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| Summing Up Groklaw 2003 |
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Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 07:10 PM EST
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Groklaw has had quite a year. Groklaw won its first award this year, O'Reilly's OSDir.com Editor's Choice Award for Best News Website. And Clay Shirky named Groklaw "the MVP of the SCO Wars". Groklaw's birth in May is mentioned in LWN.net's 2003 Timeline as a significant event: "Groklaw launches and becomes the definitive site for SCO case coverage." And Groklaw was referenced in a footnote in IBM's Reply Memorandum in Support of its Second Motion to Compel Discovery, which Judge Wells had before her when she ruled in IBM's favor earlier this month. Obviously, I'm not saying we made that happen, of course, but I'm just mentioning that Groklaw is now a part of computer history, because of that footnote. And I believe we did help.
It has been a good year. I know I've never done any work I've enjoyed more. There is an interview with me on Linux Planet by Jacqueline Emigh, if you are interested in why I do this and how I fell in love with GNU/Linux software and things like that. My favorite article about Groklaw in 2003 was by Rupert Goodwins on ZDNET.uk: "Groklaw is a sterling example of Internet interdisciplinary cooperation between experts and concerned parties. The discussions are impassioned but controlled, and documenting arguments is the order of the day. Heavily spiced with links and excerpts from many sources, the rule is -- if you don't understand, ask. If you know something of import, tell.
"When this whole sorry affair is over and BB King can get on with writing the Ballard Of Black Dog McBride, Groklaw will stand as a monument to how a community under threat can gather its resources and calmly set about restoring sanity in a hurricane of bluster. If anyone can find a way to bottle this, it may even all have been worth it." I was looking for something that would sum up this year on Groklaw, and I think it's this paragraph, from an article on Groklaw on October 30: "The GPL is their downfall. It's almost amusing watching them get all tangled up in its terms. They can't satisfy their greed and abide by the GPL at the same time. Poor SCO. Poor Microsoft. They will have to write their own software, and they can't. They write it, but it isn't as good. They can't match our software because they won't use our method. The open source/free method of developing software results in better, more stable, more secure code, and it's developed blazingly fast in comparision to their pokey ways. They want the results, but they're so terrified of the open process, they won't use it. The apparent solution they have come up with is to steal GPL code. Maybe they think if they can get it put in the public domain, not that they can, then maybe Windows software will finally become secure, once it's running on Linux, like Apple runs on BSD." And no year would be complete without UserFriendly, so here are a couple I liked on SCO: first, a suggestion for what the Novell-SuSE new distro should be called, and one more for good measure. This seems like a good time to publicly say thank you to Ibiblio for hosting Groklaw. Ibiblio hosts a great many sites, including Project Gutenberg, some research sites like Documenting the American South, and several Linux sites. Ibibilio is a "collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and the University of North Carolina". They call themselves "The Public's Library and Digital Archive." In my opinion, Ibiblio is a national treasure. And I also want to say thanks to the Groklaw family. Groklaw wouldn't be Groklaw without you, and the world has noticed your contribution. As Shirky phrased it: "This is the end of two-party law, where plaintiff and defendant duke it out in an arms race of $350/hr laywers and 'Take that' counter-motions.
"Instead, we have a third party, Groklaw, acting as a proxy for millions of Linux users, affecting the public perception of the case (and the outcome SCO wants has to do with its stock price, not redress in the courts.) Groklaw may also be affecting the case in the courts, by helping IBM with a distributed discovery effort that they, IBM, could never accomplish on their own, no matter how may lawyers they throw at it.
"There are two ways to change the amount of leverage you have. The obvious one is to put more force on the lever, and this is what SCO thought they were doing -- engaging IBM in a teeter-totter battle that would make it cheaper for IBM to simply buy SCO than to fight it out in the courts.
"The other way to get more leverage is to move the fulcrum. Groklaw has moved the fulcrum of this battle considerably closer to SCO, making it easier for IBM to exert leverage, and harder for SCO to. I can't predict how the current conflict will end, but the pattern Groklaw has established, of acting on behalf of the people who will be adversely affected by a two-party legal battle, has already been vindicated, even if SCO avoids bankruptcy." Thank you for your tips, the articles you bring to my attention, the comments, the suggestions, your wonderful research, the articles you have contributed and contributed to. The answers to your questions about patents for Dan Ravicher are available here [sub reqd]. I want to say a huge thank you to MathFox, Groklaw's webmaster, for his untiring and very skillful help, which he does entirely as a volunteer and without one word of complaint all year, through all the changes from blog to website to bigger website, and through all the slashdottings...Thank you, MathFox. No one but me knows all you have done and how much your skillfulness has helped to form Groklaw's tone. You help make Groklaw a pleasant place to be. And a thank you to John Crowley for designing our charming new logo, which he also did as a volunteer. He is working on some ideas on design for next year and some ways to make it easier for Groklaw to grow and still be manageable. And a thanks to Clay Graham for helping Groklaw transition from blog to website, so Groklaw could grow. A special thanks to my core team of experts and advisers, for keeping me from making as many mistakes as I otherwise surely would have. Yes, it's been a wonderful year. We have proven that no one person or small group is as smart as all of us working together and that the open method really does work in the legal arena too. We'll tell our grandchildren about what we started some day, I think, and they'll be proud of us. I mentioned the Documenting the American South project because I have an idea for a group project for Groklaw to tackle that I think might just work. I'll tell you all about it next year.
