SCO Terminates Darl McBride

bpechter writes "Linux Today reports SCO has terminated Darl McBride and linked to the SCO 8K SEC report. The report found also at the SCO site and states: 'the Company has eliminated the Chief Executive Officer and President positions and consequently terminated Darl McBride.'"

Comments

See ya!

[fataugie]

Don't let the door hit you in the ass!

Sucka

Re:See ya!

[Penguinisto]

I doubt he'll cry too much over it. His little stock kiting scam has made him somewhat independently wealthy, and barring a lawsuit, I doubt he'll have to give the money back.

OTOH, I doubt that no one in the tech industry (save for maybe Microsoft) would ever hire him for anything.

(the Linux Foundation could maybe use a janitor, but...)

Re:See ya!

[couchslug]

"OTOH, I doubt that no one in the tech industry (save for maybe Microsoft) would ever hire him for anything." ....except to repeat his SCO adventures with another expendable company.

Re:See ya!

[MightyMartian]

Don't let the door hit you in the ass!

I think they've already sold the door.

Sucka

He's received millions in compensation during this whole pump-and-dump scam. I'm sure he's crying all the way to the bank.

Re:See ya!

[oldspewey]

Guys like this always pop up again somewhere. We have not seen the last of Darl McBride's assholery ... not by a long shot.

Re:See ya!

[earnest murderer]

Or anyone wanting a CEO who would do anything to keep their stock prices up in their failing business.

Re:See ya!

[shadow349]

Remember at the end of the first Star Wars when Luke is jamming down the trench with Vader and his crew looking to bust a cap in his ass but Solo lays the smack down and Vader gets bitch slapped and they blow up the Death Star and they cut back to Vader recovering from a triple lutz doing a "WTF"?

Darl = Darth

Hope that clears it up for you.

Re:See ya!

[mcgrew]

(the Linux Foundation could maybe use a janitor, but...)

I think they'd be fools to hire him as a janitor. Think of all the mischief a sociopathic janitor could cause.

Re:See ya!

[ehaggis]

Guys like this always pop up again somewhere

I'm thinking "Celebrity Apprentice" or some other pseudo-celebrity reality show.

Re:See ya!

[stfvon007]

Id hire him in a second if i was a major software company in a big building. He could be the window washer on the side of the building where people throw pennies off the roof. Of course the elevator control system will run linux and the $699 license fee will come out of his (minimum wage) pay. Also the pennies thrown off the side count as tips! :D

Re:See ya!

[david_thornley]

Darth Vader intelligent? He accepted the Darth Vader job shortly after killing his predecessor at the order of his new boss. The retirement plan was not only very bad, it was potentially very early.

Re:See ya!

[Grog6]

"(the Linux Foundation could maybe use a janitor, but...)"

There's a good reason to take a dump in the Floor!

"Darl, could you get that for me?"

Not to mention the hazing part during the interview... :)

If I posted this on GL I'd get banned; I love /.

Could I possibly be the first...

[hcpxvi]

... to say Hahahahaha?

"terminates"

[the_fat_kid]

I don't think that word means what I want it to...

Re:"terminates"

[mcgrew]

I'm disappointed too, I thought maybe he met the governor of California.

That's a bit harsh

[TechyImmigrant]

>SCO has terminated Darl McBride

That's a bit harsh. Couldn't they just have fired him?

Re:That's a bit harsh

[selven]

Can't fire him - he's inflammable.

Re:That's a bit harsh

[rhizome]

That's a bit harsh. Couldn't they just have fired him?

You cannot fire that which does not work.

Re:That's a bit harsh

[furby076]

You cannot fire that which does not work.

That's not what your boss will say when he finds out you were on /. instead of working.

Re:That's a bit harsh

[JerkBoB]

<dr. nick>Inflammable means flammable?!? What a country!</dr. nick>

Re:That's a bit harsh

[copponex]

What happens when I tell your mom that your room isn't clean? Time to look for a new basement!

Re:That's a bit harsh

[mindcorrosive]

Nuke him from orbit - it's the only way to be sure.

Re:That's a bit harsh

[furby076]

She'll come and clean it? WTH you doing talking to my mommy?

Re:That's a bit harsh

[krelian]

Strange. I always thought he was a giant fart.

Re:That's a bit harsh

[HydroPhonic]

Flammable means burnable Inflammable means ignitable For example, magnesium is flammable, but not very inflammable....

Dang... only fired.

