The "Alexis de Tocqueville Institution" is one guy with a $19.95 per month web site.
And he can't write.
Oh, puh-leeze. This Microsoft brothel is a desecration of Alexis de Tocqueville's good name.
This is nothing but FUD. Microsoft is worried.
For some more FUD, the author suggests that if the DoD were to use any GPL'd code in a classified software project, they'd have to publish the source code for all to see. I'm afraid that's wrong. They would only have to make the source available if they were to make the software available. But if it's classified they won't, so the issue is moot. Contrary to the author's nonsense, the GPL doesn't compel anyone to make their creations public. It only forces them to provide sources if they should choose to make them public.
Message-ID: 1991Aug25.205708.9541@klaava.helsinki.fi From: torvalds@klaava.helsinki.fi (Linus Benedict Torvalds) To: Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: What would you like to see most in minix? Summary: small poll for my new operating system Hello everybody out there using minix-I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386 (486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-) LinusIt's kind of funny that he never foresaw how big his little project would become.
Linux is Unix, AT&T invented Unix at Bell Labs. End of Story.
Bump
Another problem may be with the word "invent".
the study directly challenges Linus Torvalds' claim to be the inventor of Linux..
I don't know of any instance where Linus claimed to "invent" Linux. But the Internet has a long memory, and it's clear that Linus originally developed the Linux kernel.
.. based on extensive interviews with more than two dozen leading technologists..
Which is typical for ADTI. Very little research, just interviews, after which words are cut and pasted to fit the agenda.
We'll have to see what comes out on the 20th, but I doubt that this source will be taken seriously based on past history.
Hey, look. It's the usual rogue's gallery of Mac/Linux bigots. Why do you guys even bother to respond to these kinds of articles? Just setup a macro or auto-responder to spew your usual bile: "It's MS FUD" ... blah, blah, blah. It would save you time.
It was purposefully based on an already existing peice of software, down to the exact command syntax. It almost even has the same name, also on purpose.
Go ahead and argue till you turn blue, but without Unix, Linux would have never existed. And without IBM taking huge chunks of Unix and porting them to Linux, it wouldn't even be a topic on this board.
Other modern day operating systems have been based on prior products, but none so much as Linux is based on Unix. And no amount of crying is going to change that.
"Alien puppet Linus swiped Linux from SCO, says balanced study:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/17/adti_linux_fud"
"Ok, I admit it. I was just a front-man for the real fathers of Linux, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus."They (for obvious reasons) couldn't step forward to admit that they had gotten bitten by the computer bug, and had been developing a series of operating systems on their own during the off season. But when they started with Linux (which they originally called Freax - they do feel like outsiders, you know, and that's a whole sad story in itself), they felt that they could no longer just let it languish in obscurity. They started to look for a front-man, and since Santa Claus is from Finland and thus has connections to Helsinki University, and the tooth fairy claimed 'He's got good strong teeth,' I got selected."
"Since then," Torvalds continues, "I've lived a life of subterfuge, always afraid that somebody would find out the truth. I'm actually relieved that it's over, and that the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute has finally uncovered the lie. I can now go back to my chosen profession, the exploration of the fascinating mating dance of the common newt."