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| Just So You Know, Groklaw is Here to Stay |
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Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 03:26 PM EST
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I've been getting inundated with email, asking if Groklaw will be shutting down, thanks to an article in InfoWorld that identified me as the "former editor of Groklaw". That is inaccurate. I am still the editor of Groklaw, and my work with OSRM is separate from it. My contract is written so as to ensure my having time to do Groklaw. I have always done paid work in addition to Groklaw, so this isn't anything new. UPDATE: The article has been corrected. Thank you. 3/17/04 The article said that SCO didn't sound displeased to hear the news. Not that I wish to throw cold water on anyone's pleasure in Lindon or anything, but Groklaw isn't going anywhere.
The misunderstanding arose because there was a problem reaching OSRM principals in time to meet the deadline, because they were flying to California. Consequently, a lot of info wasn't available to the journalist, Robert McMillan, when he had to write to meet his deadline. He's a good guy, and such things happen. It does illustrate though, once again, that you can't believe everything you read.
There is an interview with me on Terminaali. It's in English, and it's accurate, and I talk about some future plans for Groklaw and what we are working on, in case you are interested. Here's the Finnish version. Brenda sent me this link, to SCO stock in real-time, if you are interested in the financial side. In the interests of not melting their server, I inquired if Terminaali.net would like it if I put their interview here on Groklaw, and they said yes. So here is the interview:
Interview with Groklaw´s Pamela Jones: The open source version of legal research
Pamela Jones, PJ, is the founder and maintainer of increasingly popular Groklaw, a research and resource site for the complex SCO controversy. Terminaali.net is pleased to have had the opportunity to interview PJ about Groklaw and community around the site.
Terminaali.net: How many new friends do you think you’ve made since you started Groklaw?
Pamela Jones: I think I have many new friends. I get hundreds of emails every day and people sometimes send me gifts too. A reader sent me some honey from his bees in Germany, and another made me a lovely necklace and another painted a watercolor. It's very touching. Also, some of the volunteers who help with Groklaw have proven to be real friends, for sure, sticking by me though thick and thin. We have about 5,000 members now, and many, many more who visit regularly and contribute anonymously, literally tens of thousands every day, almost two million hits a week now.
But of course I had friends before I was well-known. It's a great relief to be with them sometimes too. On the other hand, in a way the new friends know a side of me that some of my older friends really don't. Some of them are not interested in computers a bit, so I'd have to shut that part of me off with them. In that sense the new friends I've made through Groklaw are special to me and I really enjoy interacting by email and getting to know the readers.
TE: How about enemies? Have you got anyone special in mind?
PJ: Enemies, well, can you guess?
TE: In your opinion, what was there before Free Software and GNU/Linux community and, how did people decide to embrace free software as a personal choice?
PJ: Actually, that's backwards, I believe. It was all free and open at first. Then Bill Gates had a brainstorm, and some others, and they decided to fence it in and plant their flag on software. Now it’s swinging back, because the proprietary experiment didn't work out so well.
I have written about the appeal, to me, like this:
"It's free as in speech, as in libre, as in freedom, not free as in beer. That's Linux' real draw, not cost. People happily pay plenty for GNU/Linux distributions, especially in the enterprise. Why? It isn't just customer support. It's knowing that you can trust who wrote it not to stab you in the back. If you can't trust the company, you can't trust their code. Pure and simple.
"And do you trust SCO now? How about Sun? Microsoft? Business customers are people too. And people are sick and tired of snoopware and viruses and backdoors and all the other things you can't fix or even understand in proprietary software. Linux frees you from those worries. You can learn whatever you want, fix whatever breaks or change whatever you want to make it do something just a bit different, or hire someone to do it for you.
"People are sick of license terms that treat them like criminals, where even when you try hard to obey, you never feel free of that worry...am I allowed to do this? They love GNU/Linux because you can share with your friends and family freely, install it on as many computers as you own at home and at work. Sick of saving proof of purchase certificates under pain of a visit from the IP police and fines when they can't find that piece of paper from 1998. Sick of typing in numbers to prove they bought the software, and having software call home to validate their right to use what they bought, and companies that shove one-sided EULAs down their throats, claiming the right to monitor their hard drive for compliance. Sick of businesses that care about money for themselves first and customers a distant second. GNU/Linux opened people's eyes. It offers an escape from all of that…
"But here's, to me, the best thing about GNU/Linux. It's so pleasant to be in control of your own environment. You can design any kind of look you enjoy, pick from a seemingly endless variety of applications, and do whatever you want without fear. It's a feeling you can never have with any other OS."
To me, it's like flying your own plane, instead of sitting in economy class as a passenger wondering if the pilot got enough sleep last night or had a drink just before takeoff or if there's a bomb onboard.
TE: In his recent article Richard Stallman used an analogy to NY to point out that whether described as a community or not people are still individuals. If someone commits a crime in your hometown, you can’t blame all its citizens, not to mention when speaking about communities larger than many countries.
To complete previous question, I’d like to ask you, what in your opinion unites the free/open-source software community. What makes individuals to come together? What are the building blocks or are there any?
PJ: There are real differences that I don't minimize but at the moment, the SCO matter makes them fairly unimportant, to me. Later, if everyone wishes to go back to arguing about that, they will have that luxury. There is, however, one part of the old argument that I think we don't need to repeat: namely the value of the GPL. Stallman took a lot of abuse, but he never wavered. I think the entire world owes him a thank you for that. I couldn't have done what he did, year in and year out, being verbally attacked and humiliated and abused, his motives questioned, his personality mocked, his beliefs misrepresented. But because he was firm in his convictions, the GPL stands between us and SCO's attempted software land grab.
That of course is exactly why SCO (and MS) hates it.
TE: Are you a fan of science fiction? If so, could you please name one movie or book you especially like?
PJ: No. I have a literal mind. I tend to find most of fiction hard to get involved in, because I would rather learn something than imagine it. I know that this disappoints people, who naturally want me to enjoy what they do, and I've tried. My dad loved science fiction, but I have never really been able to do so. I'm not much of a fiction person. When I read fiction, I think more of the writer and in my mind they are my friends. I imagine talking with them, with Jane Austen or Tolstoy. I don't get caught up in the story as much as I do in the author, wondering about the person.
TE: Let’s stay in the future for awhile. Imagine yourself as a science fiction writer, and try to imagine a post-SCO, post-proprietary (software) world. How would it look and feel like?
PJ: I think it will look like Knoppix. Microsoft talks about innovation as if only a budget of their size makes it possible. But really, human creativity is worth all their millions, as long as you don't fence in the brain with "IP" laws so we can all build on each others' work and ideas.
TE: Clearly there are 2 different versions about the future of FOSS [free and open-source software] out there: the SCO’s and the one that is what people make of it. If we’d live in a reality where all the SCO’s legal desires would come true, the FOSS-loving people wouldn’t die, I think, but what would happen?
PJ: Then, personally, I think it would be time to get off the Internet and stop using computers except as required for work. MS' DRM plans are such that the Internet will become a police state. That's fine for the police, but who else wants to live like that?
TE: Would it make a good book or movie?
PJ: Of course it would. The SCO story would make a good movie. No one could make this up.
TE: Now back to the present time. How does it feel that SCO zealots are among other things targeting their comments and perhaps frustration against Groklaw?
PJ: For the past couple of days, I've been basking in the warm awareness that it means we have won the FUD battle [against disinformation], so far. Personally, it's unpleasant, because I don't know how far they will go. It's not enjoyable to be threatened or falsely accused. No normal person likes it.