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| Authored by: Bill The Cat on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 10:08 PM EST |
Take a breather, grab a glass and toast the new year in style. You earned it!!!
We'll toast one in your direction too.
Have a greazt 2004 and may it be even better than 2003!
---
Bill Catz -
"The number of UNIX installations has grown to ten, with more
expected." -- UNIX Programmers Manual, 2nd Ed. June, 1972[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: shaun on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 10:12 PM EST |
PJ you have and all the other people her have been a great assett to the
Anti-FUD campaign. You deserve every Accolade.
--Shaun
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| Authored by: Nick on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 10:13 PM EST |
Loved the latest interview, and the look back on this year. Well done, PJ,
and well done Groklaw community. We all had a great first year, huh?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: arvoh on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 10:32 PM EST |
I am a lawyer -- just not the kind that does corporate law. PJ's writing is
better than any that I have read from attorneys, judicial clerks or even
appellate judges. I hope that you continue to have the success in 2004 that you
had in 2003.
Happy New Year PJ and Thanks! [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: The Mad Hatter r on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:00 PM EST |
PJ:
We all owe you a vote of thanks. As I mentioned before, Groklaw is now my home
page, and I hope I've helped out a bit. It's been an interesting experience
which involved trading emails with a lot of people who I otherwise would have
never had a reason to talk to, including more than a few on the other side,
several of whom I've developed a fair amount of respect for - even if they are
totally wrong by my standards.
I think that Groklaw has had a positive influence on a lot of people. Some of
the media people I've talked to originally wrote off the site as unimportant,
but are now giving it, PJ, and the community a lot of respect. I don't know
that we've had a positive effect on the court case itself, but I know that
Groklaw has had a positive influence on the media and public opinion.
A Happy New Year to all!
Wayne
telnet: hatter.twgs.org to play Trade Wars 2002
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| Authored by: LinuxCausey on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:02 PM EST |
| PJ,
After lurking up to this point, I had to go ahead and register just so I
could say congrats on a successful 2003 and best wishes for the upcoming year.
The same goes for the rest of the Groklaw community. It has been a joy watching
everyone work on this issue - I only wish I had something to contribute.
Perhaps one day. ---
Jeff Causey [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: brenda banks on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:03 PM EST |
Happy New Year to all
looking forward to the new year and cant wait to see the challenges we see along
the way
Thanks PJ for keeping us on track and focused
thanks to all others for their wonderful support
---
br3n[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:10 PM EST |
when I say that PJ's efforts have been very much appreciated. Thank you, thank
you, thank you for your efforts. PJ, you rock!
And that goes for all the regular contributors as well.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:12 PM EST |
As someone so ignorant of the law that I always thought a Legal Brief was
something lawyers wore (sorry, couldn't resist), I was shocked some months ago
to find myself adding a Groklaw bookmark button to Mozilla. PJ, you have done
two important things with this site: You have reassured ordinary folks like me
that SCO really has no case against Linux, and you have made it all fun.
Did I really say "fun"? I know full well that this is an important
issue, but you have made this entertaining as well as informative. I also have a
lot more respect for paralegals (about whom I didn't know much at all prior to
reading Groklaw), and the legal system itself.
During a previous election, one of the evening newscasts had a nightly segment
where all the fud given by the various candidates that day was countered with
the facts. They never did it again, more's the pity. I hope after SCO is
finally put to rest that you continue to entertain and inform those of us who
are neither lawyers nor paralegals.
Have a great 2004! [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: George_Wa_State on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:20 PM EST |
As a parent let me say that I hope your parents
are VERY proud of you.
Because as a parent I know that I sure as hell
would be!
Tell them I said "thank you".
They did a very good job.
George[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: doughnuts_lover on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:25 PM EST |
Since Groklaw's time still sits in 2003 while I'm somewhat ahead (5 hours into
2004): My best wishes go 'back in time' to you PJ and to all those geeks from
the 'rag tag Linux army' who have thrown in their intelligence,
diligence and commitment making Groklaw so good.
BTW: PJ's Groklaw may
be proud to be a true offspring of Tim Berners-Lee who has been awarded a
knighthood in today's New Year Honours List. Quoting
him:
"I accept this as an endorsement of the spirit of the web;
of building it in a decentralized way; of making best efforts to keep it open
and fair; and of ensuring its fundamental technologies are available to all for
broad use and innovation, and without having to pay licensing
fees."
