SCO to Take On Hollywood 341
An anonymous reader writes "Daniel Lyons, the man you may remember for calling the FSF 'Linux's Hit Men' is now reporting that SCO is 'Holding Up Hollywood.'
Their reasoning? It's because 'They're using a ton of Linux in Hollywood, so they've become a lightning rod for us,' says Darl McBride, SCO's chief executive.
As usual, Groklaw provides insightful commentary concerning rehash SCO has planted to remain in the news, saying 'Maybe they should fulfill prior threats before they throw out new ones? Otherwise, it could lead some of us to doubt their sincerity.'" At least it's smarter than trying to sell a license to every home user of Linux.
SCO to play villain in next Bruce Willis movie (Score:5, Funny)
Re:SCO to play villain in next Bruce Willis movie (Score:4, Funny)
Re:SCO to play villain in next Bruce Willis movie (Score:3, Interesting)
Update: Actual SCO Headquarters will be blown up (Score:3, Funny)
Especially considering that Hollywood[tm] will be buying out SCO so that in the filming they will actually be blowing up the real SCO offices, and if law enforcment agrees, it will still contain SCO executives when it is blown up.
A Hollywood[tm] producer was quoted as saying: "Some might say that it is too expensive to blow up the real SCO offices for a special effect, but we think we will make it up at the box offic
Let's RUMBLEEEE!!! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Let's RUMBLEEEE!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyone for a quick round of Celebrity Lobby Group Deathmatch?
tomV
Hidding in the rafters... (Score:2, Funny)
Suicide (Score:5, Funny)
McBride needs to remove his golf shoes before he steps on his dick again.
Re:Suicide (Score:5, Funny)
I'm starting to think SCO's legal strategy is to get the entire company declared legally insane. Watch them suing Microsoft and DoJ next.
Re:Suicide (Score:2)
Re:Suicide (Score:5, Informative)
Taking on a group with deeper pockets and more political clout than IBM?
Maybe more political clout, but Hollywood does not have deeper pockets than IBM. The best numbers I was able to find (without paying for access to research reports) is that the US media industry hit $100 billion in 2002. That's a lot of money, but that includes television, newspapers, music, movies and games. The gross box office revenues revenues for the top 10 movie studios for 2002 was $8.4 billion. Figure their total movie-related revenues were maybe twice that.
IBM, on the other hand, had 2002 revenues of $81 billion.
Re:Suicide (Score:2)
Re:Suicide (Score:5, Funny)
Oh wait... "What's that, Darl? You don't think a missile up your ass would be good for your health? Well, shoulda' thought of that before!". Bam!
Re:Suicide (Score:3, Funny)
and they both died?
Where are the Linux kernel copyright holders? (Score:4, Interesting)
From GPL violations to this gangster type activity you would think that someone would put SCO to task here. I still own one share of SCO stock and am holding on to it for no other purpose than to help bring suit to them for these type of actions. What can they be nailed on and how can I as a stockholder help?
Note: I sold the rest of my SCO stock when this mess first started and purchased Novell.
Right to sue in de minimis cases? (Score:4, Insightful)
I still own one share of SCO stock and am holding on to it for no other purpose than to help bring suit to them
You probably won't be able to sue SCO executives unless and until they cause you to lose at least twenty U.S. dollars (Amendment VII [loc.gov]). What is SCOX worth again? Have you held SCOX stock since late 2000, the last time it was worth [yahoo.com] $20 per share more than it's worth now?
Well (Score:3, Funny)
The Internet is just so wonderful...
Let's see how this plays out... (Score:5, Insightful)
Since that is not enough, you decide to pick on somebody else. Let's see...who might be using Linux that should just roll right over again....Oh, I know....Hollywood!!!
Yeah, those movie companies don't mind too much about paying extortion money to annoying gnat-like computer companies that have no legs to stand on. Excellent decision Darl. I am sure that Spielberg and his crew at Dreamworks and Lucas and others will surely just pay up, no questions asked.
SCO, I have to admit that you have some of the biggest balls in the computer industry. Unfortunately, your balls are filled with the hottest of air.
