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Caldera Linux Business

Darl & SCO Overview 236

Posted by CmdrTaco from the here's-the-situation dept.
HAL9OOO writes "I found an article that as well as giving a good overview of "SCO - The Story So Far" also provides an interesting insight into the character of a certain Mr Darl McBride Esq." It's a fairly lengthy article providing a lot of insight. Necessary reading to anyone new the SCO/Linux thing, and recommended to anyone who just wants some interesting details on SCOs position on the whole thing.
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Darl & SCO Overview More

Darl & SCO Overview

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  • "SCO/Linux"? Ouch... (Score:5, Funny)

    by janbjurstrom ( 652025 ) <inoneear@noSPAm.gmail.com> on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:31AM (#8081163)
    Unfortunate choice of words, no? People raise all kinds of hell when "GNU/Linux" is mentioned.. Must say I prefer the latter ;)

  • Article Text - Formatted (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:31AM (#8081167)

    Its taken more than a decade, millions of man hours and an international movement bent on software sovereignty to poise Linux as the fastest-growing player in information technology. Now, on the cusp of punching through proprietary softwares kung-fu grip on the market, a fuming little Utah County company threatens to stomp Linux dead in its tracks.

    Ive been pounding the table here for a year or so saying theres no free lunch, and there is going to be a day of reckoning for every company that thinks they are going to try and sell a free model. Thats Darl McBride, president and CEO of the SCO Group, a perennial loser at selling UNIX and, until recently, Linux operating systems.

    Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that SCO posted hundreds of millions in losses from 1994 to 2002.

    But ever since determining it owns the ark and the covenant to the enterprise software industry, says McBride, SCOs bad fortune is on the upswing.

    Through a series of intellectual property transfers, SCO wound up with the rights to certain dated distributions of UNIX, the proprietary software platform that Linux was patterned after. SCO asserts that code from its UNIXes was copied into recent Linux releases. Now the company is demanding that commercial Linux users cough up licensing fees for the UNIX in their Linux, or prepare for a tussle with SCOs lawyers. And to show it means business, SCO has taken on computer giant IBM in a lawsuit that could reshape the balance of power among software makers. SCO insists Big Blue owes it billions for allegedly illegally contributing UNIX code to the Linux kernelthe core chunk of code underlying most distributions of the Linux operating system.

    Should SCO prevail, besides reaping its own billions, software megalith Microsoft stands to win the war of enterprise operating systems. Linux has crept up on Microsoft, challenging its stranglehold on the server market by offering better prices, performance, security and reliability. And several Linux companies are positioning themselves to take a stab at Microsofts 94 percent hold on desktop operating systems. Its a sign that the open-source software development model is edging out Microsofts proprietary model.

    People are tired of buying cars with their hoods welded shut. Thats what theyve had in the software industry for years, says Bruce Perens, a Linux cheerleader and open-source advocate.

    With Linux software, source code is open for anyone to improve upon or add to, the premise being: the more heads you have working on each problem, the less likely something will be overlooked. Whereas proprietary software is locked up, accessible only to its owner, who isnt necessarily driven to make the best product, but rather the easiest buck. And, as opposed to selling the operating system as a product in itself, open-source proponents see it as the infrastructure upon which valuable applications can be added, and services rendered.

    Leading the charge against Linux is McBride, the blustering executive every Linux dweeb has come to loathe. Hes no geek, says Benjamin Choate, a self-trained Linux user living in Logan. His tans too good.

    Choate is among the Linux devotees calling SCOs claims ludicrous. Whats more, they say the company is embellishing its position to sow fear, uncertainty and doubtFUD for shortin the minds of Linux developers, vendors and users. SCO opponents say its a mudslinging strategy to scare Linux users into paying up, and to make the slingers product look more inviting than the slingees.

    See, SCO isnt really even SCO. Its proprietary claims are for works it didnt create. The veracity of those claims, many critics believe, hasnt stood up to the most trivial scrutiny. And at every turn, those same critics say the company has revealed itself to be inconsistent and unforthcoming, leading them to conclude that SCO is merely extorting Linux users for unwarranted damages. A short history lesson is probably in order.

