LinuxOne At It Again? 173
Anonymous Coward writes "Check out the recent LinuxOne news release. LinuxOne reports a $500,000 software order from Power Source.
Its interesting how Power Source seems to be only a recursive add link without any substance. I couldn't quite figure out, beyond self proclamation, how LinuxOne is one of the fastest growing software distributors in the world. Go figure." At least the LinuxOne Web site is a little more fleshed-out than it was when we first saw it. And they're hiring, too. Check it out!
Sound the alarms!!! (Score:3)
There is much evidence:
- the SEC S-1 xerox of Redhat's
- they have no real product
- their web site runs a stock copy of RedHat, and probably doesn't contain any of the patches - i.e. can be rooted relatively easily
- it's imaginary customer "Power Source"
Sometype of mainstream discussion; that is out of
Whatever can possibly be done, so that the good name of all that is Linux is not brought down by these fly-by-night, wannabe IPO, frauds.
We've got to get the word out! (Score:5)
What LinuxOne didn't mention is that Power Source runs out of a tiny storefront, and their "distributors in 130 countries", an exaggeration, run flea market tables. One of these distributors is usually seen at the Livermore Ham Radio Flea Market here in California, where he occupies one of the $10 tables.
While Power Source appears to be a legitimate business, it is extremely unlikely that they could have $500,000 cash to pay to LinuxOne. Rather, they probably made a deal to sell $500,000 worth of product, when and if they can, without pre-paying for much of it at all. But you would not have realized that from the LinuxOne press release.
There's a pattern here. LinuxOne persists in posing as a company with bright prospects in Linux, but look at what they have done: They are completely unknown in the Linux community, their officers are newcomers to Linux, and nobody known in the Linux community is on their technical staff (if they really have one). The founder of LinuxOne was previously behind NetUSA, which is trading around 60 cents a share, one tenth of its value a year ago. LinuxOne copied Red Hat's S-1 form (the form submitted when making a public stock offering) almost word-for-word, claiming that they have the prospects of Red Hat, a company that entered Linux 5 years before LinuxOne and employs hundreds of people, including some of the best programmers in the Linux world. LinuxOne's products so far appear to be mock-ups: their Linux CD is Red Hat's CD with the words Red Hat removed and LinuxOne filled in. Their "Linux on a disk" product is a Linux CD that someone installed on a hard disk, probably in a single day, and then they copied the disk. A claimed Linux system that runs on top of Windows called LinuxLite appears to be misrepresented in its functionality if it exists at all. LinuxOne staff have not written any significant Linux software to date that I can find, the only software they appear to have written is a program that displays a clock on the X window system.
And this is the company that has registered the stock symbol LINX and is going to take $23 Million from investors who don't know better, any day now. I think it's a really bad investment. But I'm prejudiced: I happen to have a Linux company too. Fortunately, you can hear the same message from other respectable people in the Linux world. For example, read this article in The Register [theregister.co.uk] by Rick Moen, a respected, long-time participant in the Linux community.
I've been a Unix operating system kernel programmer since 1981, and have worked on Linux since 1994. Another employee of my company has been working on Linux since 1993 when he started one of the best-respected Linux distributions. We're hiring other people with similar backgrounds. We have paid our dues and we have a proven performance record in the Linux world. There are a number of new companies similar to ours in the bacgrounds of their founders and their technical staff. These companies are not going public until they have real products, and when they do go public, they have some reasonable prospects for success. In contrast, I don't feel that LinuxOne has any prospects, I think they've been very sleazy in their press and promotion, and while it is remotely possible that anyone could build a real Linux software company with that $23M, it makes sense to invest in people with more skill and background than LinuxOne.
I can't save those investors from having their money go down the drain. Some people tell me that I shouldn't feel sorry for people who make poorly-researched investments, but I feel horrible about this. It's going to make Linux look bad and a lot of innocent people who don't have someone experienced in Linux to warn them are going to be hurt.
Somebody has to speak out. Please tell your friends. Tell everyone you know.
Bruce Perens
Power Source web site (Score:2)
Fastest growing distro! (Score:1)
Short LINX... (Score:2)
On the day of the IPO, when its price rises to ridiculous levels, short sell it. About a week later, once everyone else's figured out how stupid this company is, buy to cover. Invest the proceeds in SGI, Cobalt, VA Linux, or Red Hat (or if you feel really suicidal, CORL... all the price volatility of an IPO in an established company
Repeat when the next LINX comes down the pike.
Are you going to be in El Cerrito? (Score:2)
Bruce
well what can be expected (Score:2)
Really this could hurt the linux community quite a lot. If a place like this gets some news coverage then screws something up (like what's inevitably going to happen), then that will reflect badly on all of linux.
Does anyone see the open licenses eventually creating problems for the adoption of Linux in this way? Anyone can make their own crap distribution, slap a name on it, make a few press releases and suddenly, to a portion of people out there, they represent linux.