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:28 PM EST |
PJ: Thanks. Most fun website I've ever viewed.
I got started in UNIX back in about 1978 and
found lots of humor in the BTL literature and
that is where I was working. I administered
a PDP-11-70 and worked with the administrator
of a VAX 11-780, our first in the building.
I even knew Maddog before he knew UNIX - and
perhaps even helped him to get on board.
We have come such a long way and GROKLAW is
right at the top.
When I can't reach the web, I am enjoying
reading Linus's book "For the Fun of it ...
Accidental Revolutionary". Covering his
life and developement of Linux, it may even
be useful in the GROKLAW sense! :-)
I'm even so nostalgic tonite (No, I'm not
drinking) that a tear or two comes to my
eyes.
My login name is "Duratkin", but I'm away
from my password.
Best Wishes to all for 2004 -- and THANKS.
TBM[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:30 PM EST |
What stands out to me on this site are not just the high standards
and moral
clarity that PJ brings to her own writings, but also the degree to
which these
standards have rubbed off on nearly all contributors. Not only
are PJ's efforts
a class act in themselves, but they seem to inspire very high
class responses by
nearly all respondents. I know of no similar forum where
the average quality of
response material even approaches what we see
here on a regular basis. PJ sets
the tone, and the tone is absolutely first
rate.
I thank you, PJ, not
only for your research and information, and for the
forum for these
discussions, but for your leadership-by-example which has
made this into a
really great place.
WB [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 31 2003 @ 11:58 PM EST |
I saw that you liked mandrake and helped them out... I even made
one of top 10 of mandrake expert.
Happy 2004! [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: leguirerj on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 12:05 AM EST |
| Happy New Year!! Groklaw!!! [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: phrostie on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 12:22 AM EST |
Happy New Year
---
=====
phrostie
Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of DOS
and danced the skies on Linux silvered wings.
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/cad-linux[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 12:24 AM EST |
"A player who makes a team great, is more valuable than a great
player" - IBM Prodigy Linux ad.
Definately talking about PJ
and the Groklaw team!
Every time I see that commercial I picture PJ
(some reason I picture PJ with red hair), lawyer business suit sitting in front
of the prodigy reading the GPL. Behind her stands a multitude of people, out of
focus against the white background.
To seeing this through in 2004!
Cheers! clink[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 12:57 AM EST |
Well I'm off to ring in the new year with my eleven year old son!
He and I wish everyone a very Happy New Year in 2004!
Bests Regards!
---
"Ideas once placed before the public without the protection of a valid
patent are subject to appropriation without significant restraint" -
Justice O'Connor[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:08 AM EST |
What will I do for entertainment when SCO dies ?
I have faith in PJ, something else interesting will show up![ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:10 AM EST |
You did an excellent job this year. Can't wait to see what you'll bring us in
the next one.
Happy GNU year ! ;-)[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: entre on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:17 AM EST |
PJ,
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!
OK for all you financial investment types here ...
Is it time yet to sell SCOX short on the stock market now that 2004 is here?
[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Watch out! - Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:31 AM EST
- Watch out! - Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 07:30 PM EST
- Summing Up Groklaw 2003 - Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 03:43 AM EST
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| Authored by: ssavitzky on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:21 AM EST |
Happy New Year!!!
Many thanks for providing not merely the best available information on a
complicated case, but one of the most consistently entertaining sites on the
web.
---
The SCO method: open mouth, insert foot, pull trigger.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: hbo on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:30 AM EST |
Warmest congratulations and best wishes to you, PJ, and to all the others that
make following this site an essential pleasure.
I first encountered the power of the internetworked community in 1986, at UCSB.
I had just started as a junior systems administrator at the Physics department.
I was introduced to USENET by my boss, and I started to have the uncanny
experience of having my questions answered, shortly after I framed them, by a
new posting on the relevant group.
Shortly after I started, the campus at large was connected to the arpanet, and
things moved into high gear. In 1989, the Pons & Fleischmann "Cold
Fusion" paper was published. I read the newsgroups avidly, and digested
postings to a local mailing list. The list soon became popular in the academic
research world, and I watched while the physicists and chemists "duked it
out" on my servers. The rapidity with which this community arrived at the
correct interpretation of the cold fusion results was an eye-opener. As a
non-academic,it was exciting to see a diverse and expert community arrive at the
truth nearly at the speed of thought.
I've seen and been part of many other examples of this kind of process since
then. Groklaw is the latest example, and among the best I've seen. Thanks for
educating and enlightening me over the last several months. I look forward to
what 2004 will bring us.
---
"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit
there" - Will Rogers[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:49 AM EST |
Happy New Year PJ and everyone else. Not everyone has items to contribute, not
everyone is able to devote time to help Groklaw out with the myriad of tasks at
hand, but I think all of us appreciate the effort of everyone who does
contribute and help out.