TE: In a sense it must feel like kind of recognition for all the work you’ve done, since at least to me it tells Groklaw’s work has been taken seriously.
PJ: Yes, it’s recognition, and that is satisfying. I know I've made a real contribution. Sometimes I lay awake and just think about it, or I stare up at the stars and feel happy. But to be absolutely truthful with you, I never intended for Groklaw to be so popular or to have such an influence. I did absolutely nothing to make it happen. I don't even let Google spider the site since we moved to the website. It's a surprise to me, and I don't enjoy being a public person. It's not as much fun as you might imagine. I'm a private person by nature, and losing a measure of my quiet life is sad to experience. I don't mean to whine, because it is fun too. It's complex. But trust me, it's not the part I would do on purpose.
I now can't just write in silly ways, the way I used to. I have to consider that Groklaw is quoted and taken seriously, and I have to be responsible with that. It's a good development, but it's more work and less fun. And we have SCO trolls, as I call them, who attack each and every article I write, every single day. They are very unpleasant and not good writers, and I sometimes shudder to think what kind of people there are in the world; people who will do unnatural things, just for money. Some people sell out for so little.
TE: Finally, let’s make a fact box.If you meet someone who has never heard of Groklaw, how would you shortly describe what’s it all about?
PJ: It started as just me, writing to the air. I wanted to help. I couldn't think of any other way to help but to use my research and writing skills, so I just started wondering out loud, "Is that true?" or "Did it really happen that way?". Just picking up rocks and seeing what crawled out underneath and writing about it.
Now, it is a real community, an international one, of people who love this software enough to try to help it in its hour of need, legal folks, and coders, and truck drivers, and military people, and housewives and journalists... Just people, the third party in every SCO lawsuit, the people who will be affected by the lawsuits and want to do what they can to make sure the right side prevails. It's the open source version of legal research, and it works. I'm quite sure that no company could afford the thousands of volunteers who research every detail of this case. I know we have made a difference and that Groklaw is something new and creative. That is my favorite part: watching it develop and working with the natural flow from others.
TE: Please tell us something about the coming events that will most probably be discussed in Groklaw.
PJ: First, we will celebrate SCO's downfall in court, hopefully. I would like to have some kind of online party on that happy day. I haven't figured out yet exactly how to do that. It could take some time, because the law is slow in the US, but I feel confident that, barring martial law, as I always say, the outcome is sure.
Next, I have in my mind to start to cover patents and Microsoft more than we have. I am fairly clear in my thoughts on what I think they will try next. And Groklaw is working on an update of the Levenez chart [Unix history], from the perspective of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents. We are looking to head off any future copycat SCOs and to defeat them if they are foolish enough to try something again. I expect this project will take about a year. And any new lawsuits (in America there are always more) that threaten FOSS will naturally be covered. I am sure SCO is just the beginning. I would also like to set things up so that companies that need help can contact Groklaw and we could just help them in very specific ways. I haven't got that part completely clear in my mind yet, but I see a real use for Groklaw, something that hasn't been done before in the legal world, but that the Internet makes possible.
But you're asking the same person who had no idea that Groklaw would become what it has, so maybe I'll be surprised by Groklaw's future too.
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| Authored by: brenda banks on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:24 PM EST |
yippieeeee
is all i can say
---
br3n
irc.fdfnet.net #groklaw
"sco's proof of one million lines of code are just as believable as the
raelians proof of the cloned baby"[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:26 PM EST |
Thank goodness! Not that I doubted for one moment that you were going anywhere.
Keep up the good work and may Groklaw prosper for many yaers to come.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:30 PM EST |
Good to hear, for sure, but you should have waited for SCO to publish their
victory PR.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: ram on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:31 PM EST |
I'm sure Groklaw will be around long after SCO is resoundingly defeated on all
fronts and out of business forever. For there are others who wish to destroy
Free / Open Source Software and steal or lay waste to the Commons, and they must
be also be opposed and defeated. Groklaw will continue and grow stronger.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:39 PM EST |
Is the comment count off? I have it set to "Nested" so I should see
all comments. It says there are 7 comment, but I see only 4 (not including this
one)...
-brendan[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: andy27tx on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:41 PM EST |
| "Brenda sent me this link, to SCO stock in real-time, if you are interested in
the financial side" should be "Brenda sent me this link, to SCO stock in
real-time, if you are interested in the financial slide" [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: MajorDisaster on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:46 PM EST |
Or M$ apparently. Who is losing the fight against Lindows in the US so is taking
their campaign on the road.
http://www.lindows.com/lindows_news_pressreleases.php
Lindows.com, Inc. Asks Judge To Halt Microsoft's Worldwide Legal Assault
Motion Filed In U.S. Courts Also Asks For Relief From Foreign Rulings To Shut
Down Website
---
Death twitches my ear, "Live", he says "I am Coming."
--Virgil--[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: joe on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:50 PM EST |
| As a private pilot, I particularly liked this sentence:
To me, it's like
flying your own plane, instead of sitting in economy class as a passenger
wondering if the pilot got enough sleep last night or had a drink just before
takeoff or if there's a bomb onboard.
If you ever have the chance, take
up flying lessons.
At least, go to a flight school at any airport and get an
introductory flight.
There is a nice song from a German singer/songwriter
(
http://www.metrolyrics.com/lyrics/121040/Reinhard_Mey/%FCber_Den_Wolken/,
with a chorus that goes like this:
"Über den Wolken muß die Freiheit wohl
grenzenlos sein.
Alle Ängste alle Sorgen, sagt man,
blieben darunter verborgen,
und dann,
würde, was uns groß und wichtig erscheint,
plötzlich nichtig und
klein."
Google translation:
"Over the clouds the liberty must be probably
boundless.
, one says all fears all concerns,
remained hidden under it, and
then,
became, which us large and important appears,
suddenly futile and
small."
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: rev_matt_y on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:54 PM EST |
I assumed it was poor reporting. I think I'm too cynical. Regardless, I'm glad
that you've clarified the situation and will continue to be a thorn in the side
of the SCOmbags.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: AdamBaker on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:55 PM EST |
| The new 10 Q is out on Edgar
This is the one that should contain the
details to back up what they said in the last conf call. I haven't read it
myself yet. [ Reply to This | # ]
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- 10 Q snippets - Authored by: AdamBaker on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:28 PM EST
- 10 Q snippets - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:04 PM EST
- 10 Q snippets - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 09:25 PM EST
- OK break over - Authored by: midav on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:33 PM EST
- OK break over - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 08:23 PM EST
- OK break over - Authored by: SandyM on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:01 PM EST
- OK break over - Authored by: Glenn on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:29 PM EST
- OK break over - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 08:57 PM EST
- Losing tech talent?? - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 07:16 AM EST
- OK break over - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 11:04 AM EST
- OK break over - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:22 PM EST
- From their 10Q - Authored by: RedBarchetta on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:56 PM EST
- Context - Authored by: cadfael on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 09:37 PM EST
- Goodwill? - Authored by: math geezer on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 09:38 PM EST
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| Authored by: Nick on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:55 PM EST |
Having read Groklaw since the very early days, even before SCO was on the
radar, I know that Groklaw is NOT about SCO, or about OSRM, or about
insurance, or about any of the other things trolls keep flinging at PJ. Groklaw
is an anti-FUD site, no more, no less, on the subject of the law and tech. SCO
takes up a bunch of time now, but one day they will be nothing more than a
caldera and no one will be talking about them any longer. Meanwhile
Groklaw will have moved on to some other aspect of the law and tech, and it
sounds as if the patent issue will be the key then. Sorry trolls, but that has
nothing to do with insurance then, so you'll have to invent some other excuse
for accusing PJ of being impartial.