Hostile TakeOver and run em into the ground (Score:1)
If alot of the recent millionaires bought up all the stock really cheap. And say they issue like 1 million shares or something. Then everyone sells them all. and the company is left holding all the shares. Eventually with no product pushing to generate revenues, and Taxes on the Shares of a Public company come Due. Then they lose all the cash they had, and directly go bankrupt and try their had ot other crimes of fraud. Such as promising old ladies they have one a sweepstakes.
DP
Not good... (Score:2)
Anarchist's Cookbook
ATM Machines
Beating Lie Detectors (Polygraphs)
Beginner's Guide to Hacking
Big Book of Mischief
Booby Traps
Bypassing Phone Billing Systems
Cable TV Piracy
Cloning Cellular Phones
Computer Underground Digest (Volumes 1-6)
Credit Card Scams
Drugs & Recipes
Electronics (Modification Files)
Explosives from Common Household Ingredients
Fake IDs
Free Airline Travel
FREEBAGE (Art of Bernsteining)
Fire Works
Get RICH QUICK Scams
Getting Unlisted Phone Numbers
Hacking UNIX Systems
Hacking VAX Systems
Interrogation Tactics
Jackpotting Change Machines
Jolly Roger's Cookbook
Knock-out Drops
Know your Legal Rights
Legal Tips that can save your ASS
Listening Devices
Lock Picking
LSD Recipes
Money Making Scams
M-80's
New Identities
Occult
Payphones (Free Calls, Jackpotting)
Radar Jamming Techniques
Revenge Tactics
Sabotage on Automobiles
Secret Radio Frequency Lists
Smoke Bombs
Spells & Potions
Telephone Box Plans
Telephone Technology Tutorials
UFOs
Underground BBSs
VooDoo
Witchcraft
ZOMBIE Potions
SO MUCH MORE!!!
The entire contents of this CD is for educational
purposes only. The Authors, Publishers and Distri-
butors neither approve nor condone the actual use
of this information.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
--------------------
I dont like the smell of this.
Smell like Bre-X (Score:1)
I see two possibilities that can come out of this:
1. They want to be in the Linux game by getting venture capital in place before hiring expertise to actually work on the product. Normally this is investor beware because they (first) don't have the expertise, (second) don't have enough confident to invest their own money in it to create a worthy product before IPO.
2. They are just interested in inflating their stock and continue the hype until the time comes when they (or he) can sell some of their stock (more than 40% belongs to him alone I believe) and cash in. Objectives being to milk as much as possible out of this and move on to their next project.
With so many more establish Linux company that potentially can do IPO this year, we won't lose any sleep passing up this one.
Re:Hostile TakeOver and run em into the ground (Score:3)
No, I think get the word out is the right way to do it. I would prefer to see other people making their own investigations, and posting what they have found out firsthand, so that it's not just me. Actually, I was reluctant to say as much as I did today - I wrote that posting this evening for Technocrat.net, because I simply could in good conscience let the situation go on any longer without my saying something forceful about it. But I would feel more comfortable if someone who isn't doing his own IPO, and thus has less appearance of prejudice, would take the "point" on this issue.
Thanks
Bruce
Educate and Complain! (Score:4)
But anyway, what can you do? Linking to one of the more recent in The Register [theregister.co.uk] from your web site or in your .sig is probably a good idea.
If you're a US citizen, also complain to the SEC, the government organization overseeing everything related to stock trading. Their web page is here [sec.gov], and makes it quite clear that what LinuxOne is doing is potentially illegal:
For example, it is unlawful in certain situations for someone to sell securities to you while withholding important information that could affect your investment decision, such as selling you stock in a company but not disclosing to you that the business has no existing operations or selling a stock to you for ten dollars per share when the seller knows the stock is worthless.
I'd say they'd at least take a good look at LinuxOne if enough people complain...
Unable to verify Auditor/Law Firm/Transfer Agent (Score:2)
I have not been successful in getting the address of the Auditor (using WWW tenacious and privacy busting databases).
Until these information are substantiated, I would steer clear of their upcoming Jan 31st IPO.
Email address (Score:1)
Or was that e-bay users, I always get those two mixed up
(yes, it was supposta be funny, I just hope that guy who doesn't find UF funny stays away and dosen't write an article about me)
---------------------------------------
The art of flying is throwing yourself at the ground...
Re:Power Source web site (Score:1)
Bruce
Huh? (Score:1)
For every share sold, that means that someone was willing to buy it. You can't just sell shares into thin air.
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
Finally, real, prosecutable fraud? (Score:1)
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:1)
However, posting on slashdot is not the way to "get the word out." When investors and people start researching LinuxOne, there not going to look at slashdot. They're going to check out linux.org, linux.com, and linux/investment oriented magazines.
Is there any way to get an editorial such as this published in a reputed magazine (perhaps Linux Journal?) or at the very least have links to such an editorial displayed somewhat prominently on the front page of Linux.org or Linux.com?
Slashdot is a great soapbox to stand on, but it's like preaching to the choir--we already know what a scam LinuxOne is. We need to start spreading this beyond slashdot and into the places where clueless investors would think to look.
Jeremy
Gee, what's that smell... (Score:1)
Deosyne
Re:Not good... (Score:1)
Looks like they are providing an object lesson in this subject, anyways...