I have a few comments to make to Mr Darl McBride, CEO of SCOG:
Darl (if you or your legal team do read groklaw posts) - open source isn't
about greed. It's about teamwork. We have the ethos of - "Let's work
as a team to get the best job done. Let's cut the crap out of the system and
let us 100% concentrate on the job at hand".
That's what open source is. It's human innovation as its best. It's what
we're capable of when we put our differences aside and work as a global team.
See how well Groklaw has done this year? Team effort Darl. Not lots of money,
or greed. Team effort along with a good, strong leader and several strong
spokes of support led to this.
When you close or make something proprietary you take away freedom. A parallel
for you Darl:
What would you say if US legislation became closed source and you couldn't read
it? You couldn't use the law as it was intended.
Thank about it Darl. Is the money really worth all the antagonism, greed? Does
it really buy you happiness? Is power really that addictive?
Do the right thing Darl, and quit whilst you're not too far behind. Compete on
a better product, not some FUD and legal crud. The law wasn't made to be toyed
with, it was made to make everyone have the ability of equal rights. Think
about it.
Again, the very best new year to everyone, including you Darl and everyone at
SCO.
Dave W Pastern[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: egan on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 02:59 AM EST |
Congratulations and best wishes for the New Year, PJ and everyone at Groklaw.
In a short time, your high quality work and collective insights have been truly
astounding to witness. You have had a real impact in defending the entire open
source community from those few who would steal the commons from us all.
Egan Orion
The INQUIRER
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| Authored by: RSC on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 03:08 AM EST |
Cheers PJ et. al.
You have all done a brilliant job in '03.
I can't wait to see what awsome stuff is in store for '04, and I am sure it
won't be a good year for SCO.
Have a great new year all...
Randall....
---
----
An Australian who IS interested.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 03:56 AM EST |
PJ,
whatever frim you edn up with lets us know..
Some of us are in high tech firms and will be in the positon to use you services
:)
..at least in 2005 :)
Fred Grott
ShareMe Technologies-The Mobile Future
http://www.jroller.com/page/shareme/Weblog[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: NZheretic on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 03:57 AM EST |
| The McBride and Bois Show is about to "jump the shark".
Throughout 2003, the SCO
Group's so-called evidence and legal theories have
fallen into disrepute though
the rediscovery of the combination of the terms
of the GNU General Public
License and the open development process of both
the Linux Kernel and even UNIX
itself.
The weight of the historical evidence, including the active participation
of
both old SCO and Caldera executives and employees in the development
and
promotion of Linux, tips the scales of justice heavily in favor of
IBM,
RedHat and Linux end users. In fact the weight of evidence
effectively
chucks SCO legal position off the scales, out the window and over
the cliff
like a cartoon catapult.
While each new Darl McBrides threat and new
David Boies partners legal theory
look impressive at first glance, in practice
they are about effective as
attaching a giant anvil to a biplane to catch a
pigeon.
See http://www.tibonia.com/Dmeg1.htm
The
McBride and Bois Show to stop the Penquin is becoming a joke ...
Bois
you snickering legal type hound,
When court time is needed, you're never
around!
Those millions you ripped from SCO's legal chest,
Should be
there for bungling at which you are best!
So, Stop The Penguin, Stop The
Penguin,Stop The Penguin,Stop The
Penguin,Stop The Penguin, Stop The Penguin,
Stop That Penguin
How?
Sue them!
Mud them!
Fud them!
Charge them!
Stop
That Penguin
Now!
You Stowell, start fudding it's worth the chance,
For some
will believe by the lies that you plants!
And Kevin, you invent me a
legaly-bob,
That catches that Penguin, or I lose my job!
So, Stop The
Penguin, Stop The Penguin,Stop The Penguin,Stop The
Penguin,Stop The Penguin,
Stop The Penguin, Stop That Penguin
How?
Sue them!
Mud them!
Fud them!
Charge them!
Stop That Penguin
Now!
Copying of this post is
permitted in any medium.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Arg on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 04:04 AM EST |
Thank you so much, PJ, for providing some sane input into an otherwise crazy
news media. And thanks also to all the dedicated, knoledgeable and hard working
people who have contributed to Groklaw and made it a recognized standard for
truth and honesty in the software world.
Happy New Year to all and. PJ, you are the greatest.
Arg[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: bbaston on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 04:21 AM EST |
which has already begun!
PJ, forgive me for revealing your appearance:
a greying, motherly penguin
with our favorite SCOfish in her mouth
ready to feed her admiring penguin flock
and smiling at us all
like the Monalisa*
*not MOdelling NAturaL Images for Synthesis and Animation,
but Leonardo da Vinci's painting
Happy New Year and goodnight.