    In June 2002, t

    • [T]hose who believe software should be free cannot prevail against the U.S. Congress and voices of seven U.S. Supreme Court justices who believe that the motive of profit is the engine that ensures the progress of science, McBride wrote.

      there you go people
      the man is pure souless evil, but be glad he exists so that you know what you are not

  • Perchance did you see it on slashdot? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:33AM (#8081178)
    This story was previously linked as http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/22/17 24207&mode=thread&tid=106&tid=185&tid=187&tid= 88

  • Cliff notes version (Score:5, Funny)

    by cluge ( 114877 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:40AM (#8081214) Homepage

    Darl: Linux bad, they steal

    Linux: No we don't - what did we steal

    Darl: You know, now just fess up and tell anyone

    Linux: Are you on crack?

    Darl: I will get a court order to make you tell me what you stole from me - (I can't seem to find it)

    Judge: Are you on Crack?

    Novell: You ARE on Crack!

    And the saga continues, tune in next week when darl says "Crack isn't good for my big bright smile".

    • Re:Cliff notes version (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      You forgot

      Microsoft: We'll take some of your crack.

    • Re:Cliff notes version (Score:4, Funny)

      by E_elven ( 600520 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:44AM (#8081535) Journal
      In other news, the Association For Leisure And Addicted Crack Users Of America is 'thinking about' suing Linus Torvalds for libel.

  • And they're still in business... how? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by IchBinDasWalross ( 720916 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:49AM (#8081269)
    "Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that SCO posted hundreds of millions in losses from 1994 to 2002."

    Only a company like AOL could do that and stay in business.

    • how? Here is How (Score:5, Informative)

      by bstadil ( 7110 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @12:35PM (#8081819) Homepage
      Only a company like AOL could do that and stay in business

      Why do you think so? When Caldera went public as a Linux company they raised $250M. They can piss away that amount, before they face a liquidity problem. As a matter of fact that is precisely what happened. They were running out of cash and the IBM suit was a last desperate Hail Mary act.

      Sad the Linux community and IBM has to pay for it. To some extend it is good that Royal Bank of Canada stepped in (Behest of MS?)as there is a chance that case gets thrown out before their $50M infusing is gone.

      This means IBM and RedHat can collect something, plus the corporate shiled to Canopy might just have been pierced meaing they can be held accountable as well as the offecers personally.

  • Overblown. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:53AM (#8081289)
    From the text:
    "Should SCO prevail, besides reaping its own billions, software megalith Microsoft stands to win the war of enterprise operating systems."

    Exactly HOW did the author come to this idea?

    Because if SCO were to somehow obtain a victory, the masses who use GNU/Linux would just move over to BSD. But such an obviouus conclusion would have made for a short article.

    Microsoft is more likely to win via software patents than SCO's claims.

    • Re:Overblown. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by N2UX ( 237223 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:55AM (#8081296) Homepage
      Darl has already stated that SCO believes there are unstated "problems" with the USL/BSD settlement. If SCO succeeds in their jihad against Linux, I would not be surprised to see them turn their guns on BSD.

      • Re:Overblown. (Score:5, Interesting)

        by SkArcher ( 676201 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:06AM (#8081347) Journal
        IIRC the possible problems with the BSD settlement were that if USL had pushed ahead, they may have eventually lost far more than the settlement actually cost them.
      • I would even learn to program (shudder), but the Pandora box is open, they can't sue free software out of existence.

        It may take a while for idiots to realize this, but in a free society there is no way you can forbid somebody to share their work with others as they see fit.

    • Re:Overblown. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by jimicus ( 737525 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:21AM (#8081422)
      Not necessarily. There's no incentive for IBM, Intel et al to support BSD with open code because the BSD license allows anyone to take their code, benefit from it and NOT release any changes back. Essentially, IBM, Intel et al would very possibly be writing code on Microsoft's behalf with no payment in either cash or further improved code.

      This may not count for much in the enthusiast market but in enterprise, support from the big guys is a big plus.

      • Actually, I don't think IBM cares about BSD vs. Linux as far as IP is concerned. They just knew that Linux had the momentum in its favor and they had to support some kind of Unix anyway so why not make points with the open source community?

        Of course, they still maintain the largest collection of software patents on earth, but as long as they promote Linux, this fact will probably be ignored.

        • Actually, I don't think IBM cares about BSD vs. Linux as far as IP is concerned. They just knew that Linux had the momentum in its favor and they had to support some kind of Unix anyway so why not make points with the open source community?