Re:Email address (Score:1)
i laughed out loud when i read that...
good call
Not to mention a hotmail account (Score:2)
Looks like some newbies trying to build a vapour company on the web to scam money. This "Power Source" definitely do not have the $500,000 in cash.
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:3)
1. They want to be bending-over-backwards fair in giving them the benefit of the doubt and seeing if they'll be for real or not once they have the money.
2. They are afraid that they'll get sued.
3. They simply refuse to say anything negative about a Linux business.
Certainly you should get every outlet to research this issue and publish something about it. But don't stop when some of them refuse - in the end, it is up to the community to get this word out.
Thanks
Bruce
Re:Email address (Score:1)
i laughed out loud when i read that...
the hotmail account is definately the nail in the coffin as far as proving POSO as a low rent scam
GPL side effects? (Score:2)
For ages, the OSS community has touted the benifits (nay, the necessity) of Free Software. The reasons are many and varied, but seem to boil down to enhancing quality of software and the computing experience. However, this LinuxOne foolishness seems to point out a fact that no-one seems to have pondered before:
If you don't have control over your software, while others can't ruin your software, they can, without legal penalty, completely destroy your software's reputation.
Don't get me wrong, I'm an OSS fan as much as the next geek, but it appears OSS may solve technical problems at the expense of social dynamics.
oops (Score:1)
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:1)
Doesn't Slashdot have the clout?
Re:Awww, cut 'em some slack (Score:1)
LinuxOne should be made an example of.
Re:GPL side effects? (Score:1)
(Some of) Wall Street is stupid enough to pay $$$ for things which are patently worthless today, to avoid the possibility of missing out on a potential gold mine tomorrow.
Some people who get burnt by this will blame Red Hat, or Linux, or even Linus Torvalds, but you can bet they won't be doing it anywhere high profile.
Why? Because no-one likes to admit that they can't tell the difference between The Real Thing and a cheap copy. It's embarassing.
The Linux trademark could potentially be used to prevent this sort of thing, but I think it's already too diluted to be effective, and in many ways that's for the best -- who would decide which companies are "too shady" to trade under the Linux name?
Please, for one second, THINK! (Score:1)
Go where investors go! (Score:2)
Seen it before (Score:1)
Re:GPL side effects? (Score:1)
Some people who get burnt by this will blame Red Hat, or Linux, or even Linus Torvalds, but you can bet they won't be doing it anywhere high profile. Why? Because no-one likes to admit that they can't tell the difference between The Real Thing and a cheap copy. It's embarassing
Altho you are probably correct about investors being too imbarrassed to raise a stink, I'm sure Microsoft and the Press would have a field day. In fact, most of the Press, being as clueless as they are about technical issues, would just blow this out of proportion based on the financial fiasco alone, and link it to the name 'Linux'.
What an ungrateful guest! (Score:1)
Hey now, you really shouldn't talk about Andover.net (NASDAQ: ANDN) like that, seeing how they're the parent company of the very site we're posting on. Shame on you!
:-)
Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com
Ok...Where does AbsoluteFuture.com play? (Score:1)
Or is it an escape route if things don't work out?
Fly by night... (Score:2)
Also, no mention of Linux One in their CD list.
Re:Short LINX... (Score:2)
Nice idea, but you can't short it until 30 days after its IPO. If (by some miracle) LinuxOne hasn't crashed and burned by then, then it is not being valued on fundamentals (heh, as if RHAT was...), and these types of stocks make lousy short candidates.
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:3)
It would be wiser to feed this situation to the financal community. They of all people would know how to sniff out a fraud and for LinuxOne the sent is pritty strong.
I doupt anyone experenced in the stock market would dare recomend a company that IPOs so soon after start up.
They should also learn that the Linux/Open Source community is not pleased with this company.
After that let the experts in that community handle it.. they'll know how to make it know.. sometimes a larg media blast isn't a good idea anyway..
Then the word can get out.. even if in a trunicated form.. such as a warning about IPOs soon after startup or companys with no real product or companys who have a bad community standing..
The finantal experts won't spindoctor.. they want to help the avrage investor and they have been dealing with finantal unsavy investors much longer than we have been dealling with tech unsavy computer users. They'll know how to deal with it.
The people who are investing in LinuxOne are not knowladgeable. They see the words "Linux" and "IPO" and they buy. Linux is a hot property and in some ways this scam is a testement to that fact.
But a big LinuxOne scandal could also set us back... [or it may push us forword]
Most investors do more research and would know LinuxOne has IPOed to soon to be of any real value.
I'm guessing if a scandle dose break lose and we have done our "thing" people will see that the Linux community is also a force to recon with.
That we do work together to any goal we belive needs to be reached.
Resistence is fulte.. Do not mess with the Penguin
Don't be silly... (Score:1)
Re:Power Source web site (Score:3)
Re:well what can be expected (Score:2)
In the end what this will do is further reinforce the value of brand within the Linux community. Red Hat, SUSE, VA Linux, Debian, etc, etc. These will be names that will be tied to reputations about products that have a certain level of quality. A few people will get burned by these scam artists, and it will just strengthen the position of those who deliver a real and valuable product or service.