In the meantime, those of us who have enjoyed reading Groklaw for its
unique perspective, will continue to do so in order to get PJ's perspective on a
subject she is well-qualified to cover. Once the SCO-trolls are long gone, I
have no doubt that patent-trolls will show up, or Microsoft-trolls. So be it.
Us real Groklawers know where PJ stands and we don't worry about her
becoming bought or sold. As she has said, money is nice, but it's not as
important to her as her integrity. Trolls cannot cope with such a person, for
she exists outside of their cynical, bought universe.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: RedBarchetta on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:58 PM EST |
There's been an increase in chatter regarding GROKLAW, particularly in the Dan
Farber interview with Darl McBride.
It just occurred to me: are there
any Pro-SCO sites? In other words, sites that promulgate SCO's point of
view?
NOT that I'm interested, but I'd be curious if there were pro-SCO
sites, who would be backing them? Hmmmmm... (paces pensively)...[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 04:59 PM EST |
Just to prevent any confusion, the article actually said that SCO wasn't
displeased to hear the news that OSRM was going to be offering open source
software insurance.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: e.coli on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:00 PM EST |
All that I can say is "Hooray!"
Not that I had any doubts about you staying, but I am sure the SCO FUD and
zealots can be a handful.
I enjoy following the bouncing ball here, and hang in there![ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:05 PM EST |
...might be worth while:
IBM's urged, nay, challenged Sun to open source Java, on the
pretext that by being "overly protective" of Java (i.e.
proprietary), they've made more and more developers choosing
other tools, such as Apache/Mod_Perl/mod_PHP, limiting the
adoption of Java. Which is probably true...
On a side note, one could understand Sun, seeing as how M$
tried once again to hijack a standard - but Sun is very much
a proprietary company - and with a schizophrenic attitude
towards Linux and FOSS ("We have no Linux strategy" - then
launches Mad Hatter / Java Desktop)...
...of course, the backside of the medal would be if IBM
would de-emphasize their commitment to Java because of
Sun's reluctance to let it fly - it's not apparent, but
implied, IBM being the giant it is...
...but back on track: If Sun were to open source Java, the
finger - i.e. challenge - might point the other way: IBM
will be challenged to open source ferinstance DB2. Now
_that_ would be a killer - helloo Oracle! No wonder Oracle's
trying to outrun the competition by adding on to their tech
stack (have you seen what it consists of lately? Layer upon layer...)
My predictions for 2004/05 - interesting times, indeed - and
FWIW: just my 2 cents...
;-) *yohoo IBM: DB2's up for RELEASE !!!*
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:15 PM EST |
That's real bad news. One day Groklaw will come to an end
and we shall rejoice.
Think about it before you call troll on me. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: lamcrae on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:24 PM EST |
The interview with Terminaali was excellent. As usual, your comments are well
considered, and you've clearly spent a significant amount of time thinking about
all of the "issues" that Groklaw has brought in to your life. I too,
want to say Thank You for your efforts - they are appreciated.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Nick_UK on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:26 PM EST |
Does the FUD never stop?
How can these people sleep at night?...
...but I supppose desperate people do desperate things.
Nick[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: ExcludedMiddle on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:40 PM EST |
It's disappointing of how many of these "well-meaning" journalists
still get things disasterously wrong. There was no reason for him to say
"former editor" without verifying. I just don't understand why he'd do
that.
I did not come into this SCO affair naive about the media. I always thought that
they were partisan and manipulated. I have to admit that I have been surprised
at the level of perfidy. What I'm even more surprised at, however, is the amount
of wrong information that are the result of sheer incompetence, and a lack of
research. These reported bad facts, in this case, can lead to bad investor
information.
I don't mean to rag on the poor author of this piece. But this brings up one of
the lessons learned from this SCO conflict. It's been fascinating to see these
facts, in articles by major publications, checked with a simple google search
and debunked.
I need to leave this topic with another entreaty to people to avoid writing
abusive emails to correct these publications. I believe that all of us should
send messages to these publications in order to correct them. But that it should
be an avelanche of politeness and reason instead of threats.
Many of these publications who get replies complain about rude letters. I'd
rather leave the facts wrong than have threatening or overly rude replies sent.
I was there when Enderle published his first article about open source, and
watched him scratch the second column that he was going to write, which was to
take the pro-FOSS side! According to that followup column, he changed his
position because he got such abusive email. I can believe it.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: LvilleDebugger on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:46 PM EST |
[In this article you will find the string "cheek." Please redact if
necessary.]
I enjoyed the comments in the interview on the future direction of Groklaw. And
I wanted to add this: we (the online F/LOSS community) owe the most serious of
debts to PJ.
In the long run, the Free Software movement will be a development in computing
history of the same magnitude as Babbage's Analytical Engine, Turing's Universal
Machine, Hopper's Compiler, C, and UNIX itself. How could it turn out any
different?
PJ has been personally targetted. She has been "taking the swipes" for
every single one of us in the name of what is good/fair/right/legal.
("us" would be the entire present and future population of the planet,
since F/LOSS can benefit all of us.)
SCOX makes this huge blatant pustular lie about IBM supporting Groklaw, which
they do not, not in any form. They are lying about Pamela Jones, a real honest
person who has tasked herself the onerous responsibility to sit still for it
long enough to type an incisive, accurate, and deadly funny refutation of such
"bletcherous cruft," if I may avoid a profanity filter or two.
I have news for SCOX. SCOX are so concerned with what SCOX can do with $68
million (pay for litigation) that SCOX have lost sight of the emerging point of
SCOX's little unnecessary melodrama and that's how much anyone, really, can do
for Free if there's a will to do so....in F/LOSS or in any other human
endeavour. The Human Spirit is not listed on the NASDAQ as of closing today.
There may be no need past a few PayPal dollars to help Groklaw along in the
big-dollar way SCOX erroneously attributes to IBM. Some volunteer courthouse
trips, transcriptions, updates and corrections. Easy to do for free if you've a
mind to donate some time.
What we must keep in mind is that while SCOX may a pimple on the cheek of
history, the freedom to distribute software under the GPL is not a flash in the
pan. This cause is huge, and on the day SCOX falls, the defense of the GPL will
just be beginning. LoTR fans may *nod* with me when I point out that
SCOX:Saruman::MSFT:Sauron.
We owe it at least to that fateful hour, to continue what we've been doing in
this forum. Let PJ continue the fight knowing that for the rest of her career
she will have the largest, most enthusiastic army of open source advocates ever
assembled in history at her command. And if there aren't enough of us at any
given moment, we'll go out and find a hundredfold more ready to help behind
every computer workstation on the planet.
Can I get a witness?[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Testify! - Authored by: RedBarchetta on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:51 PM EST
- Testify! - Authored by: Darkside on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:46 AM EST
- Testify! - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:17 AM EST
- Testify! - Authored by: grouch on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 04:36 AM EST
- PJ Is Not The Only LawGrokker Here To Stay - Authored by: blacklight on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:08 PM EST
- Isildur: Don't Forget to Destroy the Ring - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:28 PM EST
- PJ Is Not The Only LawGrokker Here To Stay - Authored by: grouch on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:42 PM EST
- Amen! - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 10:04 PM EST
- Erratum [replying to myself] - Authored by: LvilleDebugger on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 11:13 PM EST
- PJ Is Not The Only LawGrokker Here To Stay - Authored by: jac41 on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:07 AM EST
- OT: LotR comparison flawed - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 05:57 AM EST
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:52 PM EST |
I'd not seen that Infoworld thing, but it's been rather obvious that you had no
plans to leave Groklaw in the weeds.