[Kenja]

"terminated" can mean so many more interesting things.

Big deal

[Bruce Perens]

The guy gave us grief for years and no doubt socked away millions on what he got from kiting their stock. He and Ralph Yarro (the owner) get away scott free, and let's not forget that besides the money there are the two suicides connected with this case: Val Kreidl Noorda and Rob Penrose.

Re:Big deal

[Penguinisto]

Agreed. Call me when the shareholder lawsuit gets filed (if ever).

Re:Big deal

[Jailbrekr]

Further to that, now that he's no longer at SCO, no one knows where he is going to land. Now that he has a taste for FOSS blood, he might end up at another company whose sole business model is litigation.

Re:Big deal

[GPLDAN]

From: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-19229004_ITM

Val Noorda Kreidel, Ray Noorda's only daughter, shot herself to death at her home in Huntington Beach, California at 8am last Thursday morning, March 17, according to Orange County supervising deputy coroner Cullen Ellingburgh.

She shot herself in the head with a handgun, Ellingburgh said. He ruled out murder.
Ms. Kreidel committed suicide less than a week after the fracas over the management of the Canopy Group, her father's venture capital operation, was settled.

She was 49 and leaves a husband, four daughters and a son in addition to her parents and brothers.

The settlement transferred Canopy's 32% position in the infamous SCO Group and an undisclosed amount of money to former Canopy CEO Ralph Yarro. The Yahoo message board related to SCO's stock wasn't content with the initial report that Ms. Kriedel died of an apparent heart attack and placed calls to the coroner that tore away the protective euphemism.

Given Ms. Kriedel's conservative Mormon roots, one can understand why the family might be giving it out that she died of natural causes.

Re:Big deal

[Bruce Perens]

Call me when the SEC goes after them. I won't hold my breath.

Re:Big deal

[spun]

Oh, Bruce. Vicious, semi-legal, fraudulent, knock down drag out competition is the cornerstone of capitalism. Why, if CEOs do not try every ruthless, amoral strategy they can think up, they aren't competing. Without competition, the fat lazy companies take over the business ecosystem. If companies did not try to take advantage of every customer, supplier, and worker, those customers, suppliers, and workers would take advantage of them, or worse yet, everyone would get a fair deal. And if everyone got a fair deal, the strong would not succeed and the weak would not fail, and that would weaken the gene pool.

See, by relentlessly screwing us over, people like Darrell are improving the species.

Re:Big deal

[EvilNTUser]

Better not go swimming then.

Re:Big deal

[QuantumRiff]

Bank Of America seems to have an opening for a CEO that likes to really mess up the company they run. Darl would be perfect!

Re:Big deal

[DoofusOfDeath]

Given Ms. Kriedel's conservative Mormon roots, one can understand why the family might be giving it out that she died of natural causes.

I assume you're point is that suicide is considered an unforgivable sin in Mormonism?

If so, and if they really believed it, I would expect them to be far more worried about their daughter's eternal fate, than what the community thought.

Re:Big deal

[ConceptJunkie]

Those two things are not mutually exclusive. If I had a child who committed suicide, I'd be disinclined to share that information.

Regarding suicide being a sin, it's a touchy subject though because many, if not most, people who commit suicide are mentally ill or are suffering from other mitigating circumstances. I can't speak for Mormon theology, but as a Catholic, we can pray for the repose of that person's soul. We cannot and do not judge the disposition of that person's soul. Personally, I trust in the mercy of God and that whatever He does is just. There's not much else you can do.

Re:Big deal

[CorporateSuit]

Mormon theology is one of the most lenient when it comes to suicide. The person who died gets full burial rights and it's believed that if the dead was not 100% in control of their mental faculties (i.e. schizophrenia, drug side effects, clinical depression, etc), then they won't be held accountable for that act when the judgement day comes. Since no one knows but the dead and God if that was the case, then the church assumes the person was spiritually innocent and treats their service and their family as if it were natural causes, letting the judgement fall completely on the other side.

Re:Big deal

[spun]

Vicious, semi-legal, fraudulent, knock down drag out competition is the cornerstone of capitalism.

Not if you want to stay in business for the long haul.

How did this not get a single flame mod?

Because everyone knows I'm right. Show me one business that has been around 'for the long haul' that does not have at least one black mark of this type on it's record, and I'll back down.