I'd be curious to see an interview with some folks at LinuxOne on Slashdot. I'd be interested to hear them attempt to defend themselves.
---
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:1)
Your "community" is no more, you and your company are out to make money.
OT: Interface Design (Score:3)
Chris
The LinuxOne world, according to Chas. (Score:4)
Here's what I see.
Now, for some reason, this inspires ZERO confidence in me (not sure if there's such a thing as a negative level of confidence, so I won't go that far).
In fact. The only thing it inspires is haiku.
Big Ripoff I See
Their business profile screams SCAM!!!
No dough shall I waste
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
lamers! (Score:1)
They left out "mp3z", "pirate" and "passwords" for starters!
I also am surprised to see no mention of Jennifer Love Hewitt, and if they think "Spice" is getting them search engine placings any time since 1997, they're sorely mistaken.
jsm
(who remembers when it was all "Winona")
Re:GPL side effects? (Score:1)
No one wrote off the entire automobile industry based on Pinto explosions, no one wrote off Colgate-Palmolive based on one story about a dentist fondling his patients, no one (or no one with any juice, anyway) should write off the Linux based on LinuxOne. Any individual press outlet, knowing that their credibility is at stake, would hesitate to make blanket conclusions based on one instance. CNN/FN != Hard Copy.
Hmm.. (Score:2)
I do have one slightly-related question---the glass of water is partially ontopic instead of mostly offtopic.
Background: I believe enviromental orginisations have occasionally gotten into trouble for tring to trash a co.'s stock price, but I do not know wether it was just that the co. could sued them or the SEC came after them (can the SEC come after you if your just saing things and not buying or selling?).. and there are people currently trieng to do this to etoys (and I hope they drive them into the ground).
Question: Can we get arround the problems those enviromental orginisations with trashing a company by not being orginized? If it's just a lot of people talking about how cool it would be if people did X en-mass and people do X en-mass (where X is only illegal to do en-mass).. is there really collusion or whatever going on?
I realize this is going to be very specific to the situation, but it seems like our legal system may need leaders and orginization to have a conspiracy? The Etoys thing is a good example.. as people just keep posting to the investment chat rooms about how everyone is boycotting and hacking them.. then the stock may contuinue to decline.. but no one is orginizing it.
Jeff
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
-- promote sales of all LinuxOne products in Taiwan
-- translate/localize LinuxOne products into Japanese
-- circulate a web-based newsletter for the Taiwan open-source community
-- actively promote the Linux software as a replacement for Window and MacIntosh
-- develop special new software products for the Asian markets
Interpret that how you will. The release goes on to specify that the office holds a manager, a salesdroid, an accountant and three software engineers, with more salesdroids to follow "in the next 10 days."
It'd be useful to find someone with exposure to the Asian tech industry and Linux scene to illustrate what's occurred on that side of the lake.
Re:The LinuxOne world, according to Chas. (Score:2)
Not to mention, http://www.poso.com/gui-page.htm [poso.com] is no way to tune a guitar. You don't want a piano, the timbre's all wrong. You certainly *don't* want to start with open 6th string, as any inaccuracy there sucks. You don't want to do each string separately either - the best is harmonics off 5th and 7th frets, starting with 6th and working up. Misinformation. Grrr!
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
No it ain't. According to the S-1, it's applied to NASD to be quoted on the Nasdaq with stock ticker LINX. Stock tickers aren't like domain names, and stock quotes aren't like websites.
For a start, even volatile markets like NASDAQ have standards. The NASD has no interest in having grotty pump-n-dump companies quoted on it. For this reason, it withholds the privilege of a quote from companies who don't go through a hell of a lot of hoops.
Then, assuming it gets a quote, NASD has to authorise the ticker. If someone else deserves LINX more, there is an appeals process. It's unusual for someone to be thrown off a ticker if they have first rights, but the market reserves the rights. Since, IIRC, "Linux" is a [tm] owned by Linus, he may have some ability to intercede (try asking the NASD for ticker COKE and see how far you get).
In general, I think that LinuxOne will have difficulty shifting 3,000,000 shares to the public without the help of a broker or investment bank, and may find difficulty in getting one to help. But on the other hand IANAAS (I am not an American stockbroker), so I may be wrong.
I'd gently inform the NASD that all may not be rosy in the garden if you want to -- but it may be taken better coming from a disinterested party than a competitor. If that fails (and this is a last resort which I would not recommend in any normal circs), you might try talking to some of the short sellers like Anthony Elgindy [anthonypacific.com], who might work miracles -- if the stock price is too low, Nasdaq won't touch it because it doesn't like penny stocks. But I must point out that I have never done business with a short-seller (a fortiori not with Mr. Elgindy) and cannot vouch for them.
jsm
Re:Fly by night... (Score:2)
And, for that matter, the page title is "DiDa HTML Editor - www.faico.net/cdida/"--doesn't look like anyone put much thought or work into this one before they rushed it out so they could pretend to be a real company that was independently interested in LinuxOne's offerings!
Good... bad... I'm the one with the gun.
