01.18.08
Quick Mention: Why Software Patents Are a Dangerous Game
Red Hat doesn’t play with vapour
Have a look at this new clarification from Red Hat [via FSDaily]:
Due to patent concerns, we won’t be able to include any games in Fedora
which meet the following criteria:A game where “targets” move across the screen to a predetermined point
or line, where the player hits a button/key/mouse click as the target(s)
crosses that point or line, and gets points.
If you think that patenting games is absurd, how about patenting sports? Konami has apparently already patented passing of the ball in a game of soccer. Here:
I have read the abstract and some of the claims, and as far as I can make it, the claim is for a football game where the player can assign and store commands to pass the ball to the nearest available player
Is it insane, or what? █
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.