Re:Let's see how this plays out... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Let's see how this plays out... (Score:2)
Since that is not enough, you decide to pick on somebody else. Let's see...who might be using Linux that should just roll right over again....Oh, I know....Hollywood!!!
Somehow I have this Image of SCO as a small dog who walks around and barks at people, checking which of them will drop something he can eat..
It may be funny for the first or two barks, but it has gotten pathetic and I'm just waiting for someone to put the poor bastard out of his misery.
More like "cover up" (Score:2, Interesting)
Let's see what they dig up.
You forgot "and cover up." Remember that MPAA studios own all major commercial television news media in the United States (except for MSNBC until NBC merges with Universal). They'll dig up a lot of dirt on SCO and cover up their own faults.
Great... (Score:5, Interesting)
This could be the last stupid move that SCO makes. Maybe they are wanting to be bought out. HP has to hate this too, because they are really, really heavy in the CG industry as a Linux solutions provider.
-Tim
Re:Great... (Score:2)
There's also BSD, of course -- BSD has been adjudicated to be non-infringing of the SVr4 code already. It wouldn't be too hard to switch to that.
thad
Re:Great... (Score:2)
-Tim
Re:Red Hat? (Score:2)
fedora is basically just rawhide under a new name. it's exactly the same as redhat with newer packages. i just don't understand why this is so hard for everyone to understand.
so, all the CG studios will continue to easily use Maya with fedora; end of story.
Dr. Seuss estate is going to kill me for this (Score:5, Funny)
I will not pay you in Thailand.
I will not pay in Spain or France,
I will not pay you, not one chance!
I will not pay you, S-C-O,
I need not pay you, no, no, no!
Will someone who works at SCO please... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Will someone who works at SCO please... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Will someone who works at SCO please... (Score:3, Funny)
Sure. Yes, the thing is, Darl McBride got his hands on a cocaine deal he just couldn't say no to (no, he couldn't - they would have shot the son of a bitch). Buy two tons of the finest Colombian cola, and cover the Utah market. Great business plan:
Now, the problem was, he'd fired all the sales people, marketing people, and all the engineers t
Re:Will someone who works at SCO please... (Score:2)
I work for SCO and just yesterday I got a chance to peek in to Darl McBride's office. He was having a video chat with Michael Eisner. I only caught part of the conversation, but Eisner was laughing really really hard. Something about '100 trillion dollars?!'
Sorry about the explosives line (Score:5, Informative)
Another thing he said that didn't make it into the article, for some reason, is that the reason SCO is taking on Hollywood is to generate publicity -- that anything to do with movies gets many times the publicity it deserves.
What this implies is that they don't really want money from this, they want press, they want buzz, they want to be in people's faces. The obvious reason would be to raise the stock price, something that has been flat for the last two months.
thad
Re:Sorry about the explosives line (Score:2, Informative)
Send feedback you may have, to expand on your misquotation, or quotation out of context.
http://forums.prospero.com/n/mb/message.asp?web
Re:Sorry about the explosives line (Score:3, Insightful)
Yep seems a bit on the stunt publicity side. Afetr all most VFX studios are separate from the movie studios, except for a few notable exceptions. Why would they talk to the executives at Universal, since they contract their VFX work. Heck maybe even the executives at Sony don't kn
Re:Sorry about the explosives line (Score:2)
Then TV executives act baffled when they find the Internet and computer games are causing a rapid decline in ratings. Give us the stories we see as relevent and stop interrupting TV when we do finally watch it with 'breaking news' about how Brittney changed her make-up..
Okay...quick question (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:Okay...quick question (Score:5, Informative)
The gov't can't issue a ruling on the merits of SCO's claims - that is what the courts are for. And as such, any intervention by another branch would be premature.
Re:Okay...quick question (Score:2)
SCO has not yet threatened the SEC, or other big government agencies if they are running Linux. That I think is one reason the other is that SCO aren't disrupting the money market to any great degree yet.