---
Ben B
-------------
IMBW, IANAL2, IMHO, IAVO,
imaybewrong, iamnotalawyertoo, inmyhumbleopinion, iamveryold,[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 06:00 AM EST |
Thanks to PJ and everyone else involved. Groklaw is, without a doubt, one of
the best things to grace the internet in ages. A remarkable resource that has
no equal!
Best wishes to everyone for 2004![ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: JMonroy on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 06:22 AM EST |
Congrats to everyone! Especially PJ, for without our heroine of truth, we'd be
immersed in the darkest of dark.
Did anyone notice the cool, NEW
www.google.com home page? Is that a penguin I see???? ;-)
"All
that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good
men to do nothing"
- Edmund Burke (1729-1797), British statesman,
parliamentary orator
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Captain on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 07:16 AM EST |
This website is amazing. You set a very high standard in eloquence,
intelligence, and clarity. The resulting community is nothing short of
brilliant. I have been continually amazed by the speed and matter-of-factness
people on this site reacted to the latest piece of FUD and other false claims.
Very impressive.
Now to find a way to occasionally drag myself from this addictive site... ;)
Good luck for 2004 and sticking to the high standards you set, while Groklaw
grows.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Stumbles on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 07:34 AM EST |
PJ,
was reading your interview over at LinuxPlanet and you mentioned
Snagit for capturing websites. Have you tried the web archive
function of Konqueror? It will grab everything displayed on a page
and put it into "some.file.war". It will also grab any ads on the
page
by going to whatever server they originate from.
It uses the command "tar" to create the file. So if need be you
could
untar it and use one of the many zip type commands on Linux for
those Windows users that can't untar. It's located under Tools >
Archive Web Page. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: tyche on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 08:00 AM EST |
| PJ,
Much has been said about distributed network computing. You have
invented distributed network legal research in which your ethical values are
deeply embedded. I'm impressed with the work that you've done here, and the
calibur of posts that work has generated.
I have only seen one other
situation to compare to the community you have created here. That was at the
advent of the use of HTML in email by a company that shall remain nameless (but
whose initials are sometimes characterized as M$). A newsgroup was formed
by people of all walks of life to see how to use (and exploit) this new
development. Programmers, biochemists, lawyers, police officers, grannies,
artists, hackers (in the proper form - not crackers), and of course me all
gathered together to test out new theories, teach others what we had learned and
promote fellowship. At one point, that news group took on the characteristics
of a chat room, with over 1000 posts in an hour. I've seen elements of that on
your web site, particularly when I tried to access it one day and discovered
that I was being bounced out because of an overloaded database.
By the way,
that nameless company DOES happen to know the value of "open source", since they
monitered that newsgroup and made use of the new methods and procedures we came
up with to improve their product. They weren't the only one. A software
company that produced a graphic image program also made use of that newsgroup as
a testing ground for their product, resulting in only one bug left in after a
month of "beta testing" by the group.
This site, however, has a higher
purpose than simply teaching people how to write "letters", and your
contributers respond - with information, with humor, with divergent and
convergent theories, and with support of eachother and of you. You should be
proud of what you have created: a community of diverse people from numerous
countries banding together in support of a cause worth fighting
for.
Congratulations! PJ, for what you have accomplished, and best wishes for
your future and that of your creation. Have a Happy New Year.
Craig A.
Eddy
(Tyche) ---
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,
it is the illusion of knowledge."
Stephen Hawking [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 08:35 AM EST |
Happy New Year from Denmark, PJ!
Finding the right words for expressing my gratitude for your work comes hard,
but I rest assured that if more people were like you the world would be a better
place. Enlightenment is the way to move people and you are the catalyst of that
reaction. For that I am very grateful!
./ Kristoffer
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: phrostie on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 09:04 AM EST |
i had a thought(no really i did). someone, i forget who exactly, accused the
opensouce community of hidding secrets in the dark. we know this to be the
oposite in fact, but in hind site the irony is too good. Groklaw has become the
light that no fact can hide from. if 2003 was the dawn of opensource legal
research(i think that is how PJ described it) then 2004 will be the high noon
where no shadows will be found. if the quotes database ever forks(i'm not
saying it should) and becomes a seperate project maybe it's logo should be a
bright sun rising so that the shadows disapear.
---
=====
phrostie
Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of DOS
and danced the skies on Linux silvered wings.
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/cad-linux[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Scriptwriter on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 09:39 AM EST |
It's amazing to think of how much Groklaw has done in the last year . . . and
even more amazing to think that it's just getting started.
Happy new year to everyone in the ragtag Linux army that is Groklaw, and
especially to PJ the ringleader.
---
The clock is ticking, SCO. January 11th. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
irc.fdfnet.net #groklaw[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: dmomara on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 10:17 AM EST |
Happy new year, PJ and all.
That said, back to questioning The SCO Group's babblings, hopefully with fewer
typos this time.
