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openSUSE Hobbled By Microsoft Patents

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the or-at-least-disfigured dept.

kripkenstein writes "openSUSE 10.2 no longer enables ClearType (which would improve the appearance of fonts). The reason given on the openSUSE mailing list for not enabling it is, 'this feature is covered by several Microsoft patents and should not be activated in any default build of the library.' As reported on and discussed, this matter may be connected to the Microsoft-Novell deal. If so, Novell should have received a license for the Microsoft patents, assuming the deal covered all relevant patents. Does the license therefore extend only to SUSE, but not openSUSE?"

35 of 266 comments (clear)

  1. Prior art by Ph33r+th3+g(O)at · · Score: 5, Informative

    Steve Gibson pointed out decades-old prior art that would invalidate the Cleartype patent (if our patent system weren't corrupt) several years ago.

    --
    I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
    1. Re:Prior art by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Steve Gibson pointed out decades-old prior art that would invalidate the Cleartype patent several years ago.

      Indeed he did. Not that the idea itself merits a patent anyways. It is pretty obvious and shopuld not be patentable in the first place.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    2. Re:Prior art by 0123456789 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There's a difference between being able to find prior art for something, and being able to afford to go to court to defend yourself against a patent infringement lawsuit. Sadly, the gulf between the two positions is pretty wide. Maybe there should be an appeal process for patent awards? If you can show that a patent affects you in some way, and shouldn't have been granted for some reason (eg prior art), you could appeal against the patent award and attempt to get it rescinded in a quicker and cheaper process than a full-on court case?

    3. Re:Prior art by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The funny thing is I just installed OpenSUSE 10.2 alpha 3 and the fonts look better than ever; if this is how they look without cleartype, who needs it?

    4. Re:Prior art by pikine · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm afraid the decades-old Apple II and IBM PC is not prior art. Pixels are either on or off for Apple II and IBM PC's CGA displays, so they apparently don't (and can't) care too much about color fringing. Sub-pixel font rendering on LCD screen deals with 256 shades for each sub-pixel, and the emphasis is on how to adjust sub-pixel brightness to reduce color fringing.

      This is explained in Steve Gibson's Turning Theory into Practice. Sub-pixel font rendering is not the same as sub-pixels on CGA displays. The ideas are related, but the plumbing is different.

      Perhaps I'm misleading in saying that CGA is not prior art of ClearType. I haven't actually read the patents of ClearType, so I obviously cannot tell; I'm basing my claim solely on Steve's webpage alone.

      --
      I once had a signature.
    5. Re:Prior art by kobaz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I couldn't agree more.

      I've never found cleartype to be helpful either, I much rather not have cleartype as on every single display device I've enabled it on it looks like crap. I've tried it on high and low end crts and high and low end lcds, it all looks much better (and more readable) without cleartype.

      --

      The goal of computer science is to build something that will last at least until we've finished building it.
    6. Re:Prior art by tomz16 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Any time I've turned on cleartype on a fresh install of windows, my first impression has always been that it just made fonts look "blurrier", for lack of a better word.

      However, after using it for a day or two, turning it off is absolutely painful. IMHO, it really DOES make text MUCH easier to read on an LCD.

      -Tom

    7. Re:Prior art by AJWM · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Apple II didn't have a CGA. Colors were generated by dot-timing the luminance signal into an NTSC composite monitor (read, TV), faking out the color decoding in the monitor. Subpixel rendering was done by reversing that to choose the appropriate color to generate the desired dot timing. On a monochrome monitor these showed up as higher-resolution dots than the nominal pixels in display memory.

      Go look at the circuit diagram for an Apple II, for pete's sake. It's not that complicated, maybe a dozen or so 74-series chips plus the memory and CPU.

      Clear type uses exactly the same idea -- pick the color to activate the desired combination of R, G and/or B stripes in the LCD pixel -- i.e. activate the desired sequence of horizontal dots by color choice.

      --
      -- Alastair
  2. Novell is the Judas Goat. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think Novell has become an wholly owned subsidiary of MSFT and is being used for the express purpose of setting up precedents and creating more and more FUD. I have seen a version of anti-aliasing and sub-pixel addressing way back when in, of all places, grc.com.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Novell is the Judas Goat. by duncanmhor · · Score: 5, Informative

      Judas Goat - used at an abbatoir to lull animals into a false sense of security.

