'rendezvous' was originally from the French phrase 'rendez vous', for present yourself.
Compare and contrast that with French, where the Académie française dictates whether or not a word is allowed to be part of 'French', and it can take decades to approve of a new word. (BTW, Have the French decided what to call a computer yet?)
"A language is a dialect with an Army and a Navy."
-- attributed to Professor Max Weinreich
We call it art because we have names for the things we understand.