Loved your interview on Terminaali.net. And thanks once again for providing this
vital site. It's a shining light in the gloom.
Larry N.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Mark_Edwards on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:53 PM EST |
Two Words : THANK GOD !!!
I don't know what I would do with out Groklaw...
Keep up the good work PJ & Everyone else !!!
Mark.
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| Authored by: koa on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:54 PM EST |
I know this might be a little off topic, but I'd just like to know what others
thaught of this...
I'm sure as many people have noticed, the SCOX stock price is on a serious
decline. By my estimation it drops well over a dollar every 10 days
(conservative estimate).. At what point (stock price) does:
A) The SCO board of directors fires Darl McBride for driving the stock price
down and thus reducing value for the stock holders.
B) What happens if the stock price drops down to almost nothing? (or Can it?)
I don't know much about the stock market, but it seems evident to me that if the
current trend continues downward it could reach $0.00 inside 3 months. heh.
---
...move along...nothing to see here...[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: parsnips on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 05:59 PM EST |
Glad to hear you're staying.
Dave[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:06 PM EST |
Fellow Free and Open Source Advocates:
While I am greatful to Open Source Risk Management for giving our champion PJ as
job with flexible working hours, I question whether having a for profit
insurance company start-up is necessary and whether its very existance is
harmful to the Free/Open Source software movement. Just the idea that a user,
any user, needs to pay for something to use otherwise freely available software
harms the economics of the movement.
Also, just the existance of such a start-up insurance company lends credibility
to some of the statements coming from SCO.
And, while I don't question PJ's editorial independence, just the fact that she
works for such an organization could sway her internal thought process to favor
such a "non-free" concept as Free software indemnification in her
essay contibutions to Groklaw.
My thoughts are it comes down to a question of need and cost (but these are just
my own thoughts). If the cost was relatively cheap, i.e. $1 per Linux
desktop/server per year, I think it would hardly change the economics of the
issue. If the cost was $700 per year, what difference does it make if it is
Darl McBride or an insurance company entrepreneur who is taking the money. If I
am going to spend $700 per year, I'd rather give it to the developers and the
development process that create the software in the first place, i.e. OSDL, FSF,
OpenOffice.org, and to the thousands of individual programmers creating this
software.
When it comes down to it, such an insurance fee is a tax on Free/Open Source
software and hence a tax on the progress of our society. I believe that in
principle we should fight all such taxes as they slow our progress to developing
and using better software to make overall economic progress for things that
ultimately count to people -- food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and
medicine.
These are just my thoughts.
Could we please have some comments from other Grokkers and PJ about this? Thank
you.
-Anonymous[ Reply to This | # ]
|
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:30 PM EST
- OSRM - Neutral - Authored by: cybervegan on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:44 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: brenda banks on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:45 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:09 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:17 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:51 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: ujay on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 11:35 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: Darkside on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:34 AM EST
- It's Free as In "Freedom" - Authored by: waltish on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:23 AM EST
- There is a difference! - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 03:54 AM EST
- Since Loser Doesn't Pay.... - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 08:06 AM EST
- OSRM=Busine$$ OSDL=Altruism - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 11:11 AM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:35 PM EST
- It's about credibility - Authored by: Nivuahc on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:40 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: TerryC on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:20 PM EST
- Meh: - Authored by: waltish on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:37 PM EST
- Time(line) will tell - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:46 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: wvhillbilly on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 05:59 PM EST
- OSRM - Is is good or bad for Free/Open Software? - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 07:18 PM EST
| |
| Authored by: blang on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:20 PM EST |
<<SCO itself did not seem displeased to learn of OSRM's offerings. "I
guess this kind of thing was bound to creep up," said SCO spokesman Blake
Stowell. SCO believes that its $699 per processor Intellectual Property License
for Linux, however, is a better idea. "Ours is certainly the most
reasonable way to go and certainly the safest way to go," he said.
>>
So, according to Stowell, all linux users should pay $699 to SCO to be safe from
SCO. He fails to mention that you's also end up paying additional $699 to any
other company that comes around trying to play the IP shakedown game. (Given the
meritless nature of SCO's claim, the bar have not been set very high. Pretty
much anyone who can spell Linux and afford a lawyer could play the same game as
SCO).
At the end of the day, you would probably end up paying tens of thousands per
CPU. And safe? No way. Pay one blackmailer, and you have to pay them all. [ Reply to This | # ]
|
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:24 PM EST |
Net 10-Q filling here
Ther is a text:
The Company is
a party to certain other legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of
business including legal proceedings arising from its SCOsource
initiative
I just wonder what that is about
Also look at
n
April 2003, a former Indian distributor of the Company filed a claim in India,
requesting summary judgment for payment of $1,428,000, ...
Probely
not related to Linux, but always good to mention[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:27 PM EST |
> SCO believes that its $699 per processor Intellectual Property License for
Linux, however, is a better idea. "Ours is certainly the most reasonable
way to go and certainly the safest way to go," he said.
Ahem, no. Thanks guys for the wonderful US$699 per CPU offer, but I'll give it a
miss. It works out much cheaper WITHOUT any of your offers.
Actually, I might start a little business of mine. It going to be called
MySource and I'll be selling "Intellectual Property licence for
Windows". So, if you have and run Windows and want to protect yourself from
litigation, you can send me a cheque in the amount of US$1,990 (hey, this is
Windows, not some cheap crap that never crashes). In return, I promise I'll
never sue. Any takers? I promise it's the best such offer around. Really I do.
Please? Pretty please?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:31 PM EST |
Glad this is resolved .
We can't ( or simple would not want to ) do this without you.
Retep Vosnul[ Reply to This | # ]
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| |
| Authored by: moogy on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:33 PM EST |
First of all... I'm very happy to hear you're not going anywhere
but, for myself, I never expected you to. Too much 'moxie'.
"Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)"
Moxie Mox"ie, n. fr. Moxie, a trade name for a beverage.
1. energy; pep.
2. courage, determination.
3. Know-how, expertise. --MW10.
A quote from the Terminaal interview:
"PJ: First, we will celebrate SCO's downfall in court, hopefully.
I would like to have some kind of online party on that happy
day. I haven't figured out yet exactly how to do that. ..."
Perhaps it's time some folks discover IRC, hopefully at the
irc network/channel in my signature. We average 40-70 Groksters
with a record of 270 one day. The regulars all know that the
channel will be bursting with joy upon any SCOG legal downfalls.
Even if irc just isn't your 'cup of tea', learn the simple
basics so you won't miss out.
---
Mike Tuxford - irc.fdfnet.net #Groklaw
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
then they fight you, then you win. --Gandhi
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:45 PM EST |
| And, "we believe Linux is not Unix."
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1
104_2-5173413.html
I don't recall anyone from Novell stating it quite
this clearly before. Nice.
---------
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:54 PM EST |
I would just like to say congratulations to a well deserved opportunity and
thanks for all your work on Groklaw (but I still look forward to your work
here!!!) . . .[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: tcranbrook on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 06:58 PM EST |
An article on ZDNet,
Novell plugs open source, dings SCO, contains an interesting statement from
Novell.