VA Linux S-1 filing greated with scepticism (Score:1)
VA Linux' S-1 is significantly different from Red Hat's, whereas Linux One's is almost a word for word copy.
LinuxOne takes over the world (or at least Taiwan) (Score:1)
See
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cohf:u
VA != LinuxOne (Score:1)
Don't you remember how VA Linux was also called a scam, right here on these pages?
Red Hat & VA IPO Speculation by CNET [slashdot.org]
VA Linux Files For IPO [slashdot.org]
Far from it... people were drooling over the prospect of a VA Linux IPO
LinuxOne has IPOed to soon after startup to have any credability in the stock market..
Wait a second... Sam? are you back slamming VA again?
[In "Red Hat & VA IPO Speculation by CNET" an Ex-employee of VA ran around slamming VA as an AC...]
Hi Sam
Re:Not good... (Score:1)
EZ
-'Press Ctrl-Alt-Del to log in..'
Re:well what can be expected (Score:2)
And if so, would that be a desirable move on his part?
--
It's October 6th. Where's W2K? Over the horizon again, eh?
Or, it could be a LinuxOne huckster trying to... (Score:1)
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:1)
Maybe I am just cynical, but I am not convinced that poorly-researched investments are going to lose money.
What you see currently is that stocks rise beyond actual worth (or actual prospects in my opinion) all the time. If some investor rides the waves of the hype, and buys stock at the beginning and sells just before the hype wears off, he can still become pretty rich. Why would the company need to be any good, all that needs to happen is that the stock rises and there are all kinds of things that can make that happen.
In fact, if LinuxOne's stock climbs steeply in the beginning, it can start buying all kinds of interesting companies and the LinuxOne could actually become an interesting company just because of those acquisitions.
(Disclaimer: I know nothing of the stock exchange thingie)
Re:what goes around comes around (Score:3)
Actually, what I suspect is going to happen with Linux is a sort of fragmentation. Most of the big players right now are interested in developing Linux to be more valuable to businesses. This means that development will likely slow down and focus on stability rather than innovation. Those people out there who came into their own as "linux hackers" will wear the hat of "linux developer" now, trying to look more reputable and trying to get some compensation for their years of hard work.
As the main Linux distributions become more mainstream and corporatized, a new underground version of Linux will begin to evolve. As the old Linux bloats and slow under the weight of legacy compatibility, this new hacker off shoot will come into its own, just like the current Linux has. And so on and so on...
Or maybe all the hackers will just start playing with Hurd
---Steve
---
Short sell != put option (Score:1)
Re:Short LINX... (Score:1)
It has been named as one of the worst possible stocks to buy, together with TWA and a number of other loser stocks.
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:4)
While I broadly agree with you that LinuxOne appear to be a fraud, and a sleezly one at that, I can't let this comment get away.
You seem to me to be suggesting that companies wishing to base a business on Linux should somehow serve an apprenticeship in 'the community' where they will recieve the benevolent blessing of the 'known figures' of the community, and they can then trade acceptably.
This is not a bazaar. This is a situation remarkably similar to the late medieval trade guilds in northern Europe, which did an excellent job of serving their own interests and stifling competition, all in the name of maintaining standards.
To hell with the ESRs, ACs, and the other figures of our supposed worship and gratitude. If I one day have a great idea for a new kind of folding chair, do I need to grovel before the established figures of the chair industry? Do I need to play the game of being a good little manufacturer that doesn't push their luck? Do I need to employ some 'well known' chair designers to establish my credibility in the market place?
The hell I do. I get my capital together, I go out there, and I try to prove my products and ideas in the marketplace.
Likewise with Linux. If one day I say "That's it!!" "I've just figured out a create way to do package management!", do I then need to prove my worthiness by hanging around on some RPM mailing list and demonstrating on my CV that I've contributed to previous package management projects?
No, I do not. I write my code, and I go out there and say fair and square "This is a better way of doing it. You've never heared of me, you don't know I am, I don't employ any 'known figures' but I've got a new product that frankly works a hell of alot better than the old ones. Please use it".
Employ known figures indeed. Sounds like some of the famous traders in the old bazaar don't want too many newcomers setting up stalls unless they pay their dues.
Pah (with respect, but Pah, nonetheless)
Minnor Trivia (Score:1)
Good example.. however Coke is assigned to Coke.. along with KO..
[One for the company the other for the bottler.. branch of...]
Still good example
On the other hand the holder of "Trek" lost his ticker and is now "SIFI"...
Paramount may have had something to do with that... I don't know..
Linus is the new Don! (Score:1)
Looking at the list of titles available from poso.com, it's all clear to me. Bruce pointed out, that they're selling their products on flea markets - do real companies do this? No!
It fits all together now. When Linus talked about world domination beeing around the corner, he meant the LinuxOne IPO. They are clearly a Mafia company and Linus will be the new Don!
Praise Linus, praise LinuxOne!