          Actually, I'd say they're behind Linux because it's got the most (best) press right now. With its fresh, friendly face it's C[I|E|T]O friendly. It's also got the most momentum, the most vendor support, and probably the highest *N?X adoption rate. Anecdotally, I could

          • Well, we mostly agree. I don't think, however, that IBM was really worried that anyone would stop buying their mainframes someday if they didn't run Linux. On the other hand, why not choose the version of Unix that is currently the most politically correct.
      • Actually, I'm not so sure about that, it actually allows for IBM, etc. to keep more of its own intellectual property, without ever having to release it.

        IBM is an IP firm, owning thier own IP is attractive to them.

    • Re:Overblown. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MarkusQ ( 450076 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:29AM (#8081461) Journal

      "Should SCO prevail, besides reaping its own billions, software megalith Microsoft stands to win the war of enterprise operating systems."

      Exactly HOW did the author come to this idea?

      Hmmm. Let's try it in a different context:

      "If the clone warriors prevail against the Jedi, besides them reaping their pay, the mastermind behind their creation stands to become the emperor."

      The logic looks sound to me.

      -- MarkusQ

    • Don't kid yourself. If somehow we all fall down the rabbit hole and SCOX wins this case, The Darl has already said he'll go after BSD next, and presumably he'd have the war chest to do it.

      This, however, has zero chance of happening, plus or minus a fudge factor of zero.

  • Word choice (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mieckowski ( 741243 ) <mieckowski@@@berkeley...edu> on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:56AM (#8081297)
    The article describes Darl as "one angry man."

    Aren't they supposed to use "mad?"

  • I knew it! I knew it! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 25, 2004 @10:57AM (#8081306)
    Darl is working hard these days so that he too can be knighted by the Queen of England. But Bill didn't have to work *that* hard...

  • Well, I think this repost is *good* (Score:5, Interesting)

    by herrvinny ( 698679 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:01AM (#8081326)
    Not to be a troll or anything, but this is a really concise article, with both points of view. Face it people, most articles to date have been clearly biased pro/anti SCO, yes, even Forbes, the various hobbyist sites (even my own, check my sig and SCO Report [scofiles.com]). I'm not saying that's bad or anything, but the non-nerdy don't want to dive into specific details, they want a clear, concise view of things, and this article provides it. Perhaps it's done by SCO's hometown paper, but it still seems to be balanced reporting.

    This is one repost I don't mind. If anyone asks you what this sco fiaSCO is about, you can direct them to this article.

  • RE: SCO's lost path. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fshalor ( 133678 ) <fshalor&comcast,net> on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:03AM (#8081338) Homepage Journal
    Funny thing is, I was trying to explain the situation to someone over dinner last night. This article does an awesome job of nailing the key points.

    McBride should note: (emphasis added)
    "SCO wound up with the rights to certain dated distributions of UNIX, the proprietary software platform that Linux was patterned after..."

    That's pretty much as accurate a statement as any about the whole situation.

    It's also calling McBride an unsuccessdul salesman. And there's a juicy comment about "Bruce Perens", as "a Linux cheerleader". I'm sure Perens is happy with that sttement.

    Overall, it really reasserts the lack of sense behind the whole thing. The only possible justification for SCO group's actions is the persuit of money for the sake of money....

    Any chance of them changin their front page? I mean, they should get rid of all that betterment drival and just come clean. The fact that their making money hand over keyboard from selling *linux* licenses right now is absolutly, well... I'm not going to meniton it...

    Pengiuns may be flightless, but they have thick skin and kick some serious ass on ski slopes.

  • Insight? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:06AM (#8081351)
    There is zero insight in that article. Quotes from both sides. Darl says that something is in a contract in plain sight. Everyone else says it's not in that contract. Does the reporter bother to check? No. He just reports both quotes. Same think throughout the whole article. Both sides give easily verifiable contradictory information, and the reporter never bothers to look at primary sources, even if they are openly available on the web. It is lousy reporting.

    • Re:Insight? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Vlad_the_Inhaler ( 32958 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:29AM (#8081464)
      Is 'The Salt Lake City Weekly' a freebie? It certainly looks like it. In that case, asking for 'Insights' is being rather optimistic - they did not write the Slashdot blurb on the article.
      What it does do quite well is to summarise what the two sides are claiming in terms that a non-technical can understand.
      If the whole story were completely and obviously cut-and-dried, SCO would be bankrupt already. SCO have at least made an attempt to make it look as though they have a case.
      • What are you trying to say, that if the paper is free it must be inferior?

