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Why Microsoft Won't List Claimed Patent Violations
BlueOni0n writes "Earlier today, Microsoft announced it will begin actively seeking reparations for claimed patent infringement by Linux and the open source community in general. One opinion on why Microsoft won't reveal these 235 alleged IP infringements to the public is that they're afraid of having the claims debunked or challenged — so instead they're waiting until the OS community comes to the bargaining table. But a more optimistic thought is that Microsoft may be afraid to list these supposed violations because it knows the patents can be worked around by the open source community, leaving Microsoft high and dry without any leverage at all."
MS likely has as many patent violations in its secret list as McCarthy had Communist names on his.
Ummm, you do know that at the time McCarthy made his accusations, there were Communists actively spying in the government, right?
Even if McCarthy was a nut, nuts can be right from time to time.
In my computer science department, every single person who has accepted a job offer has accepted with a company developing closed-source software that is sold either directly or indirectly (including Microsoft). Yet so many people on Slashdot rant and rave about how evil Microsoft is and how we should all support open-source projects done by people in their spare time. DO ANY OF YOU MAKE A LIVING DEVELOPING OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE? I'm sorry, but open-source software doesn't pay the bills. Sure, there are some who are paid by RedHat, Novell, etc., but really, you can't make a living with open-source software. So why do slashdotters support it so rabidly? Are there so many few slashdotters that actually earn a living developing software?
Microsoft hires people. Lots of people. So go on and support your free, open-source software done by people in their spare time. Kill off careers in software development.
it's also true (or alleged to be true)
Hell, forget the facts -- allegations are good enough for the typical slashtard.
Furthermore,
See above.
Perhaps, as in the case of SCO, MSFT would rather not have PJ at Groklaw dissect their claims...
Worthy claims can stand up to review. Worthy software can stand up to competition. Once again, M$ has nothing but judicial extortion. Their failure is at hand.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
PJ don't know #$#$%# about patent law and you don't know your &^$%^ from a hole in the ground.
it will be really easy to convince about 90% of the population that buying a computer with Microsoft inside is evil...
90% of the population wants nothing to do with Vista already. M$ is breaking XP, and a nice live CD like Mepis can seal the deal.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Seriously, Microsoft is getting ready to pull off their kid gloves, now. ... Get ready for the fight of your lives - this will make SCO look like yesterday's donuts.
They never wore kid gloves and have poured as much FUD as hard as they can from the very beginning. This is really their last ditch. When it fails, and it will, they have nothing left.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Yesterday there was a link to a story on this issue, followed by lots of discussion as to why Microsoft is doing what they are doing. Today there is an opinion piece regarding the original story, in which someone lays out unsubstantiated brainstorms, all of which were covered yesterday.
Microsoft won't reveal it's supposed patents. That's a fact worth searing a Slashdot summary. A casual reader may have missed it. The Fortune article was long and will dissapear but the astroturfers can not deny the fact while the article is up. This story will preserve that fact for people who may later not believe that such a company as M$ existed and could be so brazen.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I would expect they would be laughed out of the courtroom in the best case. At worst, this might be viewed as a thinly diguised extortion attempt.
Is there any other way of looking at this other then as extortion and theft? M$ is claiming ownership to code they had nothing to do with, have actively slandered and that's eating their lunch.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.