People are sick and tired of this kind of capitalism. They see it on Wall Street every day. They see it destroying America, and they hate it. So no, nobody feels like I'm flaming anything. Just telling the hard truth. Most Americans are moral people. Most CEOs aren't, and people are tired of Wall Street Fat Cats getting respect they don't deserve.

I'm not badmouthing capitalism in general here, just the utter lack of morals it encourages. Amoral behavior is not okay, and America will no longer accept it from our business leaders.

Re:Big deal

[ConceptJunkie]

Makes sense to me, but why should I trust a "CorporateSuit"? ;-)

Re:Big deal

[dissy]

America will no longer accept it from our business leaders.

For how long?

Until the next season of TV starts up in about a month :{

Re:Big deal

[spun]

America will no longer accept it from our business leaders.

For how long?

How long does it take a generation to forget a major recession? Five years? Ten?

How long did it take to make it okay to say, 'greed is good,' in public? Back in the 50s and 60s, it was not okay to say that. CEOs and other corporate fat cats could not flaunt their amorality. They had to at least pay lip service to being good community members.

If I recall, greed started being 'good' in the eighties, at least according to Gordon Gekko. I don't think the majority of people think it is anymore. Maybe we can hold better values than greed in high esteem again, things like cooperation, fairness, reciprocity, service, and selflessness.

Maybe we shouldn't be playing the sociopath's game if we aren't sociopaths. They will always win that game.

Re:Big deal

[Bruce Perens]

It was only a decade between Michael Milken and Enron. And look how many kudos Milken gets for his philantrophy these days. 6 months in jail and they didn't take his money away.

Re:Big deal

[MBGMorden]

Catholicism has a belief in purgatory though, which most Protestant denominations do not believe in.

Personally, having been raised Baptist, it was taught that suicide was pretty much a straight ticket to hell with no redemption, period. Reason I was always given was that "Sin cannot enter into heaven.", and that killing yourself was a big enough sin that you would have to ask for forgiveness before entering heaven, but given your death in the act you never would have a chance to repent for that sin.

Being the inquisitive little brat that I was I did bring up the issue that maybe if you jumped off a bridge you might have a change of heart and repent for it on the way down, or maybe if you hung yourself you might do the same and repent before you passed out/died, and my elders begrudgingly said that if that happened then yes, you could still go to heaven. I don't think they liked that line of questioning though :).

However any case of you shooting yourself in the head (ie, anything immediately fatal) was definitely a 1 way ticket according to them.

Re:Big deal

[Quothz]

Show me one business that has been around 'for the long haul' that does not have at least one black mark of this type on it's record, and I'll back down.

Lego. Zippo. They're out there, although few and far between: Small companies that actually make things and aren't cutthroat because they're the best at what they do, that live on reputations of quality--real quality, not the word "quality". And more often than not, they end up selling out to huge conglomerates that either wisely let them do their thing in peace (Ben & Jerry's), or milk their reputation while letting them rot (Singer). But there are a (very) few out there that stay independent and manage to not be evil without it being a marketing strategy.

Re:Big deal

[spun]

People do not act like this in every system. Systems impact how people act. There will always be selfish people in any system, true. But systems that cater to and reward selfish behavior, that don't allow people to punish unfairness, will create more selfishness.

While your suggestions as to how to correct things are astute, you seem to be denying the impact that economic systems can have on people's behavior. You may want to read up on modern economic theory. Economic systems can make a huge difference in whether people play fair or not. Look up various games theory experiments, the dictator game, the public goods game, the ultimatum game. Or google, 'fairness reciprocity economic research.' It turns out that, counter to your assertion, people are not primarily selfish or self interested. They are far more motivated by notions of fairness and reciprocity. Only when they have no power to punish unfairness in others do most people resort to selfishness, to avoid being taken advantage of.

Re:Big deal

[danaris]

Catholicism has a belief in purgatory though, which most Protestant denominations do not believe in.

That's because the Pope made it up some time in the Middle Ages as a fundraising tool.

Dan Aris

Re:Big deal

[pyrr]

Indulgences were the fundraising tool, the notion of Purgatory simply created the demand. Johann Tetzel even came up with a witty slogan, translated from German, it went something like, "Every time a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs!".

This very act of blatant corruption is purportedly what motivated Martin Luther to post his theses on the church door, and later led to the schism. So naturally Protestants would wish to distance themselves from the things the movement's founder was protesting.

