Ballmer Suggests Linux Distros Will Soon Have to Pay Up

An anonymous reader writes "Via Groklaw comes comments from Microsoft's Steve Ballmer at a UK event, in which the company once again threatens Linux distributions that haven't signed up with their program. '"People who use Red Hat, at least with respect to our intellectual property, in a sense have an obligation to compensate us," Ballmer said last week ... Ballmer praised Novell at the UK event for valuing intellectual property, and suggested that open source vendors will be forced to strike similar deals with other patent holders. He predicted that firms like Eolas will soon come after open source vendors or users. Microsoft paid $521m to settle a patent claim by Eolas in August.'"

Which IPs in particular?

[ubrgeek]

I couldn't tell from the article, but which intellectual property is MS saying open source solutions are infringing on? Or am I misunderstanding the issue?

Re:Which IPs in particular?

[j35ter]

RTFA!!!
It says *Balmer* made the statement. Why do you think there might be any truth in his saying ? :)

hmmm...

[Enoxice]

The real life equivalent of the AI meeting with the player every turn to say "we demand tribute for our patience" and demanding gold and technology. Too bad I can't have my usual response: a full-out attack, leaving their names to the annals of history! muahaha!

I don't play too much CivII, do I?

Re:Which IPs in particular?

[germ!nation]

If SCO has taught us anything it's that you don't have to tell anyone the details, even the judge.

Re:Which IPs in particular?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahhh, gotcha.

A chair throwing patent.

Re:hmmm...

[Jaxoreth]

The real life equivalent of the AI meeting with the player every turn to say "we demand tribute for our patience" and demanding gold and technology.

So would this be the standard AI, or the neurotic [slashdot.org] one?

Fud fud fud

[Fenice]

Hooo, ~scary~ So what? Eolas is coming for linux users? Weren't we already waiting for Microsoft? What next? Santa Claus maybe? Or a wing of flying chairs? The two only things he is sucessfully discrediting is Microsoft and the distros wich ranked with him (I feel like sorry for Suse to be associated with this man).

Re:Pay you for what?

[Dunbal]

I use Linux, in part because I didn't want to give you any money anymore, so could you please explain to me why you think I owe you money?

Microsoft: Well, you own a computer, don't you?

Re:Which IPs in particular?

[Linker3000]

Dunno, but I note that at least one M$ product infringes my Patent #911112999:

"A method of arranging for the decimal value 65535, and calculations resulting therein, to be consistently rendered as 100000 so as to confuse the shit out of those persons performing the calculation"

The obvious solution

[Synn]

For Ubuntu and Debian, I'd recommend they just give Microsoft 5% of all the profit they make off selling Linux to customers.

Ballmer: suck on this

[blackjackshellac]

I've paid over and over for your crap fucking operating system, I won't be giving you another redhat fscking cent you worthless overblown piece of shit.

Go fuck yourself.

Darl? You in there?

[thejuggler]

I missed the press release. When did Darl McBride start working for Microsoft? Maybe he do for Microsoft everything he did for SCO!

Re:Which IPs in particular?

[JWW]

There is only one company out there that champions Linux that could withstand this onslaught.

IBM

They also happen to be one of the few companies in the world that could effectively retaliate.

Look for it to go down something like this....

1) Microsoft threatens a Linux company, lets say.... Red Hat.
2) IBM buys controlling interest in Red Hat.

now it then becomes either.

Microsoft backs off this patent bullshit.

or

Global Thermonuclear Patent War.

Also, the amount of ill will generated by Microsoft should they choose to go after users directly instead of Linux companies. If they ever came after me looking for money because I downloaded Ubuntu. I would go from reluctant use of MS products to incredibly vocal sworn enemy of absolutely everything Microsoft really quickly.

Balmer claims IP rights on Chair Throwing

[Anonymous Coward]

October 10, 2007

London, UK - Steve Balmer at a recent rally had witnessed an upset executive throwing a chair at his subordinate. Balmer quickly reacted with threats of IP infringment stating, "Hey Pal, I was the one who invented Chair throwing at your employee's! Unless you're going to pay up the license fee, I'll see you in court!" Balmer further addressed the reporters at the rally, "I think we'll consider a new copyright on throwing chairs at Linuxer's that fail to pay the Microsoft Sin Tax ... er, license fee.". Some of the questions for the audience include, "Does the copyright apply to rocking chairs as well? What about bean bags?" Balmer retorted with, "anything I can sit my big-ole-fat-ass in qualifies as a chair!".

Ballmer is Masturbating to the Excitement

[HermMunster]

Ballmer knows he has no chance in hell of ever getting anything from this. The whole situation has been analyzed and recently the OIN told Ballmer to put up or shut up, so Ballmer is just saying this because he seems to get of sexually over all the attention he gets every time he opens his butthole about Linux.

He knows he's just farting into the wind and he's simply doing it to stink things up and hoping that he isn't standing there when he lets one go and the wind changes.

He's a fruitcake and he has no idea how shitty it makes him look. When the shit hits the fan then we'll seem something more than Ballmer jerking off in front of the fan with his mouth open.

Re:Which IPs in particular?

[smittyoneeach]

Aw, c'mon; they'll let you have IE7 on pirated Windows,
there's Vista,
Office2007's improved interfeces, and, of course,
OOXML!

What of Redmond's products couldn't possibly overcome all the ill will in the universe?

Re:Which IPs in particular?

[random0xff]

I heard some hobbits even stood up to the Nazgul...