What is SCO's problem? Are they claiming violation of some licensing rights
over the Single Unix Specification? The Open Group disagrees and are the de
facto and de jure authority in the matter. Certainly the materials objected to
in their letters targeted at linux users are not specifically aspects of what
they publish as SVID4, (subsumed into aspects of XBD4) we can see that by
reading the materials at:
http://www.caldera.com/developers/devspecs/
The generalized definition of these volume 1a, base definitions.
The files in question are specified and their contents documented in the i386
processor supplement. For instance, the processor specific contents of their
errno.h header file are documented in section 6 starting at page 12 (page 106 of
the document). Nobody particularly cares what their specific implementation is
anymore, and frankly the implementation is out of date and becoming more and
more so as they diverge from and fall out of compliance with SUS (they only hit
UNIX 95 with their current UnixWare product).
So, representations of "infringement" relative to other
archetectures than i386 and mips have to be at minimum questionable, since they
have no such implementation. They have no copyright over the mnemonics in use in
these files (even if copyright has been corrupted to the point where mnemonics
can now be copyrighted) and copyright would be difficult to apply to the
assignment of an enumeration of those mnemonics in any case. They are left with
any macros or functional code in the files, difficult to call infringing in any
case. Perhaps S. R. Bourne could be called on to evaluate his estimation of the
infringment of Linus' implementation of cyype.[c||h]. Likely, since The SCO
Group seems not to have worked on any software to the extent that the ctype
sources documented are essential matches to V7 and 32V sources, they have no
case on even this. We have seen that their indication is that they actually ship
a malloc.c that is essentially unchanged from the time of 32V. You can see for
yourself by a diff side by side of the infamous ate_utils.c with 32V's
usr/sys/sys/malloc.c. All SCO is revealing to date is that they are not a
software development company (we knew that) and for all intents and purposes
have not been for a long while. The extent and depth to which that is true is
only touched on with this analysis.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 10:18 AM EST |
Well, PJ, and all the contributors - thanks for a very good year indeed.
A year ago, i would never have believed that i would view a website containing
U.S. legalese with anything like interest: in a European view, U.S. law - with
the legions of lawyers talking 'black' language, the strange court decisions
(many seemingly totally uncontaminated by any kind of logic), and the surreal
proceedings - is something that often seems to be a bad joke.
Thanks for educating me (and probably quite a few other Europeans) about your
legal system, the precise descriptions on what's really going on behind all the
mumbo-jumbo, and the distinct analysis of how these things relate to the real
world.
I hope when the day soon comes when SCO is banned to the shadows ( and, perhaps
will be a case for http://www.DarwinAwards.com :), GROKLAW will continue,
keeping dorks like me informed about... well, all the stuff that i otherwise
would not stand a chance to understand !
Happy New Year and bloody Well Done -
Kim 'The Pirate' Christensen
Denmark
...I'll go and attend to my hangover now...[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: belzecue on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 10:33 AM EST |
PJ, congrats and lets hope you get to turn over lots more rocks in 2004,
exposing many more creepy corporate crawlies. I hear they make a very
satisfying sizzling sound when the bright light of truth pins them in its
glare.
Okay, back to biz.
I have a webpage checker that looks at the SCO press release page regularly
(http://ir.sco.com/releases.cfm). It is currently reporting:
Press Releases
-------------------------------
Record not found for this CompanyID
Whoa. Have McBride et al. upped stumps and flown the team to Cuba already?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: PeteS on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 11:09 AM EST |
Congratulations and a happy New Year to one and all, especially PJ, of course.
I have watched (and occasionally mumbled) with interest to see so many
disciplines lend their expertise on the widely varying details of the SCO
'case', and a wonderful thing it is.
Here's to an even better 2004.
---
Artificial Intelligence is no match for natural stupidity[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: tcranbrook on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 12:43 PM EST |
| This article
give us more of the world view of Daniel Lyons, wherein Linux will vanish is the
next year because it's the end of "free", you see.
"The Unconventional
Wisdom
The end of "free." Free didn't work for dotcom pet food stores,
yet much of the rhetoric around technologies like Linux and voiceover-IP still
involves this crazy notion that companies can make money by giving things away.
They can't. One sign that some are recognizing that this is folly: Red Hat's
move to migrate its Linux customers to a paid-for "enterprise" version of its
software. Others will follow suit. The interesting moves around voiceover-IP
will not involve "free" phone calls; rather they will be the way telecom vendors
can use this technology to get an edge on rivals."
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: PeteS on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:20 PM EST |
| Here is an analysis of the pricing pressure Microsoft now faces.
We
have considered conspiracy theories here, and some are suspiciously close to the
'normal' business style of Redmond's largest employer, which is why we looked at
them closely. Some of course, are simply theories, but good reasons remain for
Microsoft to want Linux, amongst other things, to be in doubt.
From the
point of view of the analysis, it's not whether M$ must reduce it's
pricing significantly in the face of viable open source
alternatives but merely when and how much.