        I suppose next youre going to say something like:

        'Ive been pounding the table here for a year or so saying theres no free lunch, and there is going to be a day of reckoning for every newspaper that thinks they are going to try and sell a free model.'

  • Reprise:Evidence of origin,ownership,copyright+GPL (Score:5, Informative)

    by NZheretic ( 23872 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:10AM (#8081369) Homepage Journal
    What evidence of origin,ownership,copyright + GPL [slashdot.org]
    by NZheretic : Mon 09 Jun 03:30AM:

    SCO's evidence of origin and Function dictates form

    What proof did SCO present for the origin of both fragments of source code?

    What proof did SCO present to show the SCO code did not originally from old BSD,Linux or public domain publications?

    Who put the SCO source into Linux? - Was put there by Old Novell/SCO/Caldera in the first place?

    What proof did SCO provide to show that the person had access to SCO's Unix sources?

    The latter question raises another issue. The similarity is just as likely to be due to both operating systems performing the same role. Form is often directed by the function it performs. Function and variable names are often dictated by the API and common terminology.

    Both the current Linux and Unix kernel developers have attended the similar university courses and read the same publicly available documentation. The works of W. Richard Stevens are very influential as a reference toward modern Unix and Linux and have dictated the implentation of APIs and TCP/IP stacks in both.

    Copyright WHAT Copyright

    From Groklaw [weblogs.com] .

    Now that copyright is back on the table in the SCO case, you might like to

    read the law on copyright. [copyright.gov]

    SCO held another telephone conference today, but you had to be on time. I tried to call in later, when I was free, to hear the recording, but although the operator told me it had been recorded, it wasn't being made available. She suggested I contact SCO and ask to hear it. Meanwhile, someone who did listen posted on Slashdot as "mec" and he or she heard this question and answer [slashdot.org] :

    [question #3] Stephen Shankland, CNET --

    "Q: Copyright office does not have an assignment on file [for the Unix copyrights from Novell]. 'Is it your understanding that the copyrights have not been registered yet?' A: 'Stephen is correct ... [if we need] we will change the assignment of copyright ...' [we can do that at any time]."

    If this is true, that they failed to register, it puts another interesting twist on this story. (Novell put a twist of its own, by posting a press release [novell.com]on its site saying that while the Amendment that SCO sent them seemed to support their claim "that ownership of certain copyrights for UNIX did transfer to SCO in 1996", Novell doesn't seem to have the amendment in its own files, and patents for sure didn't transfer.)

    It's true you can register a copyright any time, but you can't sue [copyright.gov] for infringement until you have registered and you can't get certain damages for infringement that occured prior to registration: "Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U. S. origin." Section 411 [copyright.gov] says it precisely like this:

    " 411. Registration and infringement actions10 (a) Except for an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a), and subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title...."

    You are limited as to remedies without registration, as Section 412 sets forth:

    " 412. Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement11

  • Still funny... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Fiveeight ( 610936 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:13AM (#8081388)

    Yeah, it's a dupe, but I still find this one funny.

    "I've been pounding the table here for a year or so saying there's no free lunch, and there is going to be a day of reckoning for every company that thinks they are going to try and sell a free model." That's Darl McBride, president and CEO of the SCO Group, a perennial loser at selling UNIX and, until recently, Linux operating systems."

    Couldn't say it better myself.

  • Tort reform (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:14AM (#8081394)
    Reading this article made me sick to my stomach. I get it (finally). Darl won't be stopped until he's either rich or passed on to the great closed source world in the sky.

    Having dealt with these pump & dump attorneys in several ventures, the unfortunate realization one makes is that there is nothing - not a single thing - a good, legitimate enterprise or individual can do to stop these thieves. Try suing them to stop them from stealing assets? They'll stall your legal action out - make it take a couple years (by then, there's never anything left). Only tort reform can make an impact.

    Darl and his kin are the modern equivelent to a roundworm. Their parasitism preys on the output of others. Parasitism's a natural occurance in the competitive dynamic of life, but at least in other systems, the host is allowed to attempt to rid itself of them. In the US, nearly all legal means of dealing with parasites are rendered ineffective by the diseased court system.

