Wal-Mart eyes Microsoft for Web build-out
,----[ Quote ]
| She said the intellectual property protections in the Novell deal
| give Wal-Mart more confidence in using Linux more broadly.
|
| Questions over intellectual property are a "huge problem," Stewart
| said. The company now uses Linux in the data center of its current
| Web presence but had some trepidation with the idea of expanding it
| a much larger operation.
|
| "To think about using it pervasively, we were very concerned about
| it," she said. The larger Web operation would have "significantly
| higher legal exposure.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6152247.html
Yet again, Novell gives credence to the ludicrous argument that software
patents have validity and that Linux needs 'protection'.
Related (thanks, Doug):
,----[ Quote ]
| "Does Microsoft intend to continue to break the law by filing software
| patents in South Africa?"
|
| "the patent office does not check the validity of the patent. The
| patent office only checks that payment has been made and that the
| correct forms are filled out. For this reason, software patents slip
| through the process illegally."
|
| "Once these patents slip through the system they are extremely
| expensive to revoke"
`----
http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1331
Do Windows users have an "undisclosed balance-sheet liability" too?
,----[ Quote ]
| Who can tell what infringes what any more? Also, I wonder if we should
| even care. Patents were originally created to protect the little guy
| who invents a gizmo, tries to sell it, but sees another company come
| along, copy the gizmo, and make all the money selling their version.
| But today's application of patents to software is completely warped
| and twisted from that noble idea of fairness and reward for hard
| work... Countries that see what we're doing and avoid it will be
| at a competitive advantage. While we sit around gazing at our
| navels, they will be free to let developers develop, collaborate,
| and innovate in peace...
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=216
NT influenced by Unix
,----[ Quote ]
| (Gates:) "And through Windows NT, you can see it throughout the design.
| In a weak sense, it is a form of Unix. There are so many of the
| design decisions that have been influenced by that environment. And
| that's no accident."
|
| In light of the recent saber rattling about Linux and patents, the "There
| are so many of the design decisions that have been influenced by that
| environment" sentence is particularly interesting if these patent
| threats include things that are prior Unix art. "In a weak sense, it
| is a form of Unix" is also telling. I said before that I don't think
| that's the case; I think the patent stuff is talking about things like
| Samba and Mono, but even there the "influenced by that environment"
| could be important in the court of public opinion if not in actual
| law.
`----
http://aplawrence.com/Unixart/gates_quote.html
|
|
