Ballmer on Linux

theodp writes "'In the Linux world, nobody stands behind patent claims,' warned Steve Ballmer, saying that Microsoft customers would be protected from the $550 million Eolas patent infringement judgment. 'I'm not trying to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt,' said the CEO of the company who earlier cried wolf about breaking IE in the wake of the Eolas judgment, prompting the W3C to go to bat for the software giant."

Comments

You Don't Say?!?

[ackthpt]

"I'm not trying to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt,' said the CEO of the company [Steve Ballmer]"

There's a first time for everything.

Re:You Don't Say?!?

[Yohahn]

He's trying the jedi mind trick:

"This fear, uncertainty and doubt isn't Fear uncertainty and doubt! There is nothing to see here. Be afraid, uncertain and doubt Free products." (waves hand)

Re:You Don't Say?!?

[RobertB-DC]

"I'm not trying to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt,' said the CEO of the company [Steve Ballmer]"
- There's a first time for everything.

Or maybe it's akin to the old Hee Haw skit:

Well, we're not the kind that go 'round spreading rumors,
Why really, we're just not the gossippy kind!
Oh, you'll never hear one of us repeating gossip.
So you'd better be sure and listen close the first time.

He's telling the truth. He's not spreading FUD. He's originating it.

Linux to Ballmer

[teamhasnoi]

"Please get off, you're crushing me, you sweaty bastard!"

"not trying to spread fud"

[Neil Blender]

"Here at Microsoft, we spread duf(TM)."

Is it just me or is this hilarious?

[GeekZilla]

Ballmer said that cutting back on the promised features at least allowed the company to announce a release date for the product, which was a "major accomplishment."

I am just speechless. I better sit down.

Loony toons

[RsG]

Well, according to SCO, Linux doesn't exist. And the headline for this story is "Ballmer on Linux". So I gotta wonder if he's about to have one of those Wile E Coyote moments where he's standing on nothing and gravity decides to assert itself? ;-)

IP ate my vision

[Armchair Dissident]

Ballmer wondered aloud why the content of his speech was not being captured and translated automatically, while also being synchronized with real-time video and a copy of his Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

Because the speech was encoded using WMA Digital Rights Management, restricting the delegates from recording his words except via an audio stream licensed from Microsoft. Extracting audio "snippets" was prohibited by the DRM software, which meant that reporters on radio could either stream his entire speech or none of it.

A separate license was required to decode the real-time audio, with royalties paid by-the-minute (even modern-day-techno-savy journo's don't want to pay to broadcast Ballmer looking like a monkey) to the owners of the audio-streaming technology, which in this case happened to be Microsoft.

Finally, the PowerPoint presentation was similarly protected by traditional copyright law (its binary), the DMCA (its digital transmission), and - if it's been XML exported with the latest Office - probably patent law as well.

Fired up

[commodoresloat]

"I'm as fired up now as I've ever been in 24 years at Microsoft," Ballmer said.

Eyewitnesses at the conference where Ballmer made this statement noted that he started running around the stage trying to rile up the crowd by shouting "Patent lawyers! Patent lawyers! Patent lawyers! Patent lawyers!"

Re:Who protects us from MS's patents?

[Gooba42]

So... if I scratch off the "Tab" label and make it the "Selection-Relocator" button I can still use it without violating the patent, right? They're either patenting the use of a button to do the job or they're not patenting anything enforceable. It might spawn a side business of re-labelled Linux keycaps. And does the double click patent apply to my trackball or only to mice? And what if I press the button instead of click it?