    Legal parasites make bogus claims to the results of others work - Linux, patent claims of obvious items or with prior art and increasingly abuse two disasters in the US legal system (continually propped up by one of the political parties):

    1. A distorted, manipulated intellectual property award system that allows parties that contibute payola and/or recognize and reinforce the system to be the beneficiaries of an award of others property. Hire attorney. Grease wheel. Pay off the party. Get patent award snuck through. Hire more attorneys. Sue the rightful owners of your "property" for infringement. Get rich. Pay party and attorneys again.

    2. A judicial system filled with crooks and fools. More than two thirds of the justices are of the same system. On the rare occasion you get an idealist, they're quickly focused on inventing absurd laws (like throwing out constitutional guaranteed rights, or inventing absurd new rights) and kept out of the back room where the money flows. It's like Zaphod Beeblebrox of the Hitchhiker's Guide books, the fools are there to distract the attention from you while your wallet is being lifted.

    U.S. citizens that look to crooked third world nations (e.g Cuba, Venezuela) should realize their legal system no better. The only difference is that the crooks that run the system in the US are richer than most elsewhere.

    So open sourcers, until you're permitted to rid yourself of parasites (which unfortunately means both of your parties - and if you don't think your (D) or (R) friends are bought and paid for, then you know which category above you belong in!), understand that your great open source universe represents a dream host to these people. Darl's only uniqueness is that he's one of the first.

    • Re:Tort reform (Score:3, Insightful)

      by adrianbaugh ( 696007 )
      > Try suing them to stop them from stealing assets? They'll stall your legal action out - make it take a couple years (by then, there's never anything left). Only tort reform can make an impact.

      I'd like to see them stall Big Blue. I agree with your point, but until the law is reformed it's very nice to have the local 800lb gorilla on-side :-)
    • Well thought out, and well said.

      So open sourcers, until you're permitted to rid yourself of parasites (which unfortunately means both of your parties - and if you don't think your (D) or (R) friends

      Won't happen. Not within our lifetimes, anyway. Things have gone too far for that. It'll take a violent revolution, or (probably) generations worth of reform (with attendant losses) for that to happen here.

      I wish I could disagree with myself on that. I can't.

      SB

  • This part is great! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by obotics ( 592176 ) <remline@hotmail.com> on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:18AM (#8081408) Homepage
    The following two paragraphs show what a legal nut this McBride character is: (summary- a while back, McBride questioned why IBM had not indemnified their customers if they were so confident that Linux was free from illegal activity. However, after Novell and HP announced indemnification programs, McBride turned the argument around and stated that their MUST be something illegal in Linux, or Novell and HP wouldn't have bothered :p)

    McBride and company are quick to tout the warranty advantages of proprietary software over public systems like Linux. Ever since taking on IBM, SCO has persistently goaded Linux distributors to protect their end users by offering indemnification--that is, agreeing to foot the bill if some company, say SCO, sues for intellectual property violations. As recently as October, SCO spokesman Blake Stowell reiterated the talking point. "If IBM is so confident that Linux is free and clear, why don't they indemnify their users against any lawsuit SCO could bring against them?" he asked.

    That was then. Novell and Hewlett Packard (HP) have since announced that they will indemnify their Linux customers. However, McBride managed to spin the implications of those announcements 180 degrees to SCO's favor. "By announcing the programme they are acknowledging the problems with Linux. Through the restrictions and the limitations on the programme, they are showing their unwillingness to bet very much on their position," McBride told the online British technology magazine VNUnet.

  • SCO the Bully (Score:5, Interesting)

    by 110010001000 ( 697113 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:19AM (#8081415) Homepage Journal
    My concern with all of this crap, is the fact that someone hasn't forced SCO to shut the hell up. It reminds me of the Bully in grade school. He would consistantly beat up on kids every day. Some even to the point of actual damage, and he was NEVER suspended. Never. Ever. I think that is what needs to be really focused on. Not so much as "When will all of this madness end?", but rather "How can we prevent this from ever getting this far, if history repeats itself?"

    Also, from the article: "[Darl]I've been pounding the table here for a year or so saying there's no free lunch, and there is going to be a day of reckoning for every company that thinks they are going to try and sell a free model."

    What is with this messianic attitude? Perhaps what Darl does not realize is that folks contribute to Linux and other open source projects through a variety of reasons. Notably, some contributions to open source have happened via tax-payer funded projects from a variety of nations throughout the world. Other contributions are made from the generous and charitable contributions of others who simply want to make a difference. Darl wants to exploit those contributions and leverage his band of merry lawyers to "liberate" Linux from the rest of us. Only his liberation is not for anything other than selfish desires (like any criminal who sees nothing wrong with theft) with no respect to the common good.

