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<p>How Linus Torvalds became benevolent dictator of Planet Linux, the biggest collaborative project in history.</p> <p>Linus Torvalds wants me to believe he's too boring for this story. The creator of the Linux operating system portrays himself as a mild-mannered soul leading a humdrum life, just another guy lucky enough to own a McMansion in the hills above San Jose courtesy of the money-mad late '90s. Before agreeing to meet me, Torvalds sent an email imagining that I'd be overwhelmed by the tedium of hanging around with the likes of him.</p>

When I read the other day an article entitled "Why Open Source May Be Doomed", my first reaction was to just ignore it. It's hard to rationally answer an article so biased, factually inaccurate, and lacking in fundamental comprehension of the subject as this one, which begins like this: "I have to admit that I was never much of a believer in open source. Maybe my business school coursework rendered me blind to the glorious vision of a 'gift culture' in which people contribute their work to a decentralized development project like Linux for honor instead of money. Or possibly...

Copyright Lawsuit Is Turnabout for SCO By JOHN MARKOFF Published: October 13, 2003 AN FRANCISCO, Oct. 12 - The SCO Group, the company that touched off a computer industry slugfest last spring by suing I.B.M. over its use of Unix software, may find itself embarrassed by a similar claim against a company once related to SCO. Since filing a lawsuit claiming that I.B.M. added parts of the Unix operating system to the freely distributed Linux software, SCO has threatened other computer companies, the open source software movement and hundreds of corporations that rely on Linux, saying they are unfairly using...

Despite a rash of gushing news stories about the successes of Linux and Mac OS X on the server and client, respectively, Microsoft's Windows operating systems continue to dominate its OS rivals in both markets, and a recent report notes that usage of Windows is actually growing in both markets as well. Market researchers at IDC say that various versions of the Windows desktop and server OSes currently dominate their respective markets and will continue to do so for at least the next four years. IDC credits Microsoft's volume licensing programs for the company's ability to grow share during a...

Original Song By Walter Kittredge (1864) Update-Parody by Coral Snake (2003) MIDI - TENTING ON THE OLD CAMP GROUND click on the WHITE title for the midi 1. We're surfing tonight on the Linux box. We see something to cheer SCO's pump 'n' dump was found out now, As SCO execs should fear. (CHORUS) Many are the hearts that are happy tonight, Now our Linux shall stay free; SCO execs in jumpsuits of orange bright Means penguin victory. Surfing tonight, Surfing tonight, Surfing on the Linux Box. 2. Been surfing tonight on the Linux box, Watching SCO FUD and lie,...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (CNN/Money) - Say what you will about the man, but Darl McBride, CEO of SCO Group, has made a lot of people happy. Specifically, he's made a lot of investors in his Lindon, Utah, software company very happy. SCO stock has been on a tear (shooting from a 52-week low of 78 cents to a recent high of $20.85), trading these days around $16.40.</p>

Original Song by George Frederic Root (1862) Update-Parody by Coral Snake (2002) MIDI - BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM click on the WHITE title for the midi As we rally round the penguin, Rally once agin, Shouting the Linux cry of freedom. 1. Yes we'll rally around the penguin, we'll rally once again, Shouting the Linux cry of freedom, As we liberate PCs in the cities and the plain, Shouting the Linux cry of freedom. (CHORUS) Our LINUX forever, hurrah Tux, hurrah, Down with the SCO tree, Tux is the star, As we rally round the penguin, Rally once agin, Shouting...

IBM released on Tuesday two new higher-end versions of its z990 mainframe, along with a promotion to coax customers to try blade servers and other Big Blue products. When IBM began selling in May the first z990, code-named T-Rex, there were two configurations: Model A with eight processors and Model B with 16. Now the company will sell Model C with 24 processors and Model D with 32, IBM said. IBM is trying to make the new systems more appealing in other ways as well. For one thing, customers that buy the z990 will get a discount of as much...

I have to admit that I was never much of a believer in open source. Maybe my business school coursework rendered me blind to the glorious vision of a "gift culture" in which people contribute their work to a decentralized development project like Linux for honor instead of money. Or possibly I'm just too thick to understand how cutting off a multi-billion dollar revenue stream from software sales, without putting anything else in its place, could be good for the software business. Whatever the problem, I never quite believed in the fairy tale world they promised in which we'd all...

SGI compares Linux, Unix source code IDG News Service 10/6/03 Robert McMillan, IDG News Service, San Francisco Bureau An open letter to the Linux community published by Silicon Graphics Inc. indicates that SGI has conducted a comprehensive comparison of the Linux kernel and the Unix System V source code owned by The SCO Group Inc. According to the letter, authored by SGI Vice President of Software Rich Altmaier, SGI conducted an "exhaustive comparison" of the Linux kernel and the Unix System V source code, which turned up only "trivial" code segments that "may arguably be related" to SCO's software. The...