This gives them a
strong internal incentive to try and 'kill' Linux et. al. as it is effectively
really eating into their own cash cow; that cash cow now apparently infected
with it's own version of 'Mad Cow Disease', caused by eating up other companies
that attempted to compete with them so they did not have to
innovate anything.
Now that past is truly coming back to haunt them
in the face of a slowly but surely rising tide of viable and free (inexpensive
even if you buy support) alternatives.
Enjoy !!
---
Artificial
Intelligence is no match for natural stupidity [ Reply to This | # ]
|
- Link to article - Authored by: PeteS on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:27 PM EST
- M$ - Authored by: JMonroy on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 05:43 PM EST
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| Authored by: viper400 on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 01:27 PM EST |
Thank you PJ, thank you Groklaw, for helping me understand what really is going
on about this SCO thing.
Happy New Year.
Best wishes,
Antonio R.
Portugal[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: PeteS on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 02:19 PM EST |
| As an engineer in disruptive
technology, I appreciate the Open Source model as a very disruptive
technology.
Much has been been written on this subject, including Blogs as
disruptive technology
This site has, virtually singlehandedly, thanks to
PJ and a fine cast of volunteers, rewritten the rules on collaborative research
for legal issues, an area many might consider unsuitable for it. Yet Groklaw has
shown it can, with the right
guidance, it can do the job more thoroughly, faster, and less expensively
(because those with the 'itch' as ESR
would say, freely contribute their time and expertise).
Something few
existing companies consider when looking at disruptive technologies is the fact
that if they adapt to it they can profit from it, but this
requires them to change their business model. Those that successfull
y embrace disruptive technologies can stay profitable, but accept they have
to adapt.
So congratulations on creating a new disruption.
As an old
saw once said "Without crisis, there is no change, and with no change there is
no growth"
---
Artificial Intelligence is no match for natural
stupidity [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 02:36 PM EST |
In my opinion, Ibiblio is a national treasure
International
treasure
[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Ibiblio - Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 05:23 PM EST
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| Authored by: Sri Lumpa on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 03:07 PM EST |
Happy new year to PJ and everybody else.
May it be the first of many new years for Groklaw.
---
I do not suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: possible on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 03:53 PM EST |
Thank you PJ and all the others who have made Groklaw such a wonderful resource!
(From another linux loving lurker who finally signed up.)
---
possible[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: skuggi on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 07:41 PM EST |
Haaaappyyy New Year, Groklaw and PJ!
-Skuggi. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: surak on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 09:50 PM EST |
I've been watching this site since the case start heating up, and I've got to
say, that Groklaw is one of the most valuable sites on the Web. None of the
other sites about the SCO case cover the legal and technical issues in as much
depth and with as much reader participation as Groklaw.
I've been
hacking UNIX and UNIX-like OSes since 1989, and I've been programming on various
platforms and in various languages since 1984. (Gosh, almost 20 years! I'm
gettin' old... :( )
And the one thing that's been a constant is Free
and Open Source Software. Without the Linux kernel, Free/Open Source Software
would never have gotten attention it has today. This case stands as the
ultimate test of the technological, business, and legal value of Open Source
Software, and Groklaw is the MVP. Without this site, the Linux community and
that larger community of open source developers wouldn't be informed in manner
that is fair and balanced and sheds light on the *truth* about the SCO case.
We're not legal experts, and the legal folks aren't information technology
experts. But together we can share ideas and Dig for the Truth! That's the
power open source, and that's the power of Groklaw.
Congratulations, PJ!
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Tomas on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 10:28 PM EST |
I have a number of thoughts relating to Groklaw and the passing of 2003.
First, PJ, please allow me to thank you for setting the standards and showing
the way for something like this. I honestly don't believe anything like this
has been accomplished before, and the overall effect is astonishing.
Secondly, to all you fine folks adding to the collective wisdom and knowledge of
Groklaw, thank you, too. Open source legal research - an absolutely wild
concept.
Third, we should all, collectively, step back and take a look at what PJ created
and what it has grown to be with her guidance and the help of so many. I believe
we will be proud, years from now, to be able to say with honesty and a bit of
reverence "I was there when it started."
PJ, Groklaw is much more than simply the sum of it's parts, it is something
that has a heartbeat and a pulse. It is alive.
Even though I have watched it (and even participated - until today one of the
many 'anon' posters), I somehow missed the exact point when Groklaw awoke.
Assuming you have the time, energy, and desire when this is all settled, PJ,
I'm sure that many of us would love to see a book about this adventure. Not
only could the book be interesting, it could help to define the what and how of
this amazing collective open source endevour.
Ghu knows you've got a ton of notes and bunches of background to use for the
book. Heck, you even have a readymade title that most of the technoid world will
already know: Groklaw. ;o)
Earlier there was a comment that your parents should be proud of you and your
accomplishments here. I have to agree. I'm probably old enough to be your
father (maybe even your grandfather), and just as someone standing here watching
I'm proud of you.