"We still own Unix. We believe Unix is not in Linux and that
Linux is a free and open distribution--and should be and always will be," Stone
said. In a jab at SCO Chief Executive Darl McBride, he added, "Sorry, Darl. Al
Gore didn't invent the Internet, and you didn't invent Linux or intellectual
property law."
Since registering the copyrights, I can't recall
them making this explicit a statement about it. Althought it was an obvious
conclusion from the registrations.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
- novell owns Unix - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:51 PM EST
- novell owns Unix - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:54 PM EST
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:12 PM EST |
The article said that SCO didn't sound displeased to hear the
news.
What the article was describing was the announcement
of the open source insurance not PJ's getting hired (and possibly letting
Groklaw languish). I have no doubts, though, that SCO saw that original blurb
and thought ``Whoopee!''.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: digger53 on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:48 PM EST |
Happily, I never heard/read the statement about you
leaving till I got home, PJ. I'd have been depressed.
With respect to your comment in the Terminaali interview,
as to what if MS' DRM or TC or whatever, I reached the
same conclusion you did: it would be slavery and the only
course of action would be to disconnect from the internet
& spend more time doing other things at home. The Net has
it's uses but the idea of being a slave in a police state
is unworthy of consideration.
Thanks for being here. I love this place.--Jim
---
"Who can rob us of out free will? No such man exists." Epictetus[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: webster on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 07:51 PM EST |
PJ, leave this up!
(I may also have to post it a few times. Articles, times zones, you know.)
There are few things that our champion PJ is not very direct about. One is
Groklaw's need for cash.
[If you don't want to read further:
-individuals, click on "Pay Pal" or "Click to
Give" on the left frame;
-institutional entities eager to make a substantial grant or
sponsorship, contact PJ by email.]
The success of this site has created impossible demands. By success consider
the following:
Groklaw has opened many avenues of investigation of the SCO attack on open
source.
Groklaw has embarassed the mainstream media and brought them to account. With
the MS revelations they will be following Groklaw for scoops and digging for
their own.
Groklaw has found and analyzed code, presented patent research, analysed legal
documents, found witnesses and statements, linked to humor and much, much more.
She has demonstrated new uses of the internet as a research and legal tool.
In the beginning this was one person's blog, but now it is "our" blog.
I read her interview today disclosing the thousands of members and the millions
of hits the site receives by the week.
PJ is certainly a woman for her times, times that she is helping to shape. In a
new era of instant communication she has us living the future, taking us from a
proprietary, feudal world to a life of open source.
It is an unprecedented site for its depth, quality, and accessibility by a
diverse, global community.
</blushing></gushing>
Despite this success the basic problem continues. Groklaw remains a part-time
labor of love. As I said in squeamish (i), imagine what Groklaw would be like
if we had PJ full time. Now her new, part-time position with OSRM is presented
as a type of solution, but it is a type of a problem. Anything that takes PJ
from Groklaw for the forseeable future is a problem. She ought just to be a
Director so that they will have her wisdom and good name, but not much of her
time.
By impossible demands consider the following: There are more lawsuits, there
are more [suspe...]characters, media interest, more evidence, more trolls. We
need a better Groklaw. We need PJ full time and that means a secretary too.
She can not be licking stamps, processing email, recompiling her kernal,
answering the phone, troll hunting,and taking her mother's dog to the vet[1]
when we need her writing and research done. And with the success of her site
who do you suppose is talking to all the reporters who call for information,
links and reassurance that they have the story straight? Who else can keep up
with and analyze the many lawsuits in this saga?
Now PJ did not betray to me any need on her part, the signal of distress is a
little email complaint about the lack of a secretary to help her with things
like licking stamps, sorting the email and mail, answering the phone, etc.
If we can stand up to SCO/MS, we can help Groklaw. We can not let up now. If
those clench-mouthed scribblers at IBM won't carry the flag, Groklaw must! We
need our voice.
Click on "Click to Give" or "PayPal" in the left frame.
Contribute to Groklaw.
Thank you for your consideration.
[1] Maybe a cat, I don't know.
---
webster[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Woad_Warrior on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 08:48 PM EST |
PJ, I never doubted that your site would not be going down for any reason. Now
do us all a favor and get some SLEEP !!!!!!
Mike[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: RSC on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 09:07 PM EST |
PJ, I think you can safely say that your support base is right there with you.
:)
I really loved your interview, and was supprised at the types of questions you
were asked. It was nice to see Terminaali put some thought into their interview
with you.
As you already know I have tried to help in as many ways as I can, and would
like to assure you that I will continue in anyway possible. It has been a real
buzz to finally help the FOSS community in a more solid fashion than just
advocating.
I feel the FOSS community and in particular the Linux community owe you a deabt
of gratitude, and from what you said in your interview, some already have
started even that debt up. Which is really good to see. :)
We (well most of us) are here for you, and would like to see you keep this
revolutionary community going.
All in all, a big thanks for what you have and are going.
RSC.
---
----
An Australian who IS interested.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: ErichTheWebGuy on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 09:26 PM EST |
Long live the queen!!
---
Striving daily to be RFC-2550 compliant[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 09:28 PM EST |
| zdnet article by David Berlind. Among other things, he has a theory as to why
Sun bought that SCO license.
link [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 09:40 PM EST |
Glad to hear it, PJ !
Party on, Garth
---
Jim[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 10:09 PM EST |
Has anyone seen this article? http://www.orangecrate.com/article.php?sid=658
It's Anderer's Independent Contractor agreement with SCO. Could this be real?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 10:48 PM EST |
I was looking at PJ's link to the buy/sell record of SCO
stocks... I noticed 'neat' buy blocks occuring at certain
points, particulary after lond periods of SCO stock
sell-offs...
Is there any way to find out who the purchaser of the
share blocks is? In this way we could see how SCO is
propping up its stock through 'buy-backs'...
Des Aubery... [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: plex on Tuesday, March 16 2004 @ 10:50 PM EST |
| Say, aren't you the editor formerly known as PJ? ;) [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:34 AM EST |
SCO created the idea of offering "insurance" to users of open source
software, and here comes OSRM offering to do it better.
Remember what happened the last time someone started offering a better product
than SCO's? They got sued! Though it took a couple years to get around to it...
I'd hardly be surprised to SCO filing lawsuits against OSRM based on claims of
tortious interference and Lanham act violations.
bkd[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:57 AM EST |
Then why the reference to "grok"? My first recollection of the term
is from Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land".[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:04 AM EST |
Since ths stock price is down, what will happen when (not if) it falls to $5:
SCO wil announce that:
- the unix/linux license price will be dropped to $69.99 for servers and $15 for
workstations
- the unix/linux license price goes up to $6999 for servers and $1500 for
workstations
- they will sue Microsoft for using the shell look and feel in the dos box
- they will sue their lawyers for losing lots of stockholder's value
- the System V will be Open Sourced
Yeah, just curious :)[ Reply to This | # ]
|
- Poll - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:30 AM EST
| |
| Authored by: waltish on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:28 AM EST |
I am Glad to hear that PJ.
--w
---
To speak the truth plainly and without fear,
Is a very powerfull thing.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: stevem on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:32 AM EST |
Honey? Watercolours?
I _KNEW_ I should have included that jar of Vegemite in the box of old SCO unix
manuals I sent PJ's way.
That would have been untoppable! (_really_ bad pun intended)
- SteveM[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Gwen on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:59 AM EST |
PJ, tremendous job here. Glad to hear you haven't disappeared on us. It is
been wondrous to see the creation of a new form of media. I see Groklaw as an
example of grassroots open source journalism. The emergence of this blog and
the integrity you have shown in keeping it rooted in fact is awe inspiring. You
go girl! You may not have intended to do it, but you are making a difference in
this world--a very positive one by the way. Cheers to you![ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:11 AM EST |
| Has anybody else noticed that www.baystarcapital.com is running
apache on FreeBSD?