To mess up a Linux box, you need to work at it; to mess up your Windows box, you just need to work on it. We've all heard it many times when a new Microsoft virus comes out. In fact, I've heard it a couple of times this week already. Someone on a mailing list or discussion forum complains about the latest in a long line of Microsoft email viruses or worms and recommends others consider Mac OS X or Linux as a somewhat safer computing platform. In response, another person named, oh, let's call him "Bill," says, basically, "How...

SGI code changes not enough, says SCO By Peter Williams [03-10-2003] SCO confirms revoke of SGI Unix licence on 14 October, despite code change work The SCO Group has insisted that changes made by Silicon Graphics (SGI) to some of its Unix code will not be enough to prevent termination of SGI's Unix licence. SCO plans to revoke SGI's Unix licence even though the latter claims to have removed all potentially offending code from its XFS journalling file system, now in Linux. But this does not go far enough, SCO has told vnunet.com. The licence is due to be terminated...

Here they go again. SCO has brazenly put up on their website the Powerpoint presentation from SCOForum 2003. And you don't need to sign an NDA to view it. It appears to be setting forth their legal position, including some cases that they seem to believe support them. Let's see if they do. And let's take a look and see what we can learn about the way they view their case. While it is missing whatever it was they said during the presentation at SCOForum, leaving some question marks in the air, it contains the following, which I will...

An open-source letter October 1, 2003, 4:00 AM PT By Joe Firmage The current flap between SCO Group and the Linux community brings back memories of summer 1995. It was an unforgettable time for me, in a bad way. As vice president of strategy for Novell's Network Systems Group, I had been working for more than a year to help plan the integration of NetWare and Unix into a next-generation network operating system. Our engineering teams were a year into a three-year development plan, targeting 1997 or 1998 for the release of a breakthrough converged platform to be called NetWare...

Silicon Graphics Inc says that it has received notice from SCO Group Inc that the Unix vendor intends to terminate its Unix System V license on the basis that SGI has breached the terms of the license. The move by Lindon, Utah-based SCO is the latest twist in its long-running claims that code from its Unix System V has been copied into the Linux operating system. The company has also terminated the Unix licenses of IBM Corp, sued IBM for $3bn for breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets, and maintained that Linux users need to license its Unix...

"Time to Combat SCO's FUD More Strategically," Says Analyst September 29, 2003 Summary Analyst Rob Enderle is enjoining the Linux community to start thinking more strategically and to move against the real threat that SCO represents - as a spreader of fear, uncertainty, and doubt about Linux. Read Story Email Story Print Story Read/Add Feedback About LinuxWorld News Desk By LinuxWorld News Desk Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group, is saying today that the Linux community needs to think strategically and move against the real threat that SCO represents - fear, uncertainty, and doubt. “The community must encourage...

Monday September 29, 2003 - [ 03:16 PM GMT ] Topic - Press Releases LINDON, Utah--September 29, 2003--The SCO Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOX) today made the following announcement: On Friday, September 26, IBM filed an amendment to its legal complaint against The SCO Group. In this amended complaint IBM asserts that SCO has violated the GNU General Public License (GPL), and based on this violation has then violated certain IBM copyrights. IBM, not SCO, has brought the GPL into the legal controversy between the two companies. SCO believes that the GPL -- created by the Free Software Foundation to supplant...

HP shells out for SCO road show By Ashlee Vance in Chicago Posted: 29/09/2003 at 13:52 GMT Starting Oct. 7, SCO users throughout the U.S. and Canada will have a chance to express their appreciation for the company's intellectual property defense program in an up-close, personal setting. The SCO City-to-City Tour kicks off in Toronto on Oct. 7 and then snakes its way through the U.S., ending up in Orlando, Florida on Oct. 29. Users who sign up for the get together will hear "messages, news, and product information" that are vital to running a successful SCO operation. One of...

BOSTON -- International Business Machines Corp. has filed new counterclaims against SCO Group Inc. in the closely watched case involving the Linux operating system, according to a memo sent to the IBM sales force. According to the memo, which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the new counterclaim charges that SCO infringed IBM's copyrights by distributing IBM's contributions to Linux after SCO had violated its Linux license by claiming a copyright on parts of Linux. IBM says in its counterclaim that SCO violated the general Public License under which Linux is distributed. The GPL requires Linux distributors to...

A panel of leading security experts Wednesday blasted Microsoft for vulnerabilities in its software, and warned that reliance on the Redmond, Wash.-based developer's software is a danger to both enterprises and national security. The group, which debuted its report at the first day of a two-day conference hosted by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), was headed by Dan Geer, the chief technology officer of @Stake, a security consulting firm. "As fast as the world's computing infrastructure is growing, vulnerability to attack is growing faster still," said Geer. "Microsoft's attempts to tightly integrate myriad applications with its operating system...