Thank you, PJ, for making 2003 a whole lot better that it otherwise might have
been.
Have a good 2004,
Tomas
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: belzecue on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 10:48 PM EST |
Forbes poster boy Daniel Lyons predicts for
2004:
"SCO Group will settle its lawsuit against IBM. Both
sides will declare victory. The Linux community will turn on
IBM."
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Alex on Thursday, January 01 2004 @ 11:29 PM EST |
I think PJ deserves an action figure. Also, when is someone going to name a
distro after her?
Alex
---
Hey Darl!! Did Ross Perot draw your chart?"[ Reply to This | # ]
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- PJ distro? - Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 01:28 AM EST
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 12:34 AM EST |
Simply fantastic. There is no better word I can think of right now. Kudos to
PJ!
Darl should have hired *you* at a million a year. It might have kept his tail
out of a sling. And he'd give the appearance of being an intelligent man who
understands the value of a dollar (or a million), instead of a buffoon who
wastes $10 million and can't even get the bloke to show up in court.
Ah, but then what would Blake and Chris do for jobs? :-)
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Tim Ransom on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 12:46 AM EST |
Ummm...Excelsior!!!
Thanks again,[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: tce on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 01:59 AM EST |
Hi PJ & All,
Congratulations on everyone's part in a fantastic
application of community based disruptive technology! One of the foundations of
this success is the massive accessible open record to draw upon for
research.
OT New Year Wish:
For our government to truely move to
paticipatory democracy, open source style records are essential. Each bill, up
through becomming law and each regulatory writing effort must be managed with
open change control and traceability. For example, every line item in a
spending bill must have the author(s) name, timestamp, and a few change
justification words would be nice too. So, who did add "
6;3 million to encourage more young people to play golf" in the current US
spending bill?
Perhaps building in a public 'Red face test'
for every one of these little gems would help a move from Greed based governance to
citizen driven governance.
Shining the big spotlight of truth on
SCO's FUD is *really* important. If Groklaw helps the evolution of Law in
general, its impact will last forever.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 04:10 AM EST |
I could echo the same congratulations and adorations for this place, but I'm
not quite certain I would be able to put it into any better words than have
already been said...
So, I'll add my little bit about UserFriendly. This one should be on there.
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20031228&mode=classic
Congratulations on a great year, and may 2004 be even better.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: BoredByPolitics on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 08:21 AM EST |
| Congratulations to PJ and everyone who has contributed to Groklaw during 2003
(unfortunately I can't count myself within that group).
While I still had a
job, Groklaw gave me the confidence to reassure our clients who used Linux
extensively that they had nothing to worry about, and that it was business as
normal.
Good Luck in the New Year!
Pete [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Tim Ransom on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 09:13 AM EST |
Oh yeah, and I would add that 2003 was the year Groklaw pushed the overfed
parrots of proprietary 'journalism' a little closer to the swirling porcelain
pergatory they so richly deserve.
Why would an insulated fratboy like
Dan Lyons bother to hurl verbal spitballs at us from his Potemkin throne?
Overexposure to toxic wainscotting polish?
Why would self described
'unique' analyst (read: PR flack) and marketing quotemill Rob Enderle condescend
to gas us with his thumbsucking rhetoric? Loneliness?
I'll tell you what
I think motivates these suckling sycophants (aside from the obvious): In a
word:
Fear.
And why not? While their own credibility erodes
under even cursory inspection, Groklaw has become the source for
information on SCO vs Earth. I suspect the shock (shock I tell you) Joe Barr
expressed so publicly (what an ass) when PJ had the audacity to correct his
lopsided 'reporting' is being felt by many of these otherwise sedintary hacks
who pollute the world with their slapdash and/or paid for
'reporting'.
If only we could inspect and debunk their FUD without
giving them page hits (or breaking copyright by putting it up elsewhere for
group dissection).
Something to think about.
Thanks again,
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: haro on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 10:52 AM EST |
Groklaw has now established itself as an important part of the immune system
of FOSS. Anyone considering a future attack will have to consider the
possibility that collaborative research can outperform the research done by any
lawfirm, and may come to the rescue of those in need.
IBM would win without
such a tool, but time may come when others might need it without having the
resources of IBM. That is the time when the true value of Groklaw may be seen.
On the other hand - perhaps due to Groklaw we will not need
to.
Congratulations - and my best wishes for the new year.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Clay on Friday, January 02 2004 @ 10:58 AM EST |
Pam,
I am so happy for the success of Groklaw. I feel like I had such little to do
with the success of Groklaw, really I just gave you the beta environment, but
thanks for mentioning me. I hope that Groklaw and PJ prospers during 2004!
And we all know that MathFox rocks, keep on fighting the slashdot effect my
friend.
Congrats.
Clay
---
---------------------------
newObjectivity, Inc. supports the destruction
of all software patents.[ Reply to This | # ]
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