  3. Prior art? by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have not been to GRC.com for a long time, I quickly grabbed the URL and posted it here in another thread. Looks like that site cites a long list of prior art. Makes the OpenSUSE's decision even more suspect.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  4. Now it is clear by javilon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Novell is the new SCO

    --


    When his defense asked, "Which computer has Jon Johansen trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."
  5. anti-aliasing makes me need glasses by stokessd · · Score: 4, Informative

    That might be a good thing(tm). In many cases I prefer non anti-aliased fonts. I have a nice LCD with a DVI connection for a clear picture, then I'm supposed to fuzzy it up? Anti-aliasing lakes me think I need glasses in many cases.

    Sheldon

    1. Re:anti-aliasing makes me need glasses by mattr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      IIRC different displays may have different order of R,G,B component pixels which may require a reversed antialiasing pattern (as if the screen was flipped upside-down). Though the effect is subtle it also shows a red and/or blue fringe. Though that may not be what you are talking about.

    2. Re:anti-aliasing makes me need glasses by mashade · · Score: 3, Funny

      Who's Zed?

      Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead.

      [long live zee]

      --
      Technology tips and tricks.
  6. It's FreeType for a start! by DrMindWarp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is complete nonsense written by someone that is clearly clueless and forwarded by an editor that is equally clueless. This is a FreeType library setting for compiling programs (not ClearType!). It is the same for every Linux distribution as it is the default setting for the development library. It has never been enabled by default.

  7. Exactly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Cleartype is just sub-pixel AA which existed long before MS ever used it for font rendering. Bytecode type hinting is patented by (IIRC) Apple, it is usually disabled in Freetype and and an alternative (auto-hinting) method used instead.

    Apples and oranges, the bug reporter is confused or trolling.

  8. It's only the filtering by oergiR · · Score: 5, Informative

    AFAICT, subpixel rendering is not disabled, only the 5-tap filter that's supposed to reduce colour fringes. See http://www.grc.com/cttech.htm. Apparently this is one of the things Microsoft has patented, and I haven't seen any "prior art" for this specific technique. In my humble opinion disabling the filter is not much of a loss as it just makes fonts look fuzzier.

    1. Re:It's only the filtering by b0z0n3 · · Score: 5, Funny

      So, Microsoft has patented blurring text?

      I don't want to pay M$ everytime I have a couple of beers....

      --
      (write-line *coolsig*)
  9. Freetype library is GPL by mysidia · · Score: 3, Informative

    As a result, if you hold a license for a patent that is required to redistribute/sell Freetype (or any piece of software covered by the GPL), then, to comply with the GPL you have two options you must EITHER: (1) not distribute the software, OR (2) the patent license must permit anyone's free use

    The relevant GPL section is the preamble To prevent this, we have made it clear that any patent must be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all. , and under Section 7 of the GNU General Public License: For example, if a patent license would not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Program by all those who receive copies directly or indirectly through you, then the only way you could satisfy both it and this License would be to refrain entirely from distribution of the Program.

    This means for instance, that Novell would not be free to provide users of SuSE the benefit of a patent license to use a certain feature of a GPL'ed library or software program, and deny that feature to openSuSE users.

  10. Can we now use the GPL? by marcosdumay · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The GPL is very clear on one point: if you know your software infringes on some patent, you can't distribute it, even if you have a deal with the patent holder enabling you to do that*. Can Novell now be prosecuted? Is that code GPLed (it seems to be KDE, so it probably is)?

    * Unless that deal is extended to everybody that touches the code.

    --
    Rethinking email
  11. never so by Deternal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As far as I can read, it has never been enabled. It needs to be enabled at compile time, which the ansvar to the linked bug report clearly states by c&p of the relevant info from the FreeType lib.

    This is a complete non-issue and has been known for a while. It predates the Novell/MS agreement.

    1. Re:never so by oergiR · · Score: 5, Informative
      Mod parent up.

      The main developer of FreeType decided to disable the filter in September. The Novell deal was later and had nothing to do with this.

  12. Re:Well, that's it then. by Delkster · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Out of curiousity, do other major distributions enable this either? In other words, is this news at all?

    A page on the FreeType project site says:

    Finally, many Linux distributions seem to distribute a patched version of FreeType 2 with the bytecode interpreter activated, unlike to the sources we distribute.

    However, I've previously been under the impression that most distributions would ship at least without some features covered by patents. On the other hand, it's not only MS who owns patents that concern subpixel rendering, and I don't know who owns what, so that's why I'm left wondering if someone else actually knows.

  13. This is completely clean - by lmb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    openSUSE does not ship code which is known to infringe patents or IP, so the patents either get invalidated (lengthy and expensive) or the code disabled / removed. This policy is not affected by the NOVL/MSFT deal at all; quite the contrary, it has always been Novell/SUSE's policy to not ship such code.

