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Linux Receives 20th Birthday Video From Microsoft
moonbender writes "The Linux kernel has received birthday wishes from an unexpected direction — a video animation from Microsoft. Quoting The H: 'The video picks up on the strained relationship between Microsoft and Linux by displaying the phrase "Microsoft Vs. Linux" and then showing Tux, the Linux mascot, turning his back on the offer of a birthday cake from Microsoft. After a brief outline of the history between Microsoft and Linux, the video ends with a conciliatory gesture: Tux accepts the birthday cake in his igloo and the video ends with "Happy Birthday" and the editing of the initial phrase to "Microsoft and Linux?' The Linux Foundation has more stuff celebrating the kernel's 20th birthday."
The Linux kernel has received ... from Microsoft.
Clearly this is an attempt to hide patent-encumbered code inside Linux kernel so that Microsoft can sue later!
Google+ vs. Facebook, and why Google+ will fail
First Duke Nukem forever, then GNU/Hurd, now this.
2012, here we come.
You missed the ending, where the cake explodes, destroying the igloo and penguin.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
With the way the Apple juggernaut has been steamrolling it would make sense to me for Microsoft and Open Source in general to find a way of co-existing. Say what you want about Microsoft, but Apple's heavy-handed, strict controls and policies makes Microsoft look like a pussy cat in comparison.
Only a small (though loud) minority of Linux users believes in a Microsoft vs Linux fight. Linux was created in 1991 to be a POSIX compliant kernel, not to be a competitor to MS. The GNU tools were created to have a free Unix. GNU + Linux is a fine example of open source in the Unix world, and is definitely not a reaction/fight/whatever towards Microsoft.
European Linux user, living in Antwerp
And if you only support companies without patent lawsuits pending then I think you'll find yourself pretty limited on choices.
No story about Microsoft and cakes is complete without this video :-)
They sued Tom Tom for merely using a Linux kernel that included FAT32 support. So basically, everything on the planet that ships with Linux could be sued for the same criteria. Someone needs to stand up to these lawsuits.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
The bottom line is, these are all big BUSINESSES, with an unwavering goal of maximizing profits for their shareholders. When you see all of this "back and forth" between competitors, where one month they're bashing each other and the next, their CEOs are on TV together acting friendly? Remember that NONE of it really means much.
I'm pretty sure that on a personal level, almost all of these tech company "higher ups" have mutual respect for each other. After all, people in similar income brackets tend to have a lot of common interests. (A Bill Gates type isn't likely to have a lot of fun going on the same discounted vacation cruises that your typical family signs up for in the summer, etc. Your idea of a "nice hotel" and his probably aren't the same, nor are your typical "good, yet affordable" restaurant choices, right?) And they share a common interest in furthering high-tech products or services for the masses in SOME manner, even if they differ on the details of exactly HOW they think the future should unfold with them.
By the same token, most of the employees of these firms are just software developers, systems administrators and Q.A. testers trying to earn a paycheck in their field of interest. Guys I knew who coded apps for Microsoft often used Linux or a Mac at home, even if they really liked what Microsoft was doing. (Hey, if nothing else, it's refreshing to come home to something different than what you've got to use at work all day long!)
I'm pretty sure a lot of this animosity we hear of between competitors is cooked up by P.R. and marketing/advertising types. If you've got a product you can get people to rally behind, it's very profitable to pretend you're at "war" with the competition -- even if the C.E.O. of the main competitor is one of your company's C.E.O.'s drinking buddies and they negotiate co-operative deals in the background on a regular basis.
Beware of Geeks bearing gifts...
Actually, I just noticed it was posted to the Linux Video site by MicrosoftGermany. Wonder how much the mothership knew about this one?
There may not be a Linux vs Microsoft fight, but there is definitely a Microsoft vs Linux fight. In their own words:
* OSS poses a direct, short-term revenue and platform threat to Microsoft, particularly in server space. Additionally, the intrinsic parallelism and free idea exchange in OSS has benefits that are not replicable with our current licensing model and therefore present a long term developer mindshare threat.
* OSS projects have been able to gain a foothold in many server applications because of the wide utility of highly commoditized, simple protocols. By extending these protocols and developing new protocols, we can deny OSS projects entry into the market.
* They have paid for numerous "independent" studies to show that Linux and LAMP are inferior to Windows and IIS.
* Leaked emails have shown them to have been funneling money to SCO via Baystar.
* They continue to spread FUD about patent licensing, and have sued major Android manufacturers for patent royalties.
They clearly see this as an Us vs Them situation. We don't have to respond likewise, but it would be foolish not to acknowledge their intentions.