Its digusting that any form of corruption is allowed to go on, I'd start asking your senators too about this, no-one should manipulate the market illegally for even a cent. Its about time they got enough evidence to put McBide and Sontag in a cell with Bubba.
StarTux
Maybe something good can come out of this... (Score:4, Funny)
That has to be worth some amount of punitive damages...
Can there be any doubt who is behind this? (Score:2, Interesting)
For SURE with the arrangement they've taken with their lawyers; that they'll be paid handsomely no matter what, it becomes quite evident that the only people who are rich enough to take on all the avenues and still only spend pocket change is
Microsoft.
But as usual, they've come to the premature conclusion that they are smarter and more able to defend themselves against the whole world than everyone el
Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:5, Interesting)
It's just insane. I can't find any cohesive thread tying all this together.
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:2)
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:2)
About the only thing I can think is that, it seems like every time they launch some damn fool crusade against someone, their stocks go up. So maybe the COs have decided to launch a huge, suicida
Perhaps this is what they (their handler) wants? (Score:4, Insightful)
Perhaps they (MS) know that the GPL would be held up in court.
Perhaps they know Linux would always best their products on the technical front.
Perhaps they're planning on SCO pissing off enough companies, Linux developers, and Linux users to force to sue SCO. Perhaps they are planning on using this litigation in a anti-Linux / anti-GPL / anti-open source marketing campaign.
See how litigous the Linux developers are? Do something with Linux that they don't like and they'll sue you!
It's possible. It's entirely possible. Perhaps we (the Linux community) isn't looking far enough ahead. We're playing a game of chess here and our opponent is distracting us with stupid moves of his pawns while the queen gets in position for the kill. It's possible that we just aren't looking at this from the right angle. We need to be predicting their moves further in advance. Thoughts?
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:2, Interesting)
I can see three possible outcomes w
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:5, Insightful)
And the idea of it being declared equivilent to public domain is fanciful at best - legally if the GPL is struck down, all copyrights then revert back to being handled under the 1977 copyright law. If a judge actually were to so rule, it would be immediately struck down on appeal - there's simply no legal basis for stripping the code of its copyright protections entirely without the express permission of the copyright holder.
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:2)
And the idea of it being declared equivilent to public domain is fanciful at best
PJ at Groklaw explained this theory well a while back. I'm too lazy to go find it, so I'll just (probably incorrectly) recap it for you.
Apparently, there's a legal doctrine that permits a judge to remove an owner's legitimate property rights in cases where following the letter of the law would violate the owner's intent and a better, fairer results can be obtained by altering the terms. IIRC this doctrine is mainly used
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:2)
They are probably a good bit brighter than Daryl.
No, this one doesn't baffle me at all (Score:2, Interesting)
Consider:
1. clustering is one technology that Microsoft has not had much success with. Part of it is the structure of Windows itself that leads to technical hurdles. But, even if they had efficient clustering built into Windows right now, the licensing terms that Microsoft has held dear for so long (i.e. one computer, one license) would kill them in the clustering marketplace.
2. Bill Gates, in an intervie
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:3, Insightful)
How can they "crush" them?
It works like this:
There is no fight, there is no attack. There is just FUD, nothing more and nothing less.
Re:Is anyone else just BAFFLED? (Score:3, Interesting)
Last time I came out with this sentiment I was modded a troll, but I think I'll try this again because it seems to answer your question:
News Flash: the SCO case will not be decided by Slashdot readers. It will be decided by average Americans like the judge in a recent hacker case who was tripped up by the defendent using the technical term, "cut and paste" and had to ask, "you mean, with scissors?"
The SCO view:
SCO is operating on the assumption that Open Source, by it's very nature, gives away the
They need to establish a "Loss" (Score:5, Insightful)
They have sued for $3B but this is just a number. It could just as easily be a gazillion.
To collect anything in the unlikely event that IBM is found to be at fault, SCO needs to establish a Loss.
They way to do this is to stated a value times the Units used. This is most likely why they have introduced this silly $699 scheme.