    • More than a bully (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:52AM (#8081587)
      "How can we prevent this from ever getting this far, if history repeats itself?"

      In a lot of respects, SCO's behavior is a lot like that of James Taggert in Atlas Shrugged [atlasshrugged.tv] - especially when James got involved behind the scenes in attempting to profit from Francisco d'Anconia's Mexican mine venture.

      (For those who aren't familiar with the work, the book was author Ayn Rand's "comprehensive" embodiement of her objectivism philosophy into a novel form. While objectivism has its issues and is certainly incomplete in many areas, it provides a contract philosophy basis that is probably best represented by the emergence of the open source world. In a nutshell, the only legitimate way for two people to interact is on the basis of trade, where each is receiving what they perceive as a legitimate and appropriate value for the trade. Coercion, extortation, theft (taking without a consensual trade), intimidation, etc. are all inappropriate forms).

      This behavior is trivialized by calling it "bullying" (though the previous poster's intent was dead on). Recognized for what it is, Darl's behavior is profound parasitism, and all parasitism (which steals life from its host) is nothing more than a polite form of murder.

      So what if Darl steals Linux, taking the livelihood away from thousands of rightful creators? So what if they go unemployed, unable to work on their creation without Darl's consent? So what if they lose that health insurance policy and cannot afford the prescription their children need? So what if they die?

      Out of the tens of thousands of Linux-involved persons, the probability of death being caused by the success of Darl's quest is certain. Even the fear he has induced into the Linux world has had an effect - halting a Linux project here or there and causing honest people to remain unemployed.

      No, the best clue to understanding Darl is this quote from the article:

      "And SCO executives have even taken to traveling with bodyguards, a necessary measure, they say, given numerous death threats."

      Most certainly "perceived numerous death threats." The funniest thing about the James Taggerts of the world is that as righteous as they may sound at times (as they pursue their nihlistic path), deep down they know they're nothing more than a worthless being that preys upon others. They recognize that eventually they will encounter a host that refuses to be consumed, and this paranoia manifests visibly in the hiring of bodyguards, personal security, defamation lawsuits, etc.

      The solution? A GPL with teeth, backed by an open source community that aggressively funds their own legal defense foundation in order to firmly deal with predators and parasites like Darl.
      • Now, I know this is completely off topic, but was I the only one who thought that the sex scenes in Atlas Shrugged were more like rape scenes.

        And the charectarisation? Uggghhhh, awful.

    • My concern with all of this crap, is the fact that someone hasn't forced SCO to shut the hell up. It reminds me of the Bully in grade school. He would consistantly beat up on kids every day. Some even to the point of actual damage, and he was NEVER suspended. Never. Ever. I think that is what needs to be really focused on. Not so much as "When will all of this madness end?", but rather "How can we prevent this from ever getting this far, if history repeats itself?"

      Y'know just because the article is a du

  • Whatever you do, don't look at it! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Colonel Cholling ( 715787 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:22AM (#8081425)
    From the article:
    But ever since determining it owns the "ark and the covenant to the enterprise software industry," says McBride, SCO's bad fortune is on the upswing.

    Shouldn't that be "ark of the Covenant"? Maybe that explains their reluctance to actually open up the code and show what was "stolen." I, for one, would love to see Darl's head melt.

  • I've found a better explantion of the SCO situatio (Score:5, Funny)

    by Chas ( 5144 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:33AM (#8081483) Homepage Journal
    Right here [arie.org]

    Anybody who's been exposed to even a little television in the last 20-30 years should be able to pick up on this explanation.

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:37AM (#8081503)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • WTF did you call me? (Score:5, Funny)

    by utahjazz ( 177190 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:39AM (#8081512)
    Leading the charge against Linux is McBride, the blustering executive every Linux dweeb has come to loathe

    We finally get to the point where it's ok, pehaps cool even, to be called a 'geek' or 'nerd', and so they start calling us dweebs. What's next? Linux Douchebags? Linux Shitstains?

  • Intel vs AMD (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Barnett ( 550375 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:49AM (#8081565) Homepage
    They are random numbers representing computer error codes, which have been established as international standards.

    If SCO can sue over this, then why can't Intel sue AMD for using the same interrupt vectors, instruction set, etc.
    • If SCO can sue over this, then why can't Intel sue AMD for using the same interrupt vectors, instruction set, etc.

