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Microsoft Buys OpenOffice.org

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the right-price dept.

Micahel West writes "As reported on OpenOffice.org: 'For an undisclosed sum but reputed to be in the billions, Microsoft's Bill Gates has personally bought the leading open-source desktop project. Saying he "was sick and tired of open-source eating away at his profits," the world's richest man decided to put an end to the nuisance and simply buy OpenOffice.org. It will form part of a growing list of Microsoft acquisitions including several erstwhile competitors, a considerable number of prominent politicians, and a few small governments.'"

8 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. That's getting a bit close... by clevershark · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It would have been funnier if this hadn't been exactly what Symantec did with Sygate (buy it to kill it)..

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    My sig is too lon

  2. OMG - Open Source is So Cute! by erbmjw · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ROFLMAO People are wondering why I am laughing so hard! Damn but they just don't get the point of April 1st.

  3. Honestly... by nmaster64 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...that's the most believable story I've read today...and there's something really sad about that fact...

    1. Re:Honestly... by bcmm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No it isn't believable. OpenOffice is GPL. It cannot be bought out because it's source is freely available, and because any modifications made are also GPL, so if the project theoretically could be bought, people could still have anything that came out of it free (both meanings).

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      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
      Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
  4. Yes!! by evil+agent · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Finally, maybe now those idiots at OpenOffice.org can finally get all of those MS files to work properly in their software. How many years have they been working on this and they still can't get it right. WTF have they been doing?

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  5. Enough already! by NtroP · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Hey guys, the whole idea of an April Fool's joke is that it's supposed to be believable. I would have bought the OpenSSH one if someone had posted a thoughtful article on a security page. Perhaps peppering enough clues to it's being a fake so that those "real" admins would know it was false because the exploit described was not plausible, while the "wannabies" spent their Saturday at work combing the net for the patch and filling up forums with "OMG, WTF?! I can't find a patch for my Ubuntu web server!"

    The saddest part is, this is the most believable story yet.

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    "terrorism" and "pedophilia" are the root passwords to the Constitution
  6. Re:April First Post by Over00 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    eh, at least today you know for sure that everything you read is BS. Every other day you have to figure it out yourself

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    yeah! Let's argue on the Internet...
  7. Re:April First Post by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As opposed to the other 364 when the internet is only "mostly useless?"