05.15.07
Microsoft Now Earns Money from GNU/Linux and Free Software
The nasty things which Jeremy Allison once talked about turn out to be a reality. Behind the scenes, Microsoft is pulling money out of companies that are using GNU/Linux. They do this secretly.
Microsoft currently collects royalties from some companies that use Linux in their computing environments, Gutierrez said. However, he declined to indicate the number, the dollar amount Microsoft receives from those payments, or identify any of the companies by name.
Might this be a form of extortion? ‘Protection money’ that is not even backed by any court decision, but only by threats and saber rattling? Someone ought to discover which companies do this, approach them, and request that they stop these unnecessary payments that become damaging precedence. Without any reasoning, Microsoft makes Linux expensive for companies to acquire and use. Microsoft is making money out of Linux and Free software, which suddenly it believes ought to fill its cash registers.
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
neighborlee said,
September 19, 2007 at 10:16 am
Hi there,
If a company makes a threat of patent violation does it not have a moral obligation to disclose this so people can make an informed decision whether or not to use said software ? ;))
Fud imo…If M$ truly has some patent that is being violated in 42 kernel locations and also in other software then considering that they would love linux to ‘go away’,- does it not look odd to anyone that they are not willing to divulge this information ?
If M$ does not divulge this information then I perceive them as a immoral company and I guess that leaves Mac or BSD for linux as the only possibility left.
cheers
neighborlee