Re:Big deal

[Thanar]

Your history is flat out wrong. Belief in purgatory is well substantiated among Christians in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries, long before the Middle Ages, citing the scriptural basis for it in 1 Cor 3:10-15: "If a man departs this life with lighter faults, he is condemned to fire which burns away the lighter materials, and prepares the soul for the kingdom of God, where nothing defiled may enter. For if on the foundation of Christ you have built not only gold and silver and precious stones (I Cor., 3); but also wood and hay and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall be separated from the body? Would you enter into heaven with your wood and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on account of these hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for your gold and silver and precious stones? Neither is this just. It remains then that you be committed to the fire which will burn the light materials; for our God to those who can comprehend heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes not the creature, but what the creature has himself built, wood, and hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great works." (Origen, Patres Groeci. XIII, col. 445, 448, 185-232 A.D.) "Accordingly the believer, through great discipline, divesting himself of the passions, passes to the mansion which is better than the former one, viz., to the greatest torment, taking with him the characteristic of repentance from the sins he has committed after baptism. He is tortured then still more--not yet or not quite attaining what he sees others to have acquired. Besides, he is also ashamed of his transgressions. The greatest torments, indeed, are assigned to the believer. For God's righteousness is good, and His goodness is righteous. And though the punishments cease in the course of the completion of the expiation and purification of each one, yet those have very great and permanent grief who are found worthy of the other fold, on account of not being along with those that have been glorified through righteousness." (Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, 6:14, ~180-210 A.D.)

TERMINATION

[gbarules2999]

He'll be back.

A lot of newer slashbots won't know of him

[BadAnalogyGuy]

For some background, Darl McBride was the CEO who saw the Linux company SCO through some of the hardest times the company ever went through. As CEO, McBride redefined SCO so as to make it one of the most talked-about computer companies ever. His leadership pushed the SCO reputation to limits most companies never reach.

SCO is a company for the history books nowadays, but just a few years ago it was one of the most influential companies around, garnering interest and vile from MS and a host of Linux vendors. They will be missed.

Re:A lot of newer slashbots won't know of him

[Gruturo]

They will be missed.

Just keep firing.

Re:A lot of newer slashbots won't know of him

[furby076]

Darl called. He wants to thank you for this verbiage will be utilized in his resume'.

Once he puts it down on his resume' he is going to sue you for copyright infringement.

Best publicist EVAR

[Captain Spam]

Wait, they fired the best publicist in the history of the company, perhaps one of the best in the history of the tech industry? Why on EARTH would they do that? Now they've got nothing left!

Or have I just been brainwashed by the "no such thing as bad publicity" crowd?

Re:Best publicist EVAR

[Archangel Michael]

I don't know about that. I kinda lean towards the Former Iraqi Information Minister, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf (AKA Baghdad Bob)

Did the Gun Help?

[dcollins]

"Darl McBride, chief executive of SCO Group Inc., says he sometimes carries a gun because his enemies are out to kill him. He checks into hotels under assumed names. An armed body guard protected him at Harvard Law School when he gave a speech last month."

So, did he ever get use that gun against the people who terminated him, I wonder?

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,595047068,00.html?pg=1

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[Dan667]

fitting punishment for all mcbrides misdeeds is for him to live in paranoia. Hope he suffers relentlessly. Even funnier is that I expect nobody likes him, but no one is actually out to hurt him physically.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[s-whs]

> "An armed body guard protected him at Harvard Law School when he gave a speech last month."

> So, did he ever get use that gun against the people who terminated him, I wonder?

I wonder more why anyone at Harvard law school would invite, and even listen to him?

Yes, it is of course just part of the wonders of modern society, where a sociopath can keep on messing up society via influential positions he gets via friends (i.e. fellow sociopaths). Isn't it great?

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[Nursie]

He tried to appropriate the hard work of the community, scam people and organisations out of protection^H^H^H^H license money and sully the name of FOSS in general. All the while raking in money hand over fist and obstructing the legal process at every turn.

I very much doubt he needs to fear for his own safety, but yes, he is actually a first degree asshole.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[MightyMartian]

There was about a year where SCO loomed as a very large threat. So yes, there was a time when McBride deserved the ill will he received not just here, but in many places. After it became clear that SCO literally had nothing at all, it became more of a joke. Now it's just kind of pathetic to watch as the whole thing implodes, so I certainly could care less what happened to him. If I were a shareholder, however...

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[TheRaven64]

For all everyone's complaining here, did he really do anything that negatively impacted your lives?