At least that's what netcraft
says.
Isn't this a little hypocritical? Did they buy an IP
license?
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 03:16 AM EST |
Yes, but the SCOX price is still goin' south......
CPW[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: gbl on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 03:42 AM EST |
| For those of us who find it difficult to believe that Canopy is real, here is a picture of their
building in Lindon.
The actual page is from a web site of another company
that rents space in the building, possibly from Canopy
Properties.
If you google for "333 South 520 West" there are a lot of
hits, many for Canopy related companies, many for companies that just rent space
in the building. It may be interesting to dig deeper and see if there are
relationships that are more than just landlord/tenent.
---
If you
love some code, set it free. [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Greebo on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 05:53 AM EST |
| This was mentioned a few days ago, and it rang a bell, and then i was reading
the quotes database, and i came across this little gem from Darl back in August
2002
And C++ programming languages, we own those, have licensed them
out multiple times, obviously. We have a lot of royalties coming to us from C++.
The question is - Is this true?
I don't recall seeing any
income from this in the last financial data they published.
It's going to be
a real kick in the teeth if Darl does have a claim to this, or is this just
another 'We own the known Universe' statement from
Darl?
Greebo ---
-----------------------------------------
Recent Linux Convert and Scared Cat Owner [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 08:10 AM EST |
Microsoft Faces More Telling E-Mails in Minnesota Suit
The Wall Street Journal
17 March 2004
Page B1
By John R. Wilke and Don Clark
"Hundreds of Microsoft Corp. documentations to be made public this
week offer a new look at the tough tactics the company has used in
its march to dominate the software industry."
The article goes on to state that "The Microsoft e-mails and memos -
..... - are among the evidence being presented in a Minnesota
antitrust trial that opens Monday."
Final article note is:
Journal Link: WSJ.com subscribers can see the full text of the e-mail
exchange between Warren Buffett and Microsoft executive at
WSN.com/JournalLinks.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: rusty0101 on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 08:18 AM EST |
| And here I thought it was going to all the best places. <g> [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: tcranbrook on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 08:22 AM EST |
This article in
the Register tells us of the fundamental error in the MS SHared Source
program.
The Cold War's over, but we suggested that without an open
toolchain - unless users could also inspect the source code for the tools used
to build the OS - initiatives such as Microsoft's Shared Source program are
worthless PR exercises.
But that's not quite right, as a few of you have
pointed out. So let's correct that. Even with an open toolchain, initiatives
such as Microsoft's Shared Source program are worthless PR exercises.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: tintak on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 08:46 AM EST |
Hi All. Interesting story on The Register
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/36323.html
---
'it is literally impossible' for SCO to itself provide
direct proof' Mark J. Heise 02/06/04[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: tcranbrook on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 08:52 AM EST |
CNet has the following up, Start-up offers shelter to
SCO targets.
A partner in the effort is Groklaw, a Web site
devoted to covering SCO's machinations that is popular with Linux fans, Egger
said. Through the partnership, Open Source Risk Management has lined up 400
volunteers, including some original Unix authors, who will help trace Unix's
source code and licensing history, Egger said.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: archanoid on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 09:31 AM EST |
But you're asking the same person who had no idea that Groklaw
would become what it has, so maybe I'll be surprised by Groklaw's future
too.
PJ, you have a wonderful way with words. I read this
interview and, as usual, am impressed.
Fawning aside, an odd
curiosity makes me wonder: do you tend to take time to consider your responses,
how they will sound, whether they will be clear and as simple as possible, and
whether the language "flows" as I put it, OR are you more likely to answer off
the cuff and let your "gut" guide you?
Again, thanks for all you've
done for your community, all you continue to do, and all (I have no doubt) you
yet will.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: jmc on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 09:35 AM EST |
Looks like InfoWorld have deleted the "former" from their web page
now.
Panic over!![ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Darth23 on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 09:41 AM EST |
Everyone should innundate the reporter who made the 'former editor' remark
instead.
---
You know you're becoming a Groklaw Geek when..... the first site you check out
in the morning is Groklaw instead of Slashdot.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 09:45 AM EST |
While I agree with the points that PJ makes about knowing what's in your
software (REAL trusted computing, i.e., the USER can trust that his privacy is
not violated), the "free as in beer" idea is also compelling for (at
least) two reasons:
1) There are places in the world in which the average citizen earns less money
in a year that the typical proprietary "office applications suite"
costs. So having high quality, low cost software available helps those people.
Their adoption of the FLOSS also puts open standards into wide use, which helps
everyone.
<ASIDE>
Bruce Perens has headed up an effort about open standards called "sincere
choice" http://sincerechoice.org/
When the Justice Department was trying to decide a just punishment for Microsoft
and soliciting comments, here's what I wrote:
PUNISHING MICROSOFT
The U.S. Government is in a unique position with respect to this case. They are
responsible for enforcing laws against abuse of monopolistic power, and as
Microsoft's largest customer, they are also one of the damaged parties.
Microsoft's monopoly power comes from the fact that everyone wants their
computer to be able to read and write MS Office formatted documents because the
majority of computers can write and read those file formats. There's nothing
special about Microsoft's file formats, they just happened to be in widespread
use when computer networking became popular. They became de facto standards.
But because they are proprietary, potential competitors cannot use them, and
thus nobody can compete effectively.
Instead of punishing Microsoft through the courts, the government should simply
remedy the situation. A customer gets to decide what he will buy. Have the
NIST hold a competition for a set of open standards for "office-type"
document formats. Then announce that the government will adopt these standards
exclusively and will require that any "office-type" documents sent to
the government be in these formats. Commercial software companies, to say
nothing of the open source community, would quickly add code to their software
enabling the use of those formats. It wouldn't be long before these open
formats were the new defacto standards. Open standards promote open
competition, which benefits society.
If Bill Gates truly wants a settlement that "preserves innovation",
this action should make him ecstatic. Microsoft would be free to compete with
everyone else on a cost and features basis, but on a level playing field.
My opinion is that governments should generally stay out of the affairs of
business. But every customer, including the government, has the right to choose
what they buy. It is in the government's interest as a customer to promote
competition for its business. That same competition would benefit society at
large. A government "by the people, for the people" should advocate
solutions that serve the public good. It also seems fitting that if a company
gained or maintained a monopoly by committing illegal acts, that its monopoly be
reduced in scope. By this action, both their incentive and their potential for
future abuse of monopolistic power is reduced.
</ASIDE>
2) Each of us has a finite ability to learn and retain knowledge. As a
knowledge worker, I can get really good at using some set of tools, but I can't
learn everything. If I choose to learn some specific set of proprietary tools,
my next employer may not have that set available. On the other hand, if I learn
how to use a toolset that is "free as in beer", I can take my tools
with me to the next job. It is to my advantage to spend my finite training
resources on learning tools which I will always have available.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: nvanevski on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 10:18 AM EST |
| There is a link at OpenGroup that mentions a conference being held in Washington
University about FOSS in Government use - also says that legal issues will be
part of the discussion. The conference should end today, ant the link is here. Is there anyone that attended
it and could/would tell what was it about? [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 10:24 AM EST |
| From the Infoworld article: ... SCO believes that its $699 per processor
Intellectual Property License for Linux, however, is a better idea. "Ours is
certainly the most reasonable way to go and certainly the safest way to go," he
said.