Is there any way the local Chamber of Commerce ... (Score:1)
Re:VA Linux S-1 filing greated with scepticism (Score:3)
- RHAT [sec.gov]
- LNUX [eoffering.com]
- LINX [imat.com]
Bear in mind that all prospectuses will be similar in form; however, they should not (normally) be word-for-word copies.Difference between code and business (Score:2)
That said, if you want to run a business based on selling open source (based) products, you had better be adding some value to your version of the product. That takes technical skill. For an outside investor the simplest way to judge that skill is to look at past contributions of your employees. If you have none, and no real product, that is a danger sign. Either your employees should have a history or you should have a demonstrated product. Both would be nice.
So go ahead and prove yourself in the software bazaar. And go ahead and try to prove yourself in the free market bazaar as well. But if someone in the free market bazaar is trying to sell you open source software doesn't meet the BS test for what makes good software development, then don't be a sucker.
Note that what LinuxOne is doing is allowed. But to fall for it is idiotic. And warning people that it is idiotic is an appropriate thing to do.
Cheers,
Ben
Latest LinuxOne Press Release ;) (Score:1)
"Billy," a student at Rolling Hills Elementary School, plans to burn at least 100 copies and trade them for Twinkies at lunch time. "This young entrepreneur reminds me of myself at his age, though I preferred Ho-Hos myself," states Wun C. Chiou. "Billy" added: "I was really mad at my mommy and daddy last night, so I swiped their credit card and bought something. I didn't want to get in trouble when it arrived, so I chose to order LinuxOne OS, knowing it would probably never be shipped to me. IMagine my surprise when I became part of the LinuxOne family of distributors!"
The LinuxOne Rolling Hills Elementary office is staffed by 1 employee, consisting of a General Manager. More salespersons will be hired in the next 10 days. The purpose of the office is to:
Attempt to earn additonal respect for a virtually non-existent entity in the Linux market
translate/localize LinuxOne products into elementary school lingo
circulate a newsletter for the under-12-yr-old members of the Open Source Community
Dupe would-be Linux investors into investing in a company that will take the money and run at the first chance it gets (Oops, did we say that?)
Dr. Wun C. Chiou, Sr., President of LinuxOne, Inc., stated, "We are very excited about our expansion into Rolling Hills Elementary. This represents a very significant step for our Company and, once again, demonstrates our commitment to the open-source community in schools the world over. The children are our future, and with Billy's help, they'll be taking LinuxOne OS as their OS of choice. This ensures LinuxOne OS's future dominance in the Linux market, which it has yet to penetrate."
For more information, contact:
LinuxOne Worldwide Headquarters
201 San Antonio Circle, C250
Mountain View, CA 94040
Phone: (650) 948-6201
Fax: (650) 948-2932
Email: robert@linuxone.net [mailto]
URL: http://www.linuxone.net/ [linuxone.net]
Mr. William Foster, General Manager
LinuxOne - Rolling Hills Elementary
168 Happy Acres Dr.
Anywhere, USA
Phone: 555-2110
Fax: 555-2501-1854
Email: billy@linuxone.net
URL: http://www.geocities.com/This/IsAH OAX/index.html [geocities.com]
Certain information included in this communication (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by the Company) contains statements that are patently false. Such as statements relating to the future anticipated direction of the Internet industry, plans for future expansion, various business development activities, planned capital expenditures, future funding resources, anticipated sales growth and stagnation in the Twinkie market of schools worldwide. These forward statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual operations or results to be totally opposite of everything we represent. The NASD has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Coming to my backdoor (Score:1)
Nate
Re:Please, for one second, THINK! (Score:1)
Being the loon that I am I can do math in my head.
Many free services are pulling a proffit from banner ads with more staff and less traffic than
VA and LinuxOne are almost oposates...
VA: Long time Linux hardware vender with much welcomed IPO
LinuxOne: Newbe software vender with much loathed IPO
Only one person had anything bad to say about VA... Hi Sam!!!
Question about stock offering (Score:2)
If so, does anyone know have an address to write to?
Re:The LinuxOne world, according to Chas. (Score:1)
There is.. it's called fear....
Power Source and Linux (Score:3)
What's up with that disclaimer? (Score:2)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:1)
-John
Sorry about the formatting (repost) (Score:1)
I believe that in late 1992 or early 1993, the Power Source store in El Cerrito became the first reseller on the planet to carry a Linux CD when they picked up our "Linux/GNU/X alpha release", which later became Plug-and-Play Linux. I remember visiting PowerSource to test the distribution on some of their machines.
I have not had occasion to visit Power Source since I moved Yggdrasil to Silicon Valley six years ago, but, at least back then, I really appreciated Power Source's focus on people on a budget with their bins of used computer parts and their extensive printed catalog of really cheap computer hardware that they were importing from Taiwan that had not yet made its way into most "white box" PC's in typical computer stores (for example, motherboards with smaller form factors come to mind). If you wanted to get hardware that seemed only to be available in computer flea markets, but there was no flea market in town, Power Source was the place to go. They may not have been Dell or Compaq, but I could see then that PowerSource had a bit more infrastructure than your average independent computer retail store and an interesting angle.
Come to think of it, there is still some computer hardware in a back room at Yggdrasil that I remember buying from Julius at Power Source.
I don't feel I have enough information yet to comment on Linux One or how substantive their relationship may be with Power Source, but I can say that, based on my experience with Power Source of several years ago, they're good people.
