Advice for Red Hat/Fedora

[Gene Heskett]

On Wednesday 20 February 2008, Phil Meyer wrote:
>Gene Heskett wrote:
>> Greetings folks;
>>
>> As a staunch believer in Open Source in the form of linux, I've always
>> wondered just where M$ would attack linux, and it appears they have found
>> an ally and a willing vehicle in Novel, who I am told now owns gnome.
>>
>> I'll let the data in this link speak for itself.
>>
>> <http://boycottnovell.com/2008/02/15/mono-contamination-in-ubuntu/>
>
>...
>
>Might I recommend http://groklaw.net where these issues have been
>researched as closely as humanly possible.

I follow Pamela.

>MS is a real threat to the FOSS community, make no mistake.  However,
>most of their FUD campaigns fail under scrutiny.
>
>The single biggest threat to FOSS are software patents.  It is
>unknowable who will pull the trigger first.  It might well be MS, but it
>could be IBM or any number of patent trolls.
>
>If you want to really stretch the ability of your tinfoil hat, just
>consider:
>
>1. IBM has the largest patent portfolio in the world.
>2. MS has submited as many as 3,000 patent applications a year for the
>last several years.
>3. IBM has sold off all corporate assets that had contractual
>obligations to MS.
>
>Can you even imagine what would happen if IBM and MS were to declare
>open war over software patents?

Both of which have deeeeep pockets, and could sue each other for decades which 
would in the end only enrichen the lawyers.  No profit in that.

I've Been Moved is currently on our side, apparently having seen the 
handwriting on the wall several years ago.  But M$ most certainly isn't, and 
I can't think of any better a way than to sign don't sue agreements with one 
of the more prolific contributors to FOSS in general, and sit back and wait 
till their contributions contain enough patented stuff to throw a real 36" 
monkey wrench in the gears by suing the rest of the linux folks out of 
existence because those deeeeep pockets aren't there.

>We live in interesting times, to be sure.  But you can't stop the
>signal.  People will continue to code because they can and its fun and
>rewarding.

Hear Hear, even if all the coding I do in my dotage (I'm 73 now) is a few bash 
scripts that make my life easier here at the Heskett Ranchette.  But in the 
past I've written assembly stuff (without an assembler) that was still in use 
15 years later.  To know that has been very rewarding.  One does like to feel 
he has made life easier for the folks involved.

I won't belabor this any farther since my influence is minimal here anyway.  
All I can do is stick up a hand for attention and I've done that.

-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
"I just want to be a good engineer."
-- Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, concluding his keynote speech 
   at the 1988 AppleFest