Slashdot Mirror
So What If Linux Infringes On Microsoft IP?
Mr Men writes to mention a ZDNet blog entry by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes wondering aloud if maybe, just maybe, Microsoft isn't lying about having patents that are part of Linux. "Come on, no matter how much of a Linux fan you are, you have to admit that there's at least a chance that Linux does indeed infringe on Microsoft's patents. After all, Microsoft does hold a lot of patents and while Linux is open source and we can all take a look at the source code, only Microsoft has access to most of its source code so it isn't all that difficult for it to prove — to itself at any rate — that there are IP infringements contained in Linux. After all, before IBM handed over some 500 patents to the open source community, it's pretty clear that Linux was infringing some of them. Given that, why is it so hard to believe that the same isn't going on with Microsoft?" Even then, he goes on to say, so what if they do? It's not like they're going to go after us with a 'Linux tax.' Kingsley-Hughes imagines that, for the most part, Microsoft is just going to sit on this info and use it to form more and more profitable deals. Better than the alternative, I guess.
Ummmm....Windows Server has a much higher market share in the total server market than Linux (paid Linux at least), just to let you know. Geeks downloading and running their servers on Debian or Slackware aren't exactly Microsoft's target market. In-fact, Microsoft recently outpaced Unix to become the top selling server OS, while Linux sits in spot 3. Last I heard, third place isn't exactly "domination".
All I'm saying is that I'm sick of the complaints from Europeans on how the US manages the Internet, how US businesses (notably, Microsoft, Boeing, VISA, MasterCard) are "too successful" in Europe, etc... when the reality of the matter is that the reason those companies are so successful is because Europe basically had no decent competition of its own. The EU is FINING these companies because the EU failed to compete with them. IMO, that's worse than anything Microsoft did to become a "convicted monopolist."
Europe doesn't have a successful OS because European businesses were totally asleep at the wheel when they should have been working. So now you don't really have much of a right to tell American businesses how to manage themselves, and you certainly shouldn't be fining them for YOUR mistakes. American businesses took the risks, and now they're reaping the benefits.
If Europe wants to seriously become a competitor in these industries, they'd stop fining VISA and make their own competing credit card company. And, who knows, maybe they'd even succeed. There's an effort there with Airbus, albeit an entirely misguided one. (Gee, which airliner will the airlines choose? The one that requires billions of dollars in airport renovations, or the one that fits easily on existing runways?)
(Disclaimers to prevent stupid replies: Yes I know the EU wasn't finalized when those companies industries were in their infancy, yes I know Linux made Linux in Europe, yada yada.)
Comment of the year