For the value to be "deemed" acceptable they need to sell at least some licenses at that price . It is not enought to point to MS and say they bought licensing for $8M.
Now if they can swing somethng with a Film maker this would go a long way to establish "credibility", so I guess this is at least one more reason for this apparent Suicide mission.
Re:They need to establish a "Loss" (Score:2, Interesting)
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=85084&cid=742 2 172
Hopefully, Hollywood will recognize the "mob" (ie. organized crime) when they see it.
--- Posting from Yesterday follows ---
Paul Murphy at E Commerce Times
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/31932.htm l
has an absolutely insane article about this whole mess. Mind you, 98% of the article is completely nuts as it basically blames IBM, or anyone else, for not paying of
Re:They need to establish a "Loss" (Score:2)
BayStar is betting that SCO will be able to collect license fees from Linux users. "We think this licensing initiative is going to work," says Lawrence Goldfarb, managing partner. "We spent a lot of time calling around to potential licensees, and we believe SCO is going to sign enough companies to make this an interesting growth story."
This is a war of opinion, and SCO are turning heads. Certainly there are enterprises using Linux who are being influenced by BayStar's and RBC'
Not capped (Score:3, Informative)
The $150,000 figure is "statutory damages." Such damages are available only to a copyright owner who registered his copyright either before the infringement happened or within three months after the work was first published.
Actual damages are not capped, but they're also much harder to get than statutory damages.
who next? (Score:2)
We all know who's next..... (Score:2)
It has come to our attention that there are a number of IP infringements occurring in your most wonderful country. To remedy this problems, it is recommended that you quickly submit a small token of appreciation in the form of a chek to cover your use of this so-called "Linux" operating system. Since we are aware that your country is actively developing a version "Linux", a monetary payment will cover your licenses for developing your inferior....I mean...most honorable
This weekend only! (Score:5, Funny)
This weekend only! Live in Hollywood!
In this corner, the reigning heavyweight champion, with millions of dollars in court awards over the years: The heavyweight champion, the MPAA!
In this corner, the challenger, featherweight SCO. With no significant assets, no business plan, and no hope in hell, SCO.
Personally, I don't really care who wins. I'm just hoping it goes the distance and we see a lot of blood...
Re:This weekend only! (Score:2)
Hollywood Doesn't Care (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hollywood Doesn't Care (Score:3, Insightful)
Hollywood only writes the copyright laws, they don't actually obey them themselves!
Darn right. Had the copyright terms established by the Bono Act [pineight.com] been in effect when Disney was making its classic films, we definitely wouldn't have Disney's Pinocchio or Disney's The Jungle Book in the form that we know them. The original authors' estates would have demanded artistic control over the works (as seen in Disney's licensed films such as The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Tarzan) and a hefty cut of th
Just a couple of questions. (Score:3, Interesting)
Are SCO/Sontag/McBride digging their own financial graves should the suit get thrown out as being baseless?
Whats the likely effect on Hollywood? Are they going to be scared of the SCO monster and back down, or will SCO have made another enemy that mobilises its army of lawyers?
Can the investment firms named also be sued? Like in class action lawsuit?
StarTux
Re:Just a couple of questions. (Score:2, Insightful)
Thus, I can see IBM putting on a great defense regarding SCO's suit against them and a great offense in their suit against SCO. I can't say that I see the same level of legal practice in regards to Linux rights from the f
Best Quote from Darl (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, I'd be surprised, too.
Let's See... (Score:5, Interesting)
- SCO Takes on IBM, that is bad from many people's perspectives, but the media doesn't take notice, so many others don't care.
- SCO takes on Sun, SGI, and the like, and no one really cares beyond the computer enthusiasts.
- RedHat files against SCO. No one who isn't a computer enthusiast seems to really notice.
- IBM counterfiles against SCO, which is slightly noticed in SCO stock, but probably more because it's IBM suing, rather than what the suit is about.