Reminded me of a Kipling quotation I once saw, lets google a
bit... here:
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."
And that is
called paying the Dane-geld;
But we've proved it again and again,
That
if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the
Dane.
Paying SCO would be paying the Dane-geld: rewarding extortion,
which begets more extortion. The software insurance scheme by contrast won't
reward, except in the unfortunate case of losing in court to "the Dane". So it
definitely is a better choice for those that are worried.
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 10:36 AM EST |
Pure coincidence, I'm
sure.
...Toader now no longer works in his native Romania as a
freelance, but is a Microsoft employee living in
Redmond.
-AIB.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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- He's Darling - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 10:47 AM EST
- Dutch laws? - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:54 PM EST
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 11:41 AM EST |
http://linuxtoday.com/it_management/2001021600220NWBZCD
Drew Spencer,
Chief Technology Officer:
Spencer said that there are many areas in the
UnixWare kernel that are clearly not compatible with Linux, and that Caldera
hesitates to try to mash the two disparate technologies together. UnixWare
also contains encumbered, licensed technology that Caldera would have no right
to give away.
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 11:43 AM EST |
In 1975 Dijkstra wrote a spoof article on 'intellectual property' and it got a
spoof-corporate-lawyer-type reply.
See
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/
Look for EWD475 and "Jonathan Pettifogger's response", under recent
additions.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 11:46 AM EST |
http://news.com.com/2110-1001-227911.html?legacy=cnet
Santa Cruz
Operation will release its System Activity Reporter software to the open source
community, the company said. Starnix will port the software from SCO's UnixWare
operating system to Linux and BSD Unix, then the software will be renamed
OpenSAR and released under the Mozilla Public License. SAR, the first piece
of Unix System V software to be released as open source, lets system
administrators monitor the performance of a Unix computer.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:00 PM EST |
http://ir.sco.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=57417
FORUM 2001, SANTA
CRUZ, CA—August 20, 2001— Caldera International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALD)
today announced it will Open Source the AIM performance benchmarks and the
UNIX Regular Expression Parser, along with two UNIX utilities awk and grep.
These technologies will be released under the GPL (Gnu General Public
License). In a related move, Caldera will also be making the Open UNIX 8
source code available to members of its developer program who request it.
Information about the Caldera developer network is available at
http://www.caldera.com/partners/developer/.
These announcements
reflect the continued intention on the part of Caldera to progressively
contribute source code and to provide ongoing support to the Open Source
community. Caldera expects to release further components of the UNIX
intellectual property in coming months.
...
The UNIX
Regular Expression Parser is a library function from Open UNIX 8 used by a
number of standard UNIX utilities for complex pattern matching of pieces of
text. By Open Sourcing this, along with the awk and grep utilities, Caldera
begins a process of making some of the original UNIX utilitiesThis gives the
Open Source community an opportunity to reference these implementations and
incorporate the best of both source streams into future GPL implementations of
these tools.
...
“Many in the Open Source community
have asked Caldera to GPL these technologies,” said John Terpstra, vice
president of technology for Caldera International. “We have now delivered
these utilities and benchmarks. We have chosen the GPL license to directly
support corresponding GNU projects.”
The Regular Expression
library and tools will be made publicly available on SourceForge this week at
http://unixtools.sourceforge.net. In coming months, Caldera will Open Source
other UNIX tools and utilities, including pkgmk, pkgadd, pkgrm, pkginfo,
pkgproto and more, as well as the Bourne shell, lex, yacc, sed, m4 and make. The
licenses under which these technologies will be Open Sourced will be decided
based on community and business needs.
Open UNIX incorporates some
proprietary third party technology which means source code for certain third
party modules will not be available due to licensing restrictions.[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Caldera - Unixtools - on sourceforge - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:02 PM EST
- OT: SCO August 2001 - We are GPLing bits of UNIX, we would do more, but we don't own it all - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:39 PM EST
- OT: SCO August 2001 - We are GPLing bits of UNIX, we would do more, but we don't own it all - Authored by: bobn on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 12:42 PM EST
- OT: SCO August 2001 - We are GPLing bits of UNIX, we would do more, but we don't own it all - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:50 PM EST
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| Authored by: whoever57 on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:00 PM EST |
| An interesting
post from January 2003, in which SCO's ownership claims are only Openserver
and UnixWare (and not SysV). Also, here they are offering to make it
acceptable to run Linux using SCO's libraries, by buying a license to the
libraries alone:
"SCO is the developer and owner of SCO
UnixWare and SCO OpenServer, both
based on UNIX System V technology," said Darl
McBride, president and
CEO, The SCO Group. "SCO owns much of the core UNIX
intellectual
property, and has full rights to license this technology and
enforce the
associated patents and copyrights. SCO is frequently approached
by
software and hardware vendors and customers who want to gain access to
key
pieces of UNIX technology. SCOsource will expand our licensing
activities,
offering partners and customers new ways to take advantage
of these
technologies."
** SCO System V for Linux **
The SCO System V for Linux
license will provide access to SCO's UNIX
System Shared Libraries for use with
Linux. Customers frequently use
SCO's shared libraries to allow UNIX
applications to run on Linux. In
the past, SCO's UnixWare and OpenServer license
agreements did not allow
these UNIX libraries to be used outside of SCO's
operating systems. With
this announcement, customers can now license these
libraries from SCO
for use with Linux without having to license the entire SCO
operating
system. This will enable customers to now run thousands of
UNIX
applications on Linux. ---
-----
For a few laughs, see "Simon's Comic Online Source" at
http://scosource.com/index.html [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 01:18 PM EST |
Apparently, SCO Group is trying really, really hard now to look like it
actually has a UnixWare and OpenServer business. Yahoo is hosting the press
release here.
Try not to gag... (Apologies if this was posted elsewhere...)
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| Authored by: brenda banks on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:20 PM EST |
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040113030146793&query=OSRM
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040203213604869&query=OSRM
---
br3n
irc.fdfnet.net #groklaw
"sco's proof of one million lines of code are just as believable as the
raelians proof of the cloned baby"[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 02:57 PM EST |
From their web site
"Daniel Egger comes to venture investing with operating experience as an
entrepreneur and CEO of his own venture-backed data-mining software company.
While still a student at Yale Law School, his study of mathematics led him to
patent several data-partitioning algorithms for organizing and searching complex
databases."
Can't help feeling that these people are part of the problem, and not a part of
the solution.
Good Luck PJ.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 03:14 PM EST |
| http://thewhir.com/features/hosttalk-031704.cfm [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Night Flyer on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 03:47 PM EST |
SCO press release:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040316/latu050_1.html
SCO's press release starts: "LINDON, Utah, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- The SCO Group, Inc. ("SCO") (Nasdaq: SCOX - News), the owner of the
UNIX® operating system and ..."
I thought that deciding who is "the owner of the UNIX® operating
system" is before the courts.
For those who read far enough, at the bottom of the release SCO acknowledges
that "UNIX and UnixWare are registered trademarks of The Open Group"
(/www.unix-systems.org/).
I find it annoying that SCO continues to imply ownership by stating it in this
manner. I guess a press release can't start "SCO who unilaterally claims
ownership, against all odds and despite court challenges, of UNIX®, ..."