Adam J. Richter
President
Yggdrasil Computing, Inc.
LINUX (?!!) Torvalds..... (Score:2)
"OUR RELIANCE ON THE SUPPORT OF LINUX TORVALDS AND OTHER PROMINENT LINUX
DEVELOPERS COULD IMPAIR OUR ABILITY TO RELEASE MAJOR PRODUCT UPGRADES AND
ESTABLISH MARKET SHARE."
This company is obviously a complete crock. They can't even copy correctly, and don't re-read their own prospecutus. Also, I noted that their balance sheet is in Actual Dollars, (not thousands as usual)...
Balance Sheet Data:
Cash and cash equivalents 147,336
Property and Equipment, Net 4,984
My home network (2 linux machines and a solaris box) is worth a lot more than 5000$ !! What a joke.
Re:Go where investors go! (Score:2)
Eric
Re:Power Source web site (Score:2)
So my question is what happens for incoming calls? Is there someone who picks up the phone and if they hear the carrier of a fax transmission, quickly hang up the phone, turn the fax machine on, and hope the caller will call back? =)
Sounds like a
I ran across their coolstuff4free.com, and I got this quote:
"Super Telecom Inc is a world leader for internet access and web hosting services."
Which figures, because I think they're all in their own little world over there
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:3)
What's wrong with that? In the "pure" Open Source business model, for-profit companies are living on the backs of the community. They need to give a little back in order to have any cred.
Even on the journalistic side, everybody at Slashdot (including me) did a lot of FREE writing and reporting before making any money at it, and Andover.net quietly ran the freecode.com [freecode.com] site long before most of the other Open Source code indexes and repositories came along.
As far as employing "known figures," I doubt that Bruce is thinking "known" in the "heavily quoted" sense. I can think of many excellent developers and project organizers who get little or no public attention but are respected by kernel maintainers and other free software developers. I'm sure Bruce would consider these unsung ones to be valid hires for a company that wanted to make a splash in the Linux or Open Source world.
If you came up with a better package management system, you would be a "known" developer as soon as three other people tried it and liked it, whether they found out about your product through an RPM mailing list or through a company you set up to distribute your work. The point is that you would have *done something* instead of purely riding on others' backs.
And VA Linux? They actually *do* somthing. They have Linux-based hardware products you can order and have delivered, and they "give back" to the community in many ways both visible and invisible without directly asking for anything in return.
It's a fine edge, isn't it?
But then, I'm an old-fashioned person who believes it's better to earn your money by working hard than by selling chaff as wheat, so maybe I'm not the best person to listen to on this subject; my attitude is obviously not in tune with current financial and stock market thinking.
- Robin
Re:Power Source web site (Score:3)
I called the phone number -- it's 8:55 am EST here, so it's just about 6 am over there. Someone answered the phone, and sounded VERY sleepy.
Ya think this is being run out of a bedroom? =)
Forget LinuxOne! (Score:3)
Announcing LinuxTwo IPO:
We plan to sell twice as much bogus software as LinuxOne.
We use a proven S-1 form, with our name inserted over LinuxOne's.
We hire software programmer icons for free, and just like LinuxOne, to cut costs.
We do not waste gas traveling to those educational conferences, such as the Atlanta Linux Showcase and rub shoulders with the caffeinated programmers that can make keyboards smoke.
And LinuxTwo's web page is served through a dialup connection, which offers the same speed as LinuxOne's. Coincidence?
OK, I'll shut up. But my point is that I use Linux and am offended by a cheap knock off that has apparently nothing to contribute, besides being an apparent 100% fluff machine. I sure don't want bullshit to be worth $23,000,000 dollars. That's a lot of bullshit that's going to come from the sky.
I'd benefit from investments that actually have a chance of helping people who are known to put effort and acheive results. Linuxone is mighty secretive and I don't think they have anything concrete they are hiding.
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
--
Sounds a bit like Zooooom to me.... (Score:3)
They had big press releases, got written up favorably by everyone. Then they got busted and a few folks went to jail.
What really really really bothers me about this is if this LinuxOne outfit pulls a Zooooom (see - I still can't remember how many o's are in the name!) I have a horrid feeling that it is going to come back to haunt all of Linux - not just the investors that get screwed.
"IPO Hardball" (webcast) slams LinuxOne (Score:2)
The short of it is that they slam LinuxOne.
Quotes:
"... strictly a play on the stupidity of people buying Linux names
"... if I were in that industry, I would really be unhappy with them (LinuxOne)for that, for coming public when they are, as it would really sour people on the future of Linux in that industry
"this is a manufactured deal"
The participants in this particular webcast do invite e-mail feedback. I urge you to listen to the archived webcast and send your thoughts to them. This is a good opportunity to share some of our knowledge with a few pundits on Wall Street.
They do have some other interesting analysis about how this affects the longer term future for Linux and other Internet related IPOs such as BUY.COM.
My confidence has been restored (Score:3)
;)
--
Re:The LinuxOne world, according to Chas. (Score:2)
8. A "half million dollar contract" from a little storefront that wishes it was Walnut Creek. The announcement of which is almost certainly a violation of the SEC-imposed quiet period.