What's going to happen when SCO starts actively taking on the very media that has publicized it's side but not publicized the other side of the argument? Remember, many media conglomerations own movie studios, television networks, newspapers, internet sites, and radio stations, or if they don't own them outright, they have a significant financial interest and a certain level of control. If the media feels that it's being attacked, it's in a great position to do two things: show the stories in a positive light for others that are also being attacked, and to villianize the attacker. This has the potential to be the single largest screwup that Caldera International d/b/a SCO Inc has committed.This one I'm actually interested to see play out. This is going to be fun to watch.
And smarter still... (Score:2)
And not to mention being smarter than SCO paying Linux-using businesses to use products SCO doesn't even own [slashdot.org]. Yeaaah... great revenue generator, that one.
Re: your sig. (Score:2)
SCO World News? (Score:2)
(I wonder what they have on page three... I bet they have spreads on page three -- well, maybe spreadsheets...)
Although seriously, maybe that's the whole idea. Maybe they're trying to increase brand awareness by making news so often? Dumb idea, if you ask me, but I've been around enough mar
Maybe this'll drive a lesson home (Score:5, Insightful)
go Darl, go! (Score:2, Insightful)
Thaddeus Beier (Score:2)
I'm guessing that Thaddeus isn't serious but I would love to know what makes Darl, et al, continue on with the lawsuit and accusations knowing there are so many people that utterly despise them for it. It can't just be money, can it?
Reinterpretation of IP Rights (Score:2)
It's not as if SCO is a jackal trying to nip at Hollywood, there are jackals on both sides of this court case. Perhaps Hollywood will act innocent and put up a marginal defense, but they stand to gain much if SCO loses
Losing the media (Score:5, Interesting)
This article was mostly good, but I wish they had picked apart McBride's "'Boy, this free stuff is sure cool!'" lie - the difference is that the creators of movies don't want them to be free, while the creators of Linux do, and McBride's the one usurping our copyrights. Also, the author slipped up and called Linux freeware, but that's a minor distinction to everyone but us. And there was quite a bit of emphasis on people investing in SCO, but hey, this is Forbes, so what a company does is secondary to how its stock will react.
As for SCO itself, it's difficult to understand why they are so suicidal. They've ruined their defense against RedHat by explicitly threatening to sue their customers (assuming RedHat has at least one customer in Hollywood.) They're extorting from companies even bigger than IBM, companies which might have more to lose, companies that exert some control on the media, which SCO desperately needs. Everyone assumes Microsoft, but one would think Microsoft could buy higher-quality FUD, and hide its ties better. Pump-n-dump doesn't quite fit either - McBride isn't making any attempt to appear like he has a case anymore. Anyone who can't tell he's a raving lunatic isn't looking hard enough. I remain frustrated at our incredibly slow legal system, which won't do anything about this for at least two more years.
Re:Losing the media (Score:2)
So he's gotten lots of people to kick in money in a frantic effort to meet his deadline. What happens later doesn't matter. So you have stupidity (the contract
when does one of these cases go to trial? (Score:2)
Re:when does one of these cases go to trial? (Score:2)
Since SCO know they have nothing they'll try to keep this out of court for years. Once it arrives in a courtroom, SCO is effectivly over as a company.
TWW
Could be a good thing (Score:4, Insightful)
Surely anyone in the industry who is challenged just has to say "We're running a customised kernel, we have modified lots of code. Show us your code and we can tell you if we've replaced it or not".
They're not going to pay up if there's any chance they're not even using the SCO 'IP', are they? Couldn't this force an admission of code?
And in related news.... (Score:3, Funny)
Hollywood's GPL-know-how/$ is worse than IBMs (Score:2, Interesting)
Maybe SCO hopes Hollywood is more likely to buy it out.
Unlike IBM, Hollywood is unfamiliar with the legal underpinnings of the GPL and more vulnerable to smoke and mirrors.
Yet, like IBM, Hollywood also has deep pockets.
Interesting... (Score:3, Insightful)
I think SCO has just reached 100 deciJobs in the reality distortion field.
$64 million in sales, says the article (Score:2)
Lessee, take out the stock deal because that's not really a sale, round off, carry the one, adjust for sample error, that's approximately. . . no sales.