-------------------
My Clan Motto: Veritas Vincit: Truth Conquers
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 04:49 PM EST |
I thought long and hard about even putting this up. I've homeschooled my
youngest two kids for over 14 years. One is about to graduate high school, and
the other is out in the big bad world, working and finishing college. So
what...well...homeschoolers haven't had it easy over the years...Even though
most states in the US have laws, that enable folks to homeschool legally...the
school districts love taking us to court. In PA, even though we have very strict
laws that protect the homeschoolers, as well as requires much from us, the
school districts march several of us to court every year...and the homeschoolers
win...How can we afford this...We have a association that is much feared in the
School districts around the country...its called HSLDA.org. We pay 100 dollars a
year...and if we have to go to court...they'll fight it to the supreme court
level. It takes around 2 million dollars to take cases to the federal supreme
court. With millions of homeschool families, each donating 100 dollars a
year...the money is there...They also, use the money to lobby in Washington, as
well as in the states. So I don't know if this is exactly what PJ's new company
offers...but if it is close...Congratulations...it works...One of the most
effective and feared lobbies in Washington is the homeschool lobby. They can't
be bought off...they don't bribe the congress...They just tell the congress to
get off our backs or we will get them unelected. Works great...Freedom is a
wonderful thing...but freedom has a price...The question is are we willing to
pay it?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 05:11 PM EST |
It is a non-profit group. Most areas have some very good lawyers, who volunteer
their time to help homeschoolers in their communities. If it ends up in the
courts (can't be settled at the school district level)...then the lawyers that
run HSLSA.org usually step in. They are reallllly good at what they do. And yes,
most of them homeschool their kids as well. It does use extra money it makes to
fight for homeschoolers in other countries as well. It's function as a lobby
group in Washington is really interesting...Something someone may want to
contact HSLDA about and get some info. on (to start a opensource lobby
group)....how they lobby that is...I must admit I'm not really up on the lobby
stuff to much...I just know they do their job.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: dmscvc123 on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 06:23 PM EST |
I found the original Caldera/SCO announcement and I thought it would be funny to
view what they said then versus what they say now. It's funny how the then
largest Linux distributor who wants to merge Linux and Unix now doesn't
understand the terms of the GPL and thinks that if there's any merging of Linux
and Unix, it must be someone else's fault:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Only Contact:
Nancy Pomeroy
Caldera International, Inc.
nancy@caldera.com
Phone: (801) 765-4999
Fax: (801) 765-1313
CALDERA COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF TWO SCO DIVISIONS;
BECOMES LARGEST LINUX COMPANY IN THE WORLD WITH GLOBAL SERVICES/SUPPORT
Positions Scalable Linux on UNIX as the Alternative Business Platform
OREM, UT May 7, 2001
Caldera Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALD) today announced
its completion of the acquisition of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. (SCO)
(Nasdaq: SCOC) Server Software and Professional Services divisions,
UnixWare and OpenServer technologies. Caldera International, Inc., thus
becomes the largest Linux company in the world with sales, support and
marketing representation in 82 countries. In addition, Caldera now leads
the world's largest Linux channel with 15,000+ resellers worldwide.
Application and hardware solution providers will now have a single Linux
company that can facilitate the marketing and delivery of these business
solutions to all major markets globally.
"The goal of Caldera International is to make Linux on industry standard
hardware the alternative business platform," said Ransom Love, CEO of
Caldera International. "With the completion of this acquisition, Caldera
will be the only company to offer a standard unified platform that allows
Linux applications to scale to the enterprise utilizing the power, maturity
and stability of UNIX. It's a first..."
Unification
Caldera's "Unifying UNIX with Linux for business" strategy unifies:
1. The existing UNIX business channel with Linux
2. The large, robust UNIX applications base with Linux
3. The largest existing UNIX customer base in the world with Linux.
Industry leaders have caught Caldera's vision and are leveraging Caldera's
unified UNIX and Linux technologies and products to meet their own end user
and data center needs.
Caldera Completes Acquisition of SCO Divisions
"Caldera's acquisition of SCO's Server Software and Professional Services
divisions significantly expands my ability to service customers," said
Quentin Krengel, president of Krengel Technology, Inc., Minneapolis,
MN. "The new company offers greater product, support and services. I'm
pleased that the reseller channel is going to play a central role in the
success of Caldera International."
Caldera will focus on three main business lines to meet the needs of
small-to-medium size businesses, replicated sites, data centers and the
departmental needs of the enterprise.
7 Development Products: OpenLinux Workstation 3.1, Development
tools, Professional Services, Standards Based
7 Deployment Products: Open UNIX, eServer, OpenServer, OpenLinux Server
7 Management Products: Caldera Volution, Volution Online
Caldera's "Unifying UNIX with Linux for business" strategy is
validated by
their existing customers and partners including *Compaq, Sun, Computer
Associates, IBM, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Novell, Sybase, Informix and HON
Industries.
Caldera Global Services and Support
Caldera International support centers are located in North America, Europe
and the Pacific Rim and are staffed by highly skilled technical support
engineers. Caldera Global Support offers 24x7 enterprise and local language
support with a broad portfolio of options customized to meet the needs of
partners and end users.
In addition, Caldera's Global Professional Services will assist customers
in developing and deploying unified UNIX and Linux solutions through
consulting and custom engineering services. For more information please
visit www.caldera.com.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: grouch on Wednesday, March 17 2004 @ 09:07 PM EST |
| There have been a lot of comments about OSRM and indemnification.
The risks
from "intellectual property" lawsuits to FOSS are real. Regardless of merit,
these threaten developers and corporate users. Projects have been terminated
just on the threat of legal action, because the developer(s) could not afford to
fight. How is the community of FOSS meeting the risks?
- Legal
defense funds, such as
Red
Hat's and
OSDL's.
- Research,
such as what happens at Groklaw.
- Insurance, such as offered by
OSRM.
- Political activism, such
as exhibited by
EFF.
Who is not
covered? Those who cannot afford "intellectual property" insurance need those
legal defense funds. The research helps reduce the risk and therefore the price
of the insurance. The insurance offering helps companies deal with the IP land
sharks. As the research bans the sharks from older areas, they will get more
creative in attacks, so the insurance and defense funds will continue to be
needed. The activism works toward achieving long-term goals such as patent
reform, as well as defending against encroachment, such as the recent European
software patent protests.
Please add more links to organizations working to
keep the IP land sharks off the backs of FOSS developers, distributors and
users. Thanks.
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, March 18 2004 @ 12:26 AM EST |
No...It is not off topic. The topic is PJ is working for a company that will
offer insurance for companies that will be using OpenSource. I assume, and may
be wrong, that this insurance will be used to help fight law suites. If this is
the case, then HSLDA is an example of just such a group, and it works. It isn't
for OpenSource, but it is for a group of people who have to defend themselves in
the courts, and need a lobby in Washington. And one thing OpenSource and Linux
do need is a lobby group in Washington, to educate the legislators about Linux
and OpenSource. The point is...if many donate a little, then there is the
possibility of doing a great deal of good in helping people fight in the courts
and in creating a lobby group in Washington. If others already have experience
in doing so, why in the world wouldn't the OpenSource community want to learn as
much as possible about how its done...and done very well? That is on topic.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, March 19 2004 @ 02:07 PM EST |
The Palace (http://www.thepalace.com) is pretty cool because it allows everyone
to participate in making a nice atmosphere for the party. You can build your own
room and such, customize your own look, make your own pictures for your person,
etc. We use it to celebrate parties and such.
It's available for Windows and Mac, not Linux. It isn't opensource either. It
does run quite OK in WINE.
Which leads to me asking the following question :-) does anyone know a Free,
nice alternative for The Palace?[ Reply to This | # ]
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