No, but neither did any of those involved in the Rwandan genocide. One of the things about being a part of a society is that you are allowed to care about things that don't directly affect you personally.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[linuxguy]

Interesting. Its not very common for me to run into a Darl McBride sympathizer. The man after all is one of the worst scums the Linux community has ever encountered. He probably is the most hated man in technology. And you don't attain that title for just causing some uncertainty in the market.

The man lied and continued to lie for years. Filed frivolous lawsuits and dragged innocent people into court for years. And illegally pumped his company's worthless stock so that it could be dumped on unsuspecting investors. Essentially called all Linux users thieves and told them that he was coming for them. The list of his crimes and his victim is very long. And there are two suicides related to this case. You do not appear to have followed this scum as closely as many others here. This guy is a con artist of the highest order.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[daem0n1x]

Yes, it is of course just part of the wonders of modern society, where a sociopath can keep on messing up society via influential positions he gets via friends (i.e. fellow sociopaths). Isn't it great?

Sociopaths rule the world. It won't ever change. Get used to it.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[NeutronCowboy]

Technically, that's not a grammar flame, that's a semantic flame. The sentence "I could care less" is grammatically correct - it's the content that's wrong. And for me, my biggest language pet peeve ever. I have to do mental gymnastics every time someone says it to make sure that the topic really isn't important to them, and that they didn't mean what the sentence means: that it matters an indeterminate amount.

And now, we return to your regular slashdot programming of flames, rants and internet fights.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[raddan]

Eh, it's like when my legal studies professor brought a Worcester attorney into our classroom to talk about his experiences. The prof told him to be totally honest. The lawyer was, like, "Really? Well... OK." and proceeded to tell the class all about the bribery, secret handshakes, personal agendas, and legal gimmicks that actually make the world (or, Worcester anyway) go round. As a student, it was very enlightening. It also totally crushed my desire to ever be an attorney.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[RManning]

No, but neither did any of those involved in the Rwandan genocide.

Oh man, so close to a Godwin and yet you didn't go all the way!

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[Bruce Perens]

did he really do anything that negatively impacted your lives?

Yes. He pretty badly messed up the business I had at the time, because too many people took his threats seriously. Probably cost me a million-dollar deal.

Re:Did the Gun Help?

[Bruce Perens]

I advocate any form of violence against anyone.

I would, however, like to see him prosecuted, and be justly stripped of his riches, and to do a long stint behind bars. And Mr. Yarro too.

Raising additional funding

[millwall]

"The Company is also looking to raise additional funding and sell non-core assets"

Translation: The company is looking at further litigation, and selling off all software development divisions.

Re:Raising additional funding

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't even need to "translate". The next sentence in the TFPressRelease reads:

These actions will allow the Trustee to preserve cash and the value of the business while enabling the Company to proceed with asset sales, pursue litigation against, among others, IBM and Novell

(emphasis mine)

Knowing how this has gone...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

He'll probably just get a cushy job with his buddy Mr. Yarrow's merry band of censorship enthusiasts.

Goodbye sweet prince

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm uninstalling my Caldera Desktop in protest.

So when is SCO going to Die

[lonestarw]

I guess the question is when is SCO going to die? I know it is close to Halloween but this is one zombie that needs a bullet in the head!!

Good bye loser!

[Mysticalfruit]

The good part of this is that he stuck around long enough to run the company into the ground!

kill -9 `pgrep darl_mc_bride`

Let's all sing along with the Munchkins!

[Locke2005]

"Ding, dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The wicked witch! Ding, dong, the wicked witch is dead!"

Chris Sontag

[ichthus]

Now, they just need to get rid of Chris Sontag, who publicly brags that he was the architect behind the attack on Linux in the media. A company I used to work for hired him temporarily for business development. On his first day there, he actually thought he'd earn points from the software engineers by telling us about his attack on Linux. Needless to say, he didn't last very long at our company, where we primarily used Linux as our dev platform.

Job search licence

[Rolgar]

Dear Darl McBride:

I would like to interview you for a position I have. The application requires a licence that costs just $699.

Signed,

All future potential employers

Re:Job search licence

[laron]

SCO basically claimed to own the rights UNIX (incl LINUX) and kindly offered not to sue companies using it, if they paid 699$ per installation. For details, check groklaw.net.

The Ha Ha is on YOU!

[MarkvW]

Maybe SCO got rid of Darl because the company doesn't need an executive any more. It needs a lawyer to manage litigation, because the big lawsuit (such as it is) is the only asset of SCO.