SCO's a playa!
KFG
General Uninformed Assumptions... (Score:3, Insightful)
Lets say you work in a department and you use a considerable percentage of your machines are Linux, what are you and your fellow hackers going to say when mr PHB comes down from head office and asks you about the SCO thing ?
Hopefully you'll convince him that SCO are talking out of there ass. So there inherently lies the problem, most organisations are not going to change. I havent yet heard of anyone who's actually bowed down to SCO.
These absurd threats and forays they are making must surely be reaching a climax. I dont think there can be any doubt now that Microsoft are behind this. SCO are nothing but a pawn in Redmonds little game. One way or the other the results of this court case are going to forge the future business strategy of Redmond. One thing is for sure though, SCO are going down and the world will be a better place without them.
Redmond dont want to destroy Linux, they want it, the problem is it just doesnt fit with their proprietary business model. If only they could find a way to make Linux a proprietary system by invalidating the GPL. That is the real reason behind it.
My real fear is that when SCO finally does go down, who's going to get to pick up the peices ? i.e. the Unix rights?
nick
If he comes to you... (Score:5, Insightful)
Usually, PHBs don't ask tech about legal issues, they ask legal. Lawyers like to keep all bases open, so they're probably not ready to dismiss it completely, even if they have some clue about the case. Good old "Cover Your Ass", they don't have all the facts, so they can't make it 100% definitive. Then the PHB will percieve this as a risk, and *then* he'll come down to tech and go "Can we do something about this 'Linux' risk?" Don't expect him to take your legal advice "SCO is smoking crack" at face value.
Instead, show him all the people they've threatened. IBM (don't forget AIX), Linux distributors (Redhat countersuit, Suse getting gag order in Germany), Linux users, SGI, HP (which offered indamnification), Hollywood, the list goes on and on. Make them sound as if they're trying to take on the world, suing everybody and anybody, demanding money for allegations they won't prove. In short, make them sound like one of those "companies" sending out fake bills, only in this case they're using licence fees instead. "Pay us this licence fee/bill, or else..." "Else what? For what?" "Uh nevermind..."
Kjella
Pre movie excitement... (Score:2, Funny)
This is like getting previews and teasers to one of the most anticipated movies of all time. I just want to be able to see what the outcome of this case is. I want to see SCO's ass kicked in court.
This has to be a unique moment for me personally. I normally don't give a rat's ass who wins a litigation in the USA - it seems to happen to damn often - but SCO are really asking for it. They're like the dumb little kid in the playground who's taunting the big fat kid, and you just want the big fat kid to pound
A couple of quotes (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm preaching to the choir by responding to this, but it's worth saying that the difference bettween the two cases is that the holder of the copyright gets to declare the terms of distribution. If Hollywood wants to sell their product, that is their choice. If Linus (& friends) want to give their product away for free, that is their choice. If Hollywood wants to simultaneously reap the technical/financial rewards of the GPL and the financial rewards of selling their movies, there is no hypocrisy -- so long as in both cases the terms of the respective copyright holders are honored.
SCO, which has retained hired gun and Microsoft nemesis David Boies, plans to target titans of financial services, transportation companies, government agencies and big retail chains
I think the "Microsoft nemesis" meme here is very interesting. Lawyers are only enemies-for-hire. Since Boies is no longer working on the DOJ-vs-MS case, it doesn't make sense to think of him as their nemesis any longer. Still, I wonder if he was specifically hired to give "plausible deniability" to any alleged MS funding of SCO's actions (knowing how most people probably don't understand how dispassionate lawyers can be if enough money is on the table.)
Rawhide! (Score:3, Funny)
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Keep that FUD train movin'
Damn my ass is swollen
Rawhide!
Re:Rawhide! (Score:2)
Time for Remedy? (Score:2, Insightful)
They show the linux community offending code so that it maybe remedied.
Or the courts rule on their claims. In which case if their IP rights have been violated the linux community will be able to remedy the situation and life will go on without SCO making news every other day.