    Just like openSUSE doesn't ship infringing Linux drivers, or Debian not shipping certain licenses.

    What the heck is the fuzz about?

    1. Re:This is completely clean - by metamatic · · Score: 3, Insightful

      openSUSE does not ship code which is known to infringe patents or IP

      Funny, my copy includes Mono.

      --
      GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
  14. This is what I like about Linux by GFree · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think this makes for a pretty good example of one of the strengths of something like Linux. If you find your distro moving into directions you don't like, you can leave pretty easily and try another distro. They're all Linux, just wrapped up differently, and so if a distro decides to pull some shit like this, they'll only be hurting themselves because there's no real lock-in to any one distribution.

    Microsoft are trying to cripple Linux using traditional methods, but all they can really cripple is openSUSE due to the Novell partnership. It's not like MS can take over EVERY SINGLE DISTRO, particularly the homegrown stuff. A good example of the power of choice I think.

    1. Re:This is what I like about Linux by Aequo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Do you have any examples of how openSUSE has been crippled by Microsoft? It has already been pointed out further up that this article was _clearly_ either written by someone trying to spread FUD or by someone who just isn't very knowledgable (subpixel hinting is a freetype setting that the freetype developers themselves suggest disabling for distros). It is quite funny to see so many people jumping on the bandwagon, attempting to find 'omgz evil' in Novell because they made a business deal with Microsoft; obviously a deal that turns out to have done them more bad than good in the eyes of the community.

  15. Clear-Type replacement by Kim0 · · Score: 4, Informative

    They could just use this replacement, which is not patented:
    http://oyhus.no/SubLCD.html

  16. the openSUSE team did the right thing by w_albright · · Score: 5, Insightful

    IMHO, they did the right thing. One of openSUSE's goals is to be completely open source software (hence the 'open' in 'openSUSE'). Even if they may have the right to use them due to the MS/Novell patent deal, they do not want the distro encumbered with non-OSS software in the default install. Fedora 7 also disables this feature.

    If you want a distro protected (encumbered) by MS patents, buy SUSE Enterprise.

  17. Novell - Just brilliant by HangingChad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It really doesn't matter if this is related to the patent deal with Microsoft or not. The damage is done by the mere perception that Novell is aligned with Redmond.

    This whole deal is to IT was Iraq is to foreign policy: A bad idea implemented without a clear exit strategy.

    Unless the goal was to drive users to Ubuntu. In that case it's a brilliant plan.

    --
    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
    1. Re:Novell - Just brilliant by bwalling · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The damage is done by the mere perception that Novell is aligned with Redmond.

      I won't disagree with that statement, but that's no excuse for this ridiculous story posted to Slashdot. For all of the griping around here about other companies' FUD, this is basically pure FUD itself. Alas, it's not an isolated case. It's too bad so many people read this site - it's a very poor source of information if you just scan the front page.

  18. Um, didn't Linux already fix this? by JetScootr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I seem to recall about 10 years ago font copyrights, etc, and the ClearType issue came up regarding Linux. The question then was whether it was OK to do *something* like this, or include fonts, etc, in OSS files and/or SW. Anyone remember the details?

    --
    Pavlov wouldn't be so famous if he'd used a can opener instead of a bell.
  19. Re:It is about precedents by twistedcubic · · Score: 5, Funny


    In my opinion, open/free Linux is still 5-10 years behind Windows and OSX in terms of desktop functionality ...

    Yeah, a friend of mine has a Windows 95 machine, and I tried it out recently. Man, I was BLOWN AWAY. I've been wasting productivity on my Gentoo and Ubuntu machines, when all this time Windows 95 just makes it much easier. I mean, it looks and functions better, and everything just works. My friend showed me how to take all my LaTeX files (100 or so) for my book, with all the revision history in Git, and convert it all to Microsoft Word. Wow! Productivity SQUARED! After watching my reaction, my firend slapped me on the head (really hard) and exclaimed, "It's the APPS, stupid!"

  20. Licenses. by miguel · · Score: 3, Informative

    Just to clarify the thesis of the post.

    Novell has not received any licenses to any patents, and neither has SUSE, nor OpenSUSE.

    The Microsoft-Novell agreement is about not suing customers over any potential patent infringement.

    Since OpenSUSE is a community effort, and it is used by people that might not be customers of Novell, removing code that is known to infringe on a patent is the correct thing to do (same policy applies to Mono).