Posted on 07/24/2003 3:01:32 PM PDT by glorgau
While some CFO's are perfectly comfortable being jerks, they tend not to last very long. So in general I totally agree with your point.
These things aren't technical or financial to CIO's and CFO's nearly to the extent that they're political. In the politics of the board room, one does not shoot off his mouth about this sort of issue without already lining up a win. And if your win means another exec loses, you either line up an easy out for him with his consent, or you're attacking him on purpose and for keeps.
OK, I admit it, "You don't do that to people unless you want a life of harpoons in the back" was a little hyperbolic.
It's this simple: until SCO has a victory in court, their *accusations* mean nothing. This is also true of the case we are discussing on this thread against MS. Using linux does not make you a thief, communist or dupe of the Chinese. Using Microsoft does not make you a patriot, either.
Had you been here as long as you have (falsely) claimed, you would notice that the folks who like/use linux on this board are as conservative and patriotic as you are.
News flash: liberals/communists/gays/democrats/atheists use linux, ms, hot water, electricity and all manner of things that we do, too. To not use them because they do would be...stupid.
Linux will survive this just as BSD did. You might as well accept it: it's going to be in your enterprise some day no matter how much you find the idea distasteful.
As in all os wars, the final judgment will always be: use what works for you. Linux, MS, AIX, Unix, Apple, ect. all work. Use them all as is best in your enterprise.
So Endeth the Lesson: Go and Sin no more.
Unfortunately, some have arrived at FR. And it has been a strange/terrible feeling to find myself attacked constantly when I feel I am the one standing on 'principle' in regards to intellectual property theft.
In other words, I seem to have found my self being 'crucified' if I may dare use such a word by the FR masses. Many of you will surely laugh, especially considering this *IS* FR where we like to think morals and standards are high, and that I am certainly far from perfect and have mispoke on occasion, but why is my position which I have so clearly tried to identify as ethical being so severly attacked?
I thank the Honorable Munchkin for his delightful opening statement. I see that you would prefer to stipulate that Microsoft may have done something here, declare "End of Story", and move on to the next linux-bashing thread.
I don't think that's fair at all. I think we should have at least six or seven hundred notes in which to inform the citizenry that all of their favorite Microsoft products are under a cloud; that there is serious risk here; and that it might be wise for them to seek non-Microsoft alternatives for their data processing needs.
Then there's the matter of devoting at least 6*10**45 electrons to the bashing of the Microsoft Corporation as thieves, pirates, fascists, and who-knows what else. There certainly has been no shortage of that sort of fun when the object was linux. I can't imagine why you would want to cut this one short.
It looks to me like those thugs in Redmond stole this little company's patented inventions. That's what they allege, and no higher standard of proof has been needed to bash the Hell out of IBM or linux, or Linus Torvalds. You've thrown enough of that mud yourself to build a small mountain.
So you'll have to forgive me when I say that it's looking more and more likely that Microsoft will be found guilty of stealing this company's property. Which would make them thieves.
And at least according to this article, Microsoft could be facing a court order to halt shipments of just about everything except Flight Simulator. Or was that on the list too? What IT manager should not be preparing now for the day when Windows will, sadly, no longer be available? Because the company that built it was found to be a nest of thieves?
That could happen, you know. Don't be so quick to just dismiss this and try to move on. These aren't just wild-eyed claims. This company has just won the Markman ruling 33 to zip. Oh, there will be more court stuff as the evil Microsoft Corporation tries to wriggle out of any crimes it has committed, even while it moves more of its jobs to India. But the handwriting is on the wall. The trends are irreversible. The curtain is descending. [enough! -- ed.]
So anyway, I thank you for your kind words about the butt cracks, and hope that you will stay around to hear even more derogatory verbiage dumped on the Thief Of Redmond.
Not to mention serious warnings to users to stay away from that Microsoft crap. It may soon be illegal.
Oh, puh-lease. You hypocrites have already chosen sides REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME. You're wedged so far up IBM that you could only be retrieved with surgery...
If you've been paying attention, you already know my views on this issue. You hypocrites choose sides based upon whether you've got your nose rammed up one of the party's butt cracks. I believe in strong intellectual property enforcement. If MS infringed (even unintentionally), it has to pay the injured party. InterTrust may indeed have a case, based on the article.
I believe I heard somewhere that MS is being sued for some patented code found in DirectX.
So it may very well on some list somewhere.
By Jove, you're right. This Microsoft outfit might have stolen still more patented technology from Lucent. Here's Gates up there in front of the securities analysts last week telling them how "innovative" his company is, and here we find out they're accused of stealing all these innovations from other companies.
Plus he had the gall to blow a bunch of smoke out his butt about linux having "IP problems," when Lucent has him in court over 13 of their patents, these guys are suing him, and Sendo has a suit pending in Texas alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, common law misappropriation, conversion, unfair competition, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, two counts of negligent misrepresentation, two counts of breach of contract, fraudulent inducement and tortious interference.
It's a shame that none of these are little publicly-traded companies. Maybe then they'd want to run a pump-and-dump on their stock, the way SCO is. Then there could lots of "pulpit power" devoted to exposing all this perfidy from those fascist thieves at Microsoft.
Did you know that the Chief Architect of Microsoft Office was a foreigner from a communist country? For all we know there are back doors in Excel that send all the numbers we type in there straight to the Kremlin.
Then I found that in June, Microsoft signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Zayed University under the patronage of HH Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and President of Zayed University.
What's that about? "This agreement aims to empower students and faculty members by providing them with the latest Microsoft .NET technologies."
Lebanon, too. "In its effort to help create an environment that enables Lebanese IT students to be connected with the international IT industry and result in helping graduate world class IT professionals, Microsoft created the Microsoft Dot Net Club. The Microsoft Dot Net Club which is launched in collaboration with all major universities in Lebanon is made up by students, for the students and guided by the faculty."
Ever hear of that terrorist group, dot_Hezbollah? Let's hope we don't.
These Microsoft guys... thieves, foreigners, communists, and now they're educating potential terrorists on the very technologies they would sell our largest companies. Traitors!
Get that Brass Buzzard in here. He'll be very concerned about this, I'm sure.
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