When will we all learn? (Score:4, Insightful)
I say, ignore them, let them do battle and they will just... sod off and die.
I really get sick of hearing SCO fud.
We should just STOP listening to it!
i'm kinda confused here... (Score:2, Interesting)
No Linux? (Score:2)
You win some you lose some I suppose. SCO isn't doing anything to win new customers.
Picture the scene.. (Score:2)
McBride: Mr. Spielberg, we've got some source code, some powerpoint slides, and a paper trail a mile long.
Spielberg: Yes. But I have ten high-priced lawyers.
McBride: Ya, ya, yaaa!!! [runs out of office]
Spielberg: He left his briefcase. Hey, it's full of SCO press clippings!
Never... (Score:2)
Hasn't SCO heard? Never get into a fight with someone who owns a printing press. (forgot who said it) Taking on Hollywood is a great way to get the media to make you look really really bad.
There's a difference Darl....... (Score:5, Insightful)
Errrrmm, this may be because Hollywood generally pays someone to write a script or buys one from someone else, hires the actors, CGI guys, film crews, director etc., maintains a level of control over the production process then credits (and pays) those responsible for their contribution.
This differs from your claim which is based on the concept of "we didn't actually contribute any effort, development funding, or anything really but feel we deserve money because IBM included software THEY'D developed to work on UNIX into Linux" a concept that is stretching the term "derivative work" to the limit.
The two are wholly different claims and your idea as expressed above is akin to wholesale distribution of Windows or your proprietry UNIX or ripped of movies via the net.
Again, it's fairly easy to spot when a movie has stolen the plot of another movie makers work and you can bet Hollywood would jump on the back of anyone who stole significant chunks of a film script without crediting the original.
One more time:
YOU HAVE NOT PROVIDED A SHRED OF CONVINCING EVIDENCE TO BACK UP YOUR CASE! YOU HAVE NOT PROVIDED ME OR ANY OTHER LINUX USER WITH ANY CONVINCING SOLID REASON WHY WE SHOULD BELIEVE A WORD YOU SAY!
So until you are willing to put the proof to public scrutiny, and I can download the kernel source from any Linux distro or kernel.org so don't give us this "it'll be revealing our trade secrets crap, shut the fuck up and start behaving like an adult.
Given that.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Except Uncle Darl that is.
My question is... (Score:2)
Although, Hollywood should know all about hacks being paid to write propaganda.
Darly Mcbird, playfully challenging an anonymous coward to fistucuffs?
Bwahahahaha.
Electrical safety tip Darl (Score:2, Funny)
Ah, so Darl thinks he's Zeus now? The thing to remember is that after the storm and noise are done, it's the lightning rod that remains. And he should be careful with electricity when he and his claims is so obviously groundless.
Lightning rod? (Score:2, Funny)
So does that mean that the fact that Hollywood uses lots of Linux mean that they have a lower chance of being sued?
Which Decade is this? (Score:3)
The 70's were the "me" decade.
The 80's were the Al Franken decade.
The 90's were the dot com decade.
So far the 00's are shaping up to be the Who Cares If Everybody Knows You're An Asshole As Long As You Make Money decade.
The main thrust of 21st Century innovation, at least in America, seems to be in blatantly profiteering from defects in the system and shoving it in everybody's face. Sleazy business tactics like obstructive litigation, bogus intellectual property claims and political bribery are nothing new. The innovative element is that these activities now occur right out in the open. In many cases we know damn well that what some CEO is saying is absolute and utter crap. They know that we know; they just don't care. They've spent a lot of money tailoring the legal system to their needs, and they aren't going to hesitate to use it just because they might look bad. Advertising and low prices will eventually buy public forgiveness.
There is no pride or shame in high places anymore, only a pervasive arrogance.
Father of McBride (Score:5, Funny)
Prescient Steve Martin: "The Jerk" (Score:2)
There's also "The Single Guy", yet another (hopefully) prescient movie by Steve Martin about a guy who couldn't buy a date. I hope Mr McBride will have plenty of idle time to think about his antics, looking for work in all the wrong places (e.