05.19.07
Linux Users to Microsoft: Litigate, or Admit Defeat
Remember the “Show Us the Code” campaign? This was the project that urged Microsoft to be specific, not in terms of numbers, but in terms of actual code. They have full access to the source code. Microsoft never came clean. It neither wants to litigate nor to be specific. So, a new little project was born. People urge Microsoft to sue them and resolve the FUD issue once and for all. The new Wiki says:
To show that Microsoft’s “Be very afraid” campaign did not work on us, we are challenging MS to sue us first regarding alleged patent infringements we are committing.
Further analysis in Groklaw reveals that Microsoft has really dropped the ball on this one.
The key piece, to me, is the fact that there is no expiration date on those vouchers. And don’t forget that the vouchers are for support and updates. Updates mean software code. So I understand this to mean that Microsoft is conveying to customers the means to obtain GPLv3 code, if a voucher is turned in after the new license is in effect. Is this delicious or what?
I don’t know which lawyer wrote the vouchers, but I’m guessing somewhere in Redmond, there is a lawyer beating his head against the wall right about now.
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.