If you're not making, only suing, then it makes sense that your corporate boss should just be a lawyer to manage the lawsuit.

SCO's new slogan: "We're a big, lean litigating machine!"

Re:He'll land on his feet

[Dragonslicer]

You laugh, but asshattery of the Darl McBride variety has been rewarded more often than not.

How do people think that someone becomes CEO to begin with?

He was a kind and generous man....

[flyingfsck]

As Voltaire put it: "He was a kind and generous man. Provided of course that he is really dead." Uhm, not dead yet? Just laid off? What a pity...

What is the sad commentary?

[argent]

Which is a pretty sad commentary.

What, that he thinks people are out to get him and that carrying a gun will make a difference if they are? That he thinks it's something to brag about?

The quoted text didn't indicate that he had any rational reason to take those actions.

I mean, really... I've had death threats from disagreeing with someone on Usenet about technical details of the process of creating new groups. This is the Internet, that kind of thing happens. You can't take it seriously.

The Church and suicide

[Bruce Perens]

I know a devout orthodox Christian family that suffered a suicide of one of its members. One of the worst parts for them was the way that the church that they'd been part of, and served, for all of their lives turned away from them.

Re:The Church and suicide

[TheSpoom]

One Christian community's behaviour does not necessarily indicate how others will act, especially given the incredibly wide variety of "flavours" of Christianity.

Re:The Church and suicide

[Archangel Michael]

Sad. But too often true. All one needs to do is read the book of Job (the one in the Bible, not Apple CEO), to see this.

As a congregational leader, it is tempting to sit in judgment when bad things happen to good people. It is also easy to marvel when good things happen to bad people.

However, I teach that these things are as much a test of character as anything. I'm not one who can judge another, because simply it is not my job description.

As tempting as it may seem, we should instead focus on what we can do with what we have, to build up and bless(Order, Peace, Joy) this world we live in; leaving it better than when we found it.

But hey, what do I know? I'm a wacko religious nutcase. ;)

Re:The Church and suicide

[Kozz]

Quoth Archangel Michael :

As a congregational leader...

Holy crap. I'd think a being like yourself would have better things to do than post on Slashdot.

Re:Not quite into the ground

[Zeinfeld]

The SCO stock last traded at 13 cents. That does not mean that anyone will buy for 13 cents. Volume is less than 5000 shares a day, you can see the individual trades in the chart. In fact the main reason people would buy SCO at this point is because they had previously sold the stock short and want to buy to cover so they can recognize the profit this tax year rather than be forced to recognize the profit when the company goes bankrupt. Looks to me like today's trading means that someone paid $700 to close a SCO short. After that there are probably a bunch of pump and dump scammers out there and folk who recon that maybe IBM will decide its cheaper to buy SCO out than continue litigation. The price of a single share is not the same as the proportional value of the company, nor should it be. Real companies do not increase or decrease in value by 10% in a single day. The market prices of shares can over or under value the company significantly. At $13 a share the marketcap of SCO is about $2.5M. That is more than the company is worth but less than you would need to pay to buy the company.

Inflammatory

[handy_vandal]

inflammatory

Pronunciation: \in-fla-m-tor-\

Function: adjective

Date: circa 1711

1 : tending to excite anger, disorder, or tumult : seditious

2 : tending to inflame or excite the senses

3 : accompanied by or tending to cause inflammation

— inflammatorily \-fla-m-tor--l\ adverb

Source

Re:Don't forget...

[Anonymous Coward]

They killed a man for fucks sake! This is no time to be trolling!

No, Inflammable

[NotBornYesterday]

Inflammable

1. Capable of burning; easily set on fire.
2. (figuratively) Easily excited; set off by the slightest excuse; easily enraged or inflamed.

Well there goes

[mandark1967]

Darl's employee discount on the Linux license...

$300k salary + bonus for meeting loss targets

[RichMan]

Darl was hauling in a pretty pile for driving SCO into oblivion.

Last year while in BK he hauled in $492k.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1102542/000095013409004254/v51630e10vkza.htm

This from a 60 person company. That was losing money like crazy.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1102542/000095013409001443/0000950134-09-001443-index.htm
$13M revenue, $8.7M loss

Nice 0.5/13 -> 1/26 of the revenue was paid to Darl

Re:Buh-bye!