      Because unlike SCO, Intel has a real product that they derive a real revenue stream from.

      Oh, and Intel are not corporate assholes (for the most part anyway).

  • a question UNIX ABI (Score:4, Insightful)

    by linuxislandsucks ( 461335 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @11:52AM (#8081588) Homepage Journal
    a question

    Since according to the rulling on the org BSDI v UCB complaint UNix SsystemV edition 4 through 6 may be public domain..

    exactly what parts of Unix ABi that SCO group uses is new past edition 7 of system5?

    Also according to the same rulling only the IP stack was seen as continaing Unix system5 edition 4 trade secrets.. since no one uses that stack nayomre except for unix licenseees what other Unix IP is out there?

    The copyright and public domain issue is probably why SCOX never made copyrights an issue in the org complaint against IBM..:)

  • Come on! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Enough already. We all get it. McBride is less than ethical and SCO so far has no apparent case as they have yet to produce any real evidence. How many more of these overview articles do we need to read? We all get it already. Until something new happens in the case it is overkill to report on it. Enough of daily SCO related stories with no real new tangible info.
  • Necessary reading to anyone new the SCO/Linux thing,

    ...but if you qualify for that, it disqualifies you from reading this site. This is "Slashdot: News for Nerds. Stuff that matters." Any nerd with respect for himself has heard more than enough about the SCO case already.

    Kjella
  • So what happened on Friday? Wasn't that the day the court was going to comment on what SCO provided to IBM?

  • It takes more than one court. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Martigan80 ( 305400 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @12:12PM (#8081696) Journal
    It does, so does SCO have enough money to carry this out? I mean how long and how many appeals did the first Anti-Trust for MS take? Besides SCO vapor-evidance is still the big thing right now. I wish the media would tell Mr. Mc to STFU untill you produce the evidance on your own.

  • SCO is bad ....mkay (Score:3, Insightful)

    by qoquaq ( 657652 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @12:15PM (#8081721)
    What is worse is the profiteering from the whole "scandal". No one is going after these pin heads but watch out for Martha Stewart!

    She should be in jail ... mkay. Cause insider trading is bad ... mkay. We gotta put that on TV ...mkay. Gotta get the message out ...mkay

    Linux Communiy: Well, trashing a whole software movement to gain financially is not network worthy news?

    Software is too technical ... mkay. Most folks don't understand why the little blond haired Linux boy is that important ...mkay. We need to get Martha mkay, she's bad ... mkay.

    The whole thing is very frustrating!

    • The insider trading charges were dropped. She is essentially being prosecuted for saying that she was innocent of a crime which the government decided it could not prove that she committed.

  • HURD shuffle, BSD today? BeOS? Plan9? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by puzzled ( 12525 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @12:17PM (#8081727) Journal
    Linux is a kernel. GNU is an overall Unix replacement. GNU/HURD is a potential kernel replacement. BSD should be untainted by this and you've got three major and two minor varieties from which to choose, with FreeBSD being the easiest transition for Linux users.

    The ecological niche here is *open* - even if Linux goes extinct over this, GNU+HURD or FreeBSD is going to slide right into that position, and if there is further trouble from the SCO camp I don't think *anyone* can impinge the likes of Plan9 or BeOS. Sure, it'll be a huge change, it might set us back another ten years, but Stallman opened Pandora's box a long time ago and no one is going to be able to close it now.

    Not SCO with their frivolous lawsuit, not Microsoft with their billions in cash reserves, not silly US Patent law, not Digital Restrictions Management in BIOS; no one can stop it now - profit motive and customer demand are going to grind those things into the dust as surely as the automobile did to tack and harness shops.

    The internet is global and the desktop is strategic. I mean military/industrial strategic - look at the Pacific rim and their government's backing of their own Linux distribution. Europe is more low key about it but they're equally pleased to have local boys making a more stable product and freeing them from possible NSA/CIA/FBI sanctioned intrusion.

    GNU came into being when I was a highschool senior. I'm old enough now to have a child that is a highschool senior but I started reproducing later in life. I'm sure that by the time my son is a college freshman Microsoft's OS offerings will look as quaint as QEMM/386 or OS/2 looks today.