Hey, if they are in violation of the quiet period, maybe we can get the SEC and/or NASDAQ to punish them. Maybe stop the IPO or at least take their ticker symbol away.
----
A freudian slip? (Score:2)
--
..yeah right (Score:2)
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
s/Red Hat/LinuxOne/g throughout Red Hat's Japanese edition.
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
What _WILL_ do good is to get the SEC onto them. This last press release, while it may not be wholly untrue, is worded in such a way as to make it appear that they have a $500,000 check from a real customer, instead of (what might be) a deal to sell $500,000 of their software. And then there's their carbon-copied Red Hat S1.
I imagine that there are some red flags on their SEC file anyway, but it would be good if we could make sure they're aware of this. LinuxOne going public will be a black eye for the Linux and Open Source communities in the mind of the business world.
Is there anyone here who knows more about SEC policy in regards to pre-IPO publicity and regulations about a company's S1 filing? Anyone know a way to get the SEC's attention?
Robbie
Re:VA Linux S-1 filing greated with scepticism (Score:2)
"Fastest Growing" very easy to accomplish (Score:2)
Lets say you sell popcicles.
Say in april you sold no popcicles at all. Then in may you sold fifty popcicles, and in june you sold 200 popcicles.
The curve of your growth rate would be pretty impressive, regardless of the fact that your sales are chump change.
So, the *Only* thing you could claim is "Well, we've got over 200 times the sales we did 3 months ago"
Which would indeed make you the fastest growing popcicle vendor.
This is much the same way that Windows NT became the "fastest growing server base" - it's real easy to go from none, to 500k, to 1 million installed. a LOT easier than it is to go from 10 million to 20 million installed. Even if it did take them almost 3 years to reach 1 million installed, including both 3.51 and 4.0.
And if enough people are impressed, you can go file your IPO and live off the stock for the rest of your life.
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
You can't just selectively apply standards based on whether you like a company or not... but regardless, no one can really intercede, unless a company confronts Nasdaq and wants that ticker and has a strong case for having it, say Linx, Inc, or something like that....
Re:GPL side effects? (Score:2)
Free Software only exists within a social context. Expecting a formal punishment for people like this belies the fact that already the social penalty is death :) both in Linux circles and, interestingly, in stock market circles, LinuxOne == mud.
There isn't a need for a formal authority stating that LinuxOne is bad, because there wasn't a formal authority stating Linux is good either- indeed, the most likely candidate for a formal authority is the likes of Mindcraft and Microsoft, and it's pretty obvious that their credibility is zilch too, particularly when you consider the subject and their motives for assuming authority on it and making announcements.
Instead, LinuxOne has already been singled out for contempt and dismissal (bordering on vengeance!) by two entirely separate communities. Any uninformed person inquiring, later, why it was a disaster, could get two entirely distinct authoritative answers why it was a big scam (OSS: it was Mandrake with the serial numbers filed off, they wouldn't give source, etc.. and The Street: didn't you notice they were incorporated in Nevada? etc)
LinuxOne watching is nothing more than bloodsport or sick humor and doesn't really _matter_ in any sense. Be assured that if any investors get suckered, Wall Street itself will think (along with OSS people) that they were fools. The prospect of Wall Street going "Oh my God, Linux is a scam!" is zilch: they know, better than we could ever know, how to spot con artist entrepreneurs, and the Street has already spotted LinuxOne for what it is (besides which, anyone trying to find out on the net would rapidly hit tons of Slashdot hysteria and outrage on the subject- and again, Wall Street knows what that sort of thing means.)
Re:Not good... (Score:2)
1) Successful dating techniques with Ruhipnol
2) Proper preparaion and deployment of large fertilizer bombs at federal buildings
3) Print yor own counterfeit money for fun and profit
4) How to overthrow small island nations
Gawd.
Re:Power Source web site (Score:2)
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
"Employ known figures indeed. Sounds like some of the famous traders in the old bazaar don't want too many newcomers setting up stalls unless they pay their dues."
RobLimo wrote:
What's wrong with that? In the "pure" Open Source business model, for-profit companies are living on the backs of the community. They need to give a little back in order to have any cred.
Bruce Perens goes overboard by implying that a bunch of nobodies can't be up to any good.
In this particular case, it's pretty obvious that LinuxOne is a scam, and it is generally true that folks who come from nowhere deserve extra scrutiny. However, just because someone has no (known) history in the community doesn't mean that he doesn't belong. LinuxOne would smell just as bad if it had a well-known Unix kernel hacker on staff. Contrariwise, if a bunch of nobodies said "We've translated all the on-line documentation into Chinese, and we're going to re-sell a Chinese RedHat distro", with a real business plan and some real funding (not a copy of the RedHat plan and some orders from controlled shell companies), I'd see nothing wrong with it.
Don't confuse the issue of LinuxOne being a fraud with the issue of LinuxOne coming out of nowhere. They're related, but not congruent.
Re:We've got to get the word out! (Score:2)
Thanks
Bruce
Re:Power Source web site (Score:2)