[RichMan]

Early '90s SCO would have been Santa Cruz Operations which sold the "UNIX" business to Caldera which renamed itself SCO in 2003 to muddle the ownership issues. The original SCO renamed itself to Tarantella and was bought by SUN which is now Oracle.

It was/is a great mess.

Exactly right.

[NoYob]

Guys like this always pop up again somewhere. We have not seen the last of Darl McBride's assholery ... not by a long shot.

He has CEO on his resume and I'm sure there are some "benchmarks" that he hit as part of his contract; meaning, he was a good CEO by those people's definition. He'll get another job somewhere.

It must be nice being at the top.

Re:Not quite into the ground

[domatic]

In IBM's terms, the money involved for them to litigate SCO isn't terribly substantial. However, the damage they did to IBM's reputation and some of IBM's investments wasn't trivial. SCO has even claimed to be able to terminate IBM's rights in AIX. IBM isn't after a quick end to the litigation. They are after vindication and making an example out of SCO to deter any other pipsqueaks from peeing in their Wheaties. Buying them out even at this late degraded date only rewards them.

Re:Don't forget...

[FatdogHaiku]

I am confused by the moral aspects of this headline. Is moving into the assassination field a step down from patent trolling, or merely a lateral move?

And along those lines...

[Weaselmancer]

If anyone, and I mean anyone gets a copy of his resume sent to their HR department...they must post it.

I apologize for the brusque tone, but this is not optional - you have to do it. In it's entirety, unedited.

I'll bet it reads like Kim Jong Il wrote it.

Re:Don't forget...

[jd]

Depends on which Terminator they used.

Re:Not quite into the ground

[Ungrounded Lightning]

why doesn't IBM buy them up (or at least a controlling interest) and finally drop the curtain on SCO's last act?

Because IBM is a big pockets corp. They have a policy of defending against bogus IP suits rather than buying them off - because if they ever bought one off they'd be inundated with more.

Thus they and the legal system have played "mill of the gods" to SCO's grain and ground them slowly but exceedingly fine.

Now that SCO is in receivership and their antagonist-in-chief is in the unemployment line, they MAY consider their point proven. Or they may continue to grind until every i is dotted and t is crossed in the legal record - and any remaining stockholders (who should have known better and restrained Darryl, rather than cheering him on and hoping for a piece of IBM) are perhaps left with zero.

Their call.

TYPO, sorry

[Bruce Perens]

Gosh, of all the stupid typos I could do. Please read that as "I do not advocate any form of violence against anyone." I don't even know how the heck that happened.

I second that!

[rts008]

Obligatory
I am a sociopathic janitor, you insensitive clod!

Careful there, or I'll grab a rag and clean the toilets, then clean your coffee mug!
And I have keys to everything!

Yeah, I see what you mean!

Re:I second that!

[DocHoncho]

Shhhh.. don't ruin a good gig.

*Ahem.*

Back to the mopping...

Yeah, but what are they gonna do with

[twoears]

his brother Larry and his other brother Darl?

Re:Not quite into the ground

[Ungrounded Lightning]

And most probably a policy of defending against legitimate IP suits as well, don't you think?

If the suit is legitimate the best strategy is to settle quickly for a reasonable royalty or an IP swap and small lump sum (for a little guy or a competing big guy respectively) rather than risk a large judgment and an injunction against shipping more product and supporting their user base.

I don't know that IBM follows this strategy. But I haven't seen any stories (or heard any rumors) in the last couple decades about IBM grinding a little guy down with big lawyers - or losing to one, either.

If the suit is legit and the potential damages are not chump change the little guys can get some big guns in court on a contingency basis. The law firm gets a sizable piece if they win it but the little guy gets even more. Or some up-and-coming lawyer gets maybe a third AND makes his rep as a giant-killer. No guarantee the court will render a correct judgement when the big guns are firing. But they try hard to get it right. The little guys certainly win enough that trying to crush them all is 'way risky.

Other companies HAVE such a public history. Recall Robert_Kearns, the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, had it usurped by the auto companies, sued, and won big time. Or Sears, which was accused of stealing the design for a nifty folding carpentry workbench from its inventor but defended and won.

Re:Don't forget...

[Metrol]

If the patent doesn't cross the line of scrimmage then I believe this would be a lateral to assassination. In this case it was a failed play action fake that resulted in a 4th down turn over to the bankruptcy courts. Had the patent seen a 3rd down conversion to a first down we'd still be in play, so long as the assassin didn't shoot the ball.