    Drawing a blank on QEMM/386? Don't know who Quarterdeck is? Never actually seen OS/2? Both stories are instructive but OS/2 is probably the most relevant - what *IS* the fate of an overweight, closed OS when a more nimble competitor comes into the arena?

    • Re:HURD shuffle, BSD today? BeOS? Plan9? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by starseeker ( 141897 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @07:43PM (#8084114) Homepage
      "I don't think *anyone* can impinge the likes of Plan9 or BeOS"

      Ah. You fail to grasp the most fundamental property of the lawsuit as a weapon. Their claims to Linux have to date not been proven publicly in ANY way, and yet they make trouble. The same tactics work just as well for any OS.

      Even if we were to develop a new OS from the bit level up, they could still say they own fundamental OS concepts and by definition any working OS owes them money. It doesn't have to make sense - you just need lawyers to try it.

      Welcome to the law as a killing tool. Merit isn't the issue - it isn't even of interest. It's what can you say, how loud can you say it, and who will believe you.
      • Welcome to the law as a killing tool. Merit isn't the issue - it isn't even of interest. It's what can you say, how loud can you say it, and who will believe you.

        Yes. I'll add:

        and what is killing our country, our society, and our culture, slowly, methodically, and for no other reason than pure greed and the distorted belief that being rich somehow makes you a better person.

        Bastards.

        SB
    • BeOS?

      BeOS is half written with poor network support. Apart from that it is completely closed source so we have no more reason to use it than windows.

      MacOSX is more similar to linux in the way it functions so even that would be a more viable replacement for linux than BeOS. MacOS is also activly maintained which is more than I could say for BeOS.

      As for OpenBeOS: it is hardly even started, it can barely boot, let alone be used. We would be better off writing a successor for linux from scratch that jump abo

  • Best Quote of the Story (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jmt9581 ( 554192 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @12:24PM (#8081764) Homepage
    Straight from the article:

    For months, SCO has encouraged users to take advantage of the promotional price, but there haven't been many takers.

    "We haven't published the exact number yet," McBride said. "It's not in the dozens, but it's, you know, we've had some that have started to sign up."

    This makes it sound like absolutely nobody has taken SCO up on their offer. Is there anyone here on Slashdot that will admit to it? :)

  • Back to the Future....? (Score:3, Funny)

    by reydar ( 741721 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @02:17PM (#8082363)
    Is it just me, or does Darl McBride share a striking resemblence to Biff from Back to the Future?

  • This part here was a real kicker for me (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Vicegrip ( 82853 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @03:04PM (#8082604) Journal
    McBride says SCO has shown plenty. "They're disingenuous on that or they would be ripping out the million lines of code we've already pointed to," he said, adding that the violations are too far-reaching to simply rip out anyway. One million lines amounts to roughly 20 percent of the entire Linux kernel. McBride says SCO revealed the offending code last August at its Las Vegas SCOForum. "Truly, and then they just ignored it," he said.
    If this isn't the most baldfaced lying I've ever seen in my life I don't know what is. I feel like a passerby overhearing a wacko prothelysizing absurdities whose obvious falseness is apparent to even the children laughing at him; then the loon complains that nobody takes him seriously.

  • "...And that's when we got our war paint on and said, 'We gotta go back and take this thing head-on.'"

    This guy has to be suffering from one of the worst cases of little-man syndrome in history.

  • Oh yeah.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Geek of Tech ( 678002 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @04:19PM (#8082931) Homepage Journal
    "And SCO executives have even taken to traveling with bodyguards, a necessary measure, they say, given numerous death threats."

    Yeah, but most of the death threats are from their lawyers, wanting something worth diddley, instead of SCOX Stock.

  • from m-w.com

    caldera: a volcanic crater that has a diameter many times that of the vent and is formed by collapse of the central part of a volcano or by explosions of extraordinary violence.

    McBride thinks that SCO group (formerly Caldera) owns UNIX, which just goes to show that he doesn't know UNIX from a hole in the ground.

  • Last Line of the Article (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Bilbo ( 7015 ) on Sunday January 25, 2004 @08:20PM (#8084359) Homepage
    I always look at the last line in an article like this to tell me what the author is really thinking. I love the Linus quote he put there:
    "The less I have to do with Darl McBride, the better off I am ... I don't want for that 'Darlness' to rub off on me."
    I have a feeling that, while the author takes the accusations seriously (Copyright infringement, if it really is in there, is a serious thing), he doesn't give much to Darl's credibility in the situation.

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