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Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 08:04 AM EDT

A reader sent me OpenLinux 2.3, and I decided I would take a look and see if I could find any Caldera/USL/SCO copyright notices on the header files SCO is complaining about. I couldn't, but I wasn't sure I knew what I was doing (or more accurately, I was pretty sure I didn't), so I asked Dr Stupid to take a look at OpenLinux, which I knew he owned, and see if he could find any copyright notices on the header files. He checked and he finds no such copyright notices.

Can SCO sue folks successfully for failing to have copyright notices on files that they themselves distributed -- apparently for years -- without any such notices? Despite their knowing all along what the sealed agreement said, even if the rest of the world did not? What kind of upside-down Alice-in-Wonderland court would that be?

I would like to check more thoroughly to establish for sure one way or another if any version of Caldera OpenLinux ever had any such copyright notices on the ABI files. So, here's a project: I request that anyone who has any version of OpenLinux please check and see if you can find any USL/Caldera/TSG headers on errno.h or the other ABI files and then everyone report back please. Thanks.

Here are the findings Dr Stupid emailed me:

********************************************

TSG continued to distribute various versions of the kernel from their ftp servers even after bringing the lawsuit against IBM. One version, the latest available upgrade for Caldera OpenLinux customers, was commonly alluded to.

In common with many kernel source RPMS, it comprises a "pristine" kernel (i.e. a version as supplied from kernel.org) and a number of patches which are applied automatically in the build process.

The kernel.org file (in this case linux-2.4.13.tar.bz2) does not contain any copyright notice on errno.h, and similarly there are no USL/Caldera/TSG headers on the other "ABI files".

But, I wondered, perhaps the headers get inserted by the patches in the RPM?

Space does not permit the patches to be listed in full here, but the .spec file in the RPM gives a summary of what the patches do:

---quote---

# official kernel (pre-) patches
Patch0: patch-2.4.13-ac5.bz2

# compile and run fixes
Patch1: linux-miscfixes.patch

# (re)enabled acpi module support
Patch2: linux-2.4.10-acpi.diff

Patch3: linux-ca-hooks
Patch5: linux-2.4.9-scsi_reset.patch
Patch4: patch-2.4.13-ac5-ia64kdb.bz2

# various sound and debug patches from Caldera
Patch6: linux-COL.patch

# switch console to VGA mode and display Caldera Systems OpenLinux LOGO
Patch7: linux-vgaplan4-COL.patch

# add a switch to make printk of level INFO go to log only, not to console
Patch8: linux-silent-COL.patch

# security patch(es)
Patch9: linux-2.4.13-secfix

Patch10: linux-2.4.13-no_ps2mouse.patch

# ftp://oss.sgi.com/projects/kdb/download/
Patch12: kdb-v1.9-2.4.13-ac1.bz2

Patch13: cciss-2.4.23-2.4.13.patch

# HyperThreading patch from intel
Patch14: patch-2.4.13-ac2-ht1

# fix zero division caused by Compaq RAID drivers
Patch15: linux-2.4.13-cpqraid-zeroblocksize.patch

# stupid scsi layer change needs asm hdr change for all archs...
Patch16: linux-2.4.13-scatterlist-ia64.patch

# zlib security patch
Patch17: linux-2.4.13-libz2.patch

# Security patch: single-step tracing a program hangs the system.
Patch18: linux-2.4.13-singlestep.patch

# LSB-1.1 patches (http://www.linuxbase.org/test/lsb-runtime-test-faq.html )
Patch19: linux-2.4.13-LSB1.1.patch

# Christopher Yeoh's patch to bring IPC in line with spec.
# Adopted in 2.4.19 & 2.5.19, so watch for redundancy:
Patch20: linux-2.4.13-ipc_lsb_compliance.patch

# Rich Brunner's patch to prevent agpgart conflicting cache attribute problem
# ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/people/ak/v2.4/amd-adv-spec-caching-disable-2.4.19pre 9-1
# Backported for our specific 2.4.13 kernel. Don't blindly re-roll
# with it. You have been warned.
Patch21: linux-2.4.13-AMD_AGPGART_conflict_attrib.patch

# IBM requested patches.
Patch30: ftp://ohlone.uss.ca.caldera.com/pub/ibm_acpi_mxt_311.patches/caldera_acpitab le-2002-05-17_2.4.13.gz
Patch31: ftp://ohlone.uss.ca.caldera.com/pub/ibm_acpi_mxt_311.patches/linux-2.4.5-mxt .patch
Patch32: ftp://ohlone.uss.ca.caldera.com/pub/ibm_acpi_mxt_311.patches/linux-2.4.6-mxt bios.patch
Patch33: ftp://ohlone.uss.ca.caldera.com/pub/ibm_acpi_mxt_311.patches/linux-2.4.6-mxt fix.patch

# Support for IDE-DMA on i845 chipset
Patch40: linux-2.4.13-i845-ide.patch

#IBM requested patches
Patch34: ips-510.tar.gz
Patch35: kernel-2.4.13-5.10-patch

#erg712088 Ethernet 802.3 short packet padding (fz521368)
Patch36: linux-2.4.13-etherleak.patch

---end quote---

None of these looks like a patch to add copyright notices, and sure enough none of them do - not even the LSB compliance patch. (Remember, Caldera helped standardise Linux's ABI files as an active participant in the LSB effort.)

In 2003, TSG released SCO Linux 4 which used the United Linux kernel. It had no copyright information added to the kernel either.

***********************************************

Just to remind you, here is Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols' review of SCO Linux 4 in January of 2003. Then in April, a month after the lawsuit was filed against IBM, SCO released "SCO Linux Server 4.0 for the Itanium® Processor Family, a high-performance Linux operating system designed for use with Intel® Itanium® 2-based systems," which they said in the press release "includes the base UnitedLinux operating system and the additional software, support and services for successfully running Linux in a mission-critical business environment", and which used the Linux 2.4.19 kernel. If anyone has SCO Linux Server 4.0, it would be interesting to check it as well.

I came across a SCO Linux Server 4 white paper [PDF] Caldera put out in December of 2002, that quaintly pointed out the advantages of switching from Microsoft to Linux. It sounds convincing to me:

Microsoft has recently increased the license fees and changed the terms under which its software is made available.

For a typical customer who generally upgrades to a new release about every four years, the cost of an upgrade is now about 45% higher than it was for upgrading previous releases. