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BayStar Sets Lawyers on SCO
myster0n writes "According to The Register: 'SCO's attempts to rescue its relationship with BayStar, its biggest backer, have come to naught. On Friday morning, Eastern time, SCO announced that the stock buyback deal it agreed with the unhappy investor had closed. Two hours and five minutes later, Baystar issued a statement saying that a) no it hadn't and b) we'll see you in court, matey.'" Thanks to The Reg for the write-up.
"Ha ha!" (Nelson)
so it should be "we'll see you in court, eh."
...I'd advise drawing from this is to avoid business relationships with either of these companies.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Looks like SCO is about to finally see the damage they cause when they burn bridges via litigation. The less "business partners" SCO has, the shorter their life expectancy, which doesn't seem to consist of more than suing everybody, will be.
It would be cool if it didn't suck.
is the following paragraph:
'SCO maintains that it has been a paragon of virtue and transparency throughout, and that everything it said publicly and privately is true. But, and this should come as no surprise, it won't had over the documents BayStar wants to see. It says this is to "protect the confidential and proprietary nature of the information" and to "avoid fostering speculation regardng its SCOsource business".'
Darl: Paragon of Virtue, Lifter of the Downtrodden, Scooper of the Pooper - He needs an action figure!!!!
The five minutes to draft their response, I can understand. What was the two hours for? Laughter, rage, a few more holes of golf?
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
This still doesn't represent any real threat to SCO because it is just a maneuver by BayStar to get the terms they want. SCO can't afford to have a protracted fracas with BayStar, so almost certainly there will be a settlement soon. This is all just pre-resolution chest thumping. S.O.P.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
....as SCO's stock skis ever downwards.
The Army reading list
as an attempt to shut down the SCO fiasco before any really harmful judgements are handed down that prevent further Microsoft-funded FUD against Linux.
Obviously there are regulatory hurdles on the way to Longhorn. Slowing Linux adoption is clearly in the best interests of Redmond, and sowing doubt through litigation is pretty much the only strategy they have left that will work.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
SCO??? Going to court? Impossible! That never happens.... go buy your lottery tickets today!
Proudly supporting the Libertarian Party.
It takes a big man to cry, it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man.
Jack Handey
Trolling is a art,
From the second article:
SCO maintains that it has been a paragon of virtue and transparency throughout
Maybe a paragon of Corporate Virtue and Transparency . . . an oxymoronic (or simply moronic) statement in itself. But most definitely that group has been anything BUT virtuous or transparent.
It is not OK just to copy and paste the article text in your article submission. You can say something like 'The Register writes " ..."' but you can't just take credit for it. And come on, Hemos, can't you RTFA before you post it?
I can't think of one offhand, even Microsoft by implication is their enemy, (if a friend of a friend is now an enemy of your friend, they are your enemy too, no?), congrats SCO you're probably now one of the most loathed companies in America. Lower than Microsoft, lower than Diebold, lower than the Nigerian Asset Transfer consortium that always wants my money, you get the picture...
...in bed
I see the vultures circling over...
And I bet there won't be too much rotting flesh left on that carcass when they're done feeding.
When those dueling press releases were issued friday July 23, 2004 only long time SCO2 watchers Stephen Shankland of Cnet "SCO, BayStar resume squabbling" and Eweeks Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols "BayStar Threatens to Sue SCO" reacted to the PR releases of SCO and Baystar (the later with a good double feature), joint by USA Todays Tech Investor "SCO says BayStar deal closed; BayStar disagrees".
7 26_0528 39.html
Today a second wave of Bad PR build up, starting with two refrubished Stephen Shankland
articles in Australia, followed by Tom's Hardware Guide noting that SCO2 is in a "FiaSCO - SCO's war on Open Source about to be fought on six fronts" (notice that this is the same side that debunked Darl's Naked German Shorts before the last conference call was over)
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20040
Next was Londons The Register to notice that "BayStar sets lawyers on SCO"
When daylight crossed the atlantic, SCO2 tried to build a dam agaist the wave of bad PR and issued two press releases at 8 o'clock US east cost time in a desperate move to cover the bad news at the top of their news heap, to scroll it off the screens like a Troll posting bogus messages. Let't get some popcorn and see if it holds.
You've got to wonder how much longer they can stand this abuse.
Looking at their quarterly income and cash flow statements, one can only draw one conclusion; SCO will be out of cash in roughly three to four quarters without a significant cash injection from an interested party.
Their stock price sucks, their product sucks, their management sucks, and they have NO customer good will. They have no prospects for income and roughly $60M in cash. At $12M+ losses per quarter, they will barely make it to the close of FY05.
I would hate to work there.
"Rocky Rococo, at your cervix!"
BayStar ABSOLUTELY MUST do this! Otherwise, IBM and the others will be able to get the information about the link to Microsoft (read the Halloween Memos if you don't know what I'm talking about). They ONLY way to keep that information secret (and protect Bill) is to get it wrapped up in a lawsuit with "confidential" terms and a confidentiality agreement.
This has NOTHING to do with getting back the money they were instructed to channel to SCO.
So while we are all sitting around laughing at SCOX Baystar is definitely pulling a fast one to COVER THEIR investor's ASS(ETS).
This article is missing the foot icon, as it was the first one today that made me laugh.
SCO not only just killed themselves, but they ensured a VERY steep decline. Baystar did this just right, issuing a press release on a Thursday. It ensures a huge drop today.
Since its founding in 1998, BayStar has never before sent a letter to a company seeking its money back, as it has with SCO.
SCO's stock price, which fell 38 cents yesterday to $6.80 a share, has dropped 30 percent since last Thursday, the day BayStar sent its redemption letter.
"Keep riding" for those that got on early.
Wouldn't it be great if Google went took some of that IPO money and ended this whole fiaSCO? Google is one if not the biggest Linux house there is. With SCO's stock price down it would chump change for google.
Google... Buyout SCO and release all UNIX IP to the public!
Zoid.com
I believe that deep in my heart I am a calm and balanced person but it is amazing how angry this whole thing makes me. It really scares me how satisfiying it is to see them get what they deserve. SCO really did a great job in getting all the worst feelings from the techcommunity.
"myster0n writes 'SCO's attempts to rescue its relationship with BayStar, its biggest backer, have come to naught. On Friday morning, Eastern time, SCO announced that the stock buyback deal it agreed with the unhappy investor had closed. Two hours and five minutes later, Baystar issued a statement saying that a) no it hadn't and b) we'll see you in court, matey.'"
Nope, The Register writes.
If you're going to plagiarize, at least try to make it a little less obvious than a cut-and-paste of the article's opening paragraph.
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
I see we're now in the "SCO becomes laughing stock of the IT industry" part. In fact, I think we're about to enter the "SCO shareholders gather to file a class-action lawsuit against Darl and his clique" part.
Maybe we deserve this world ?
Really given SCO's history of statements, does this come as surprise to BayStar?
It's sorta like on Springer when a wronged boyfiend/girlfriend/spouse comes on to complain how their partner has cheated on them. It's ironic though if the guilty party says something like "Babe, how do you think we met? I was cheating on so and so with you! Babe, you knew how I was before we started dating."
I pray that Darl doesn't wind up on Springer wearing a wife-beater. The usual pattern is that by the end of the show he's stripped down to nothing. [shudders]
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
If you lie down with dogs, you might wake up with fleas.
--
$tar -xvf
This is more or less standard in business. We don't hear about it most times because most cases of this nature are not high profile. It is posturing. SCO is a big old machine that's at the end of it life; everything is shaking, and soon it will just fall apart.
And this is exaclty why the suit will never happen, BayStar knows that in the end, with a law suit they will only help bring down SCO before they get any money at all. The threat of a law suit (and that's all it is right now) is BayStar's way of saying "look here, SCO, do what we want or else". In the end, it will probably work.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
I don't believe SCO has any UNIX 'IP' to be released anyway.
---
We spoke for about a half an hour. I don't recall a thing we said. - Colorblind James Experience
"You two, fight to the death." -- Stewie
SCO can't afford to have a protracted fracas with BayStar
Really? Just wait, I read somewhere that Microsoft is going to need some Unix(tm)(r)(patent pending) technology to replace all those open source parts of Microsoft(r) Services For Unix(r). I'm pretty sure Microsoft is not going to mind if the price is a little bit higher than the going rate.
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
Perhaps BayStar just plans to acquire SCO (and thereby its claims to Unix rights) so that they can pursue the rest of us more effectively ?
FYI, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is the Canadian investor you're thinking of. They originally bought in for $30 million, while Baystar's stake was $20 million. RBC sold their stake to Baystar for a substantial loss.
Here's a link to a ZDnet article about RBC fleeing the SCO fiasco.
When you fight a war with sharks keeping the waters clear for you, you have to beware of when the sharks decide that you are a better meal than the scum you're letting float by.
My reality check bounced.
Well, as a Canadian who lives in Toronto (one of the country's largest population centres), I haven't heard ANYONE say 'aboot', EVER, except when quoting South Park. 'Eh?' plenty of times, and I even catch myself saying it once in a while, but 'aboot' never. Perhaps the Newfies say it that way, but I'd want a Newfie to confirm it. Have you ever travelled in Canada and heard 'aboot' yourself, or had someone you know directly (not a friend-of-a-friend) tell you they heard it?
I grew up in Maine. Plenty of visiting Nova Scotians said "aboot". We have one at work here who says it.
rage, rage against the dying of the light
Ignore SCO? Not so soon, bucko.
SCO still has considerable cash, though it's a finite sum. They will continue to find ways to trim the budget. The expenditures earmarked to prosecute the DaimlerChrysler suit are now lessened and money budgeted for it can either be funnelled to the other suits or to their regular operating expenses.
As Steven Vaughn-Nichols pointed out last week, this show ain't over. The fat lady may be rehearsing but she's not even been asked to step into the amphitheatre, let alone sing.
What SCO had coming... on my stapler ;)
is a distant echo of a toilet flush and the water swirling around the drain...
It is not in Microsoft's interests to buy SCO. When SCO's lawsuit crashes and burns (it will take a while but it is inevitable), SCO will become a HUGE liability. IBM, RedHat, Novell, as well as any other Linux company, could then go after Microsoft for damages and put a significant dent in their $50 billion warchest. That is why Microsoft want to keep SCO at arm's length and downplay its involvement in the scam.
___
If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
Anyone who believes that Baystar is SCO's biggest backer is forgetting about a little company in Redmond.
The things that SCO is doing are blatantly suicidal and correspond in time with activity on the part of others, such as Ken Brown. I'm not a big conspiracy theorist, but give me a break. I'd be willing to bet my balls that Microsoft is funding not only SCO, but also all the other groups that have all of a sudden started attacking Linux and open source in general.
They may not be alone either. The other player that I suspect is Sun. Linux has hit them FAR harder than it has Microsoft. For the most part Microsoft has limited the ability of Windows to penetrate the server market, at least without becoming a much better product. Sun on the other hand, has directly lost market share to Linux, and not just a little bit either.
Ever find it funny how SCO went out of their way to declare that Solaris was "ok?" This was said in multiple PR notices. This makes me very suspicious of Sun. They have a LOT more to lose than Microsoft does. Their bread and butter is the server room, not the secretary's desktop, and that is exactly where Linux is kicking butt and taking names. This isn't just a matter of Solaris vs. Linux either. Its a matter of Linux on commodity hardware vs. Solaris on fabulously expensive proprietary hardware. Sun is behind the eight-ball in both regards. When Sun wants 100k for a quad processor system when you can easily buy an far faster Opteron based quad processor system for 1/5th the price, it makes you wonder what it is that Sun is smoking and why they haven't passed the bong.
I personally think that Sun is toast. If all they sold was an OS, then things wouldn't be so bad for them. But as it is they are stuck having to field both an OS AND the hardware it runs on. This isn't something that a struggling company can do well.
Muslim community leaders warn of backlash from tomorrow morning's terrorist attack.
Sco keeps on making press releases in order to keep their stock price up but they they are still free falling Scox on NYSE in the lower part you can see 2 press releases this morning.
This is totally insecure, but very convenient.
of the Register you're seeing. :-D
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
Bwaaaaaa haaaaaa haaaa haaa haaaa
I love the smell of corporate litigation in the morning.
I wonder what the epitaph will read?
Here lies SCO
I wonder why
They had to hire
that bastard guy.
A note to all
who pass them by
Their last words
"Why did we even try...."
INSERT INTO comment VALUE('Doh!') WHERE user='you';
Remember that SCOX has an announced stock buyback plan. So the support is, we have to assume, by SCO itself, spending its own money to keep the stock price up. Unsuccessfully. Support at $4 will probably be about as successful as the previous support attempts at $15, $10, and $5.
Well, as a Canadian who lives in Toronto (one of the country's largest population centres), I haven't heard ANYONE say 'aboot', EVER
:)
Yes you have, you just didn't realize it because the difference isn't as pronounced as the parady in the South Park movie. I too, used to think it was just an old wive's tale, and that the pronounciation was identical, but a couple of months ago, there was a special on CBC called "Talking Canadian," which examined the regional dialects, inflections, and differences in our language.
They demonstrated the slightly different pronounciation of several words, most famously, "about." Like you, I used to think that the joke was that Canadians said "aboot", as in, "look at my foot, I'm wearing a boot." Since I personally don't pronounce it that way, and have never heard anyone else say it like that, I thought it was just a myth. But in fact, we do pronounce it differently than USAmericans, just not that strongly. If you listen, you can hear it.
Canadians pronounce it as "a-bout," like a wrestling "bout". Think of how you'd say, "I'm going out." That's the sound Canadians (and me too, I realized" employ when we way "about." I incorrectly assumed that that was how USAmericans say it, too. But the CBC special opened my eyes, and now I notice it when watching USAmerican media, too. They don't say it like we do. They say it like "a-bowt." The sound is more like we'd say if we stubbed our toe: "Ow!" Say it to yourself, "Today, the US President talked abowt the upcoming election..." Doesn't it sound surprisingly accurate?
There were other fascinating differences they highlighted, too. Like "stocking/stalking." Canadians pronounce them identically, but USAmericans put more of an "aw" sound in "stalking" than they do in "stocking." It was a pretty cool special.
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
It looks like the people who were buying into this whole traveshamockery are starting to wake up. If this keeps up, it looks like SCOX will be in the toilet by the end of the year. The sooner this is all over the better.
That baystar and RBC haven't been sued by their stockholders for not doing their due diligence. I mean, come on. I don't know if baystar is publicly traded or not but I'd be surprised of RBC wasn't.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
That's exactly what it means. Your potential gain is limited to $1,000,000. Shares of a pubically traded company can't go below zero, so that's the mathematical limit of your gain. On the other hand, if SCO wins their lawsuit and the price skyrockets (unlikely I admit), your potential liability is limitless. Obviously, when we're talking about gain/loss, we're talking fractional, like your investment went up 10%. Of course you could make more by simply investing more, but when people talk about limited gain, we're not talking about investing a different amount of principal.
To sum up: Normal stock = loss limited to principal, unlimited potential, as stock can only go to zero but can go up arbitrarily. Shorting = exact opposite. If the stock goes up a ton, you have to buy enough shares to cover your position.
We Canadians say "about". It's Americans who say "abaht"
What is the robbing of a bank, compared to the founding of a bank? -- Bertolt Brecht
"Julian, what the fuck is all this Starbay and stuff about? Sounds fuckin stupid to me."
...
"Don't worry about it Ricky, it has to do with the Internet."
"The what?"
"The Internet, Ricky. You know, the Internet?"
"Where the FUCK is Corey and Trevor? I told those fuckin idiots to be back here an hour ago. My fuckin weed plants need to be guarded and the cats have all run away. Fuckin idiots."
"Ahh fuck, here comes Lahey. Who the FUCK is that in the car with him? That's not Randy."
"Hello, gentlemen. My name is Darl. Apparently you are using linux here in the trailer park, and I want to talk to you about our intellectual property rights, and how they might be applicable to you."
"What the fuck is he saying, Julian?"
"I dunno, Ricky. Bubbles?"
"No fuckin idea, but I don't like the looks of him."
"Me neither, Bubs. Ricky, you have permission to do whatever you want to this sheister."
"You fuckin heard the man, Darl. Julian said."
WHAMMO!!
"How's that for pintoflectual flights!!"
or better... "I'm Rick James, bitch!!!"
Other enhancements to the SCO OpenServer 5.0.7 update include:
Mozilla Web browser 1.6 adds new features including tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, and PDF support
User-Level threads increases application availability
Squid Web Proxy Cache 2.5STABLE5 with expanded authentication schemes, optimizes searching, SSL gatewaying, and more
DVD/CD recording and enhanced printer support
Perl 5.8.4
Supplemental graphics, Web and X11 libraries
Apache HTTP Server 1.3.31
OpenSSH 3.8p1
BIND 8.4.4
They were using Microsoft Word to write the briefs.
Clippy kept popping up with things like "It looks like you're preparing to sue one of Microsoft's business partners, are you sure you don't want to reconsider" and escalating to "You are making Uncle Bill VERY unhappy."
It finally crashed and sent an "Error Report" with the full text to Microsoft headquarters.
In the end they just installed OpenOffice and finished.
Most of the two hours was downloading the OpenOffice install.
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
Shit, forgot to use linebreaks like a retard...
....
In A.D. 2004
War was beginning.
BayStar: What happen ?
Investor: Somebody set up us the SCO shares.
BayStar's Lawyer: We get phone call.
BayStar: What !
BayStar's Lawyer: Main phone turn on.
BayStar: It's You !!
Darl: How are you gentlemen !!
Darl: All your share are belong to us.
Darl: You are on the way to bankruptcy.
BayStar: What you say !!
Darl: You have no chance to survive make your trade.
Darl: HA HA HA HA
BayStar: Take off every lawsuit !!
BayStar: You know what you doing.
BayStar: Move lawsuit.
BayStar: For great justice.
1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d
The effects of an outright SCO win would be devastating to the (at least the US) economy. These are the questions to be asking, and potentially planning for.
I see. And what (exactly) are your contingency plans for when monkeys fly out of your butt?
You did say that everybody need contingency plans. Please share yours with the group; I for one am extremely interested.
How about if it starts raining cows tomorrow? Not just a couple, but thousands and thousands of cows in the span of a few minutes.
Surely you have a contingency plan for that too, right?
Check out this InternetNews article for more background information on the BayStar - SCO lawsuit.