Microsoft talks about patents and Microsoft intellectual property in Linux all the time. It most recently came up in relation to the Microsoft/ Novell deal, when in the aftermath of the Linux community’s hostile reaction, and the business community’s confused reaction, Steve Ballmer claimed that every user of Linux uses Microsoft intellectual property. And people freaked out. Not because they were surprised that Steve Ballmer would say that, or that they were concerned it was true. Most of the drama was because the person who said that was now an ally of a major Linux distribution (the Novell-managed SUSE Linux), and while people were used to Steve Ballmer saying ridiculous things about Linux, they were not-so-used to Linux companies having scary deals with companies run by people who said such ridiculous things.

(deep breath)

And today Fortune magazine has a relatively in-depth summary of Microsoft’s Linux patent claims. It’s really not that great of a story, and has some misleading references in it, but it has a dramatic title, “Microsoft takes on the free world,” and yet another mention of Microsoft wanting compensation for the intellectual property it claims exists in Linux, “…It wants royalties from distributors and users.” But Microsoft has said this before. And Steve still won’t say he’d actually sue Linux-using customers:

If push comes to shove, would Microsoft sue its customers for royalties, the way the record industry has?

“That’s not a bridge we’ve crossed,” says CEO Ballmer, “and not a bridge I want to cross today on the phone with you.”

So there is no new story here. Microsoft has claimed IP in Linux before, and has stopped short of saying what they’d actually do about it before. As a Slashdot commenter said, “

Here’s what the interview should have been:

Microsoft: It’s a fact that Linux and free software infringe hundreds of our patents.
Journalist: Which ones?
Microsoft: Well, the kernel violates 60, the GUI violates…
Journalist (interrupting): which 60? Where is the list?
Microsoft: I’m not prepared to disclose that at this time.
Journalist: Well this is a big [effing] waste of my time, isn’t it?
Journalist: I went through this same dance with Darl McBride. Call me when you have something to say, bye

Microsoft still won’t say exactly what Microsoft patents exist in Linux, so as outrageous as some of the ideas in the Fortune feature are, they’re not new. If there’s any info here, maybe it’s that Microsoft has now specified the amount of patents, (235), but still not what those patents are.

A commenter on Patent Law Blog, Patently-O:

That’s like a poker player saying “I win” without showing their cards (code).

Recommended or related:

• Tara Hunt’s Okay, we won. But what’s the prize? (especially the part about Non-zero Sum Economics)
• Matt Asay’s Making sense of Microsoft’s open source fetish
• Robert Scoble’s Microsoft about to enter into patent war
• James Turner at O’Reilly’s ONLamp Looks like Microsoft is ramping up for Son of SCO (I disagree with the “do or die” part, but he’s got some great comparisons to SCO here.)
  

Technorati Tags: patents, microsoft, linux, IP, intellectual property, legal, law, suit, fortune magazine, steve ballmer, cruise-azy, open source, oss, software ]]> http://thesethingsmattertome.com/2007/05/13/the-new-fortune-magazine-story-on-microsoft-linux-and-patents-steve-ballmer-you-so-crazy-but-not-in-a-new-way/feed/ 0 http://thesethingsmattertome.com/2007/05/01/dells-new-ubuntu-deal-and-vendor-support-do-we-still-need-vendor-support/ http://thesethingsmattertome.com/2007/05/01/dells-new-ubuntu-deal-and-vendor-support-do-we-still-need-vendor-support/#comments Tue, 01 May 2007 17:47:00 +0000 andy http://thesethingsmattertome.com/?p=160 Some interesting thoughts over on Slashdot’s coverage of the Dell/ Ubuntu announcement.
For one user, the announcement is actually a deciding factor in a purchasing decision:

Personally, I have resisted the siren call of Dell for a long time. This changes my mind. I need a new machine and this could be just the ticket — it was either that or refurb an old HP with a new HD and a copy of Feisty Fawn. I like the idea of it pre-loaded.

And yeah, that’s the kind of response Dell and Ubuntu want to hear. But I think it’s time we really question the value and definition of support in the way it’s been thought of in the past. Support is extremely overvalued, and lack of support is too often used as a reason to squash a great tool or piece of software. Let’s examine our commercial support relationships and think of what we really get out of them. Are our bugs fixed faster? Features added more quickly? Do we find out about upcoming products from our vendros before the blogosphere does? When we have a configuration question, whose documentation is more helpful? Community sites and mailing lists, or the official documentation?

I’m very excited that Dell and Ubuntu have a relationship with each other now, and there’s no way it can hurt the quality of Linux on Dell hardware. But let’s not wait for announcements like this before we feel comfortable pursuing technologies that otherwise trump their commercially supported peers.

related:

Dell interview with Mark Shuttleworth about the announcement, how Linux gets adopted differently in different parts of the world.

I’m as giddy as the rest of y’all. Yes, Dell will pre-install Ubuntu on Dell hardware.
Some of us have been waiting for this news for a while, either in the affirmative or the negative. After all, it was over a month ago when Dell closed its Linux survey. A bunch of different commercial and community-based distros rallied to get their Linux represented. And then silence. Dell didn’t let us know how, when, or what they’d do with the data. They thanked us, but dat about it.
So it was very exciting to hear this evening first a rumor via Dell, and a confirmation via Canonical that yes, Dell will support Ubuntu.

But let’s be gracious here . DesktopLinux.com wrote “Dell to choose Ubuntu,” in a tone suggesting only one Linux could be chosen. Mos def some of this language is left over from the Dell’s own Linux survey, where one could vote for only one flavor of Linux for Dell to install. But remember bug #1 people. It isn’t that Fedora has majority market share . Let’s hope Dell’s experience of offering Ubuntu is so delightful, they get involved with other flavors of Linux, and get on the right side of bug #1 ;D

[update 11.22PM. Confirmed via Dell KB article!]
[update #2, confirmed on Dell Direct2Dell blogpost]

Dell will preload Ubuntu Linux on some desktops and laptops.

So far, two sources for this story:

1. A Canonical employee (the company most centrally involved in Ubuntu’s development and support) who has a great multilingual blog about Linux stuff, wrote:

Ubuntu will be officially supported on Dell computers. Any other details will come on www.ubuntu.com, check it for the official press release

and

2. Desktoplinux.com, who says they’ve heard the news from multiple Dell sources.

…the Austin, Texas, computer giant will be preinstalling the newly released Ubuntu 7.04. These systems will be released in late May 2007.

According to our sources, Ubuntu will be released on a Dell e-series “Essential” Dimension desktop, an XPS desktop, and an e-series Inspiron laptop.

Technorati Tags: ubuntu, linux, dell, hardware, support, community, open source ]]> http://thesethingsmattertome.com/2007/04/30/dell-to-preload-ubuntu-linux-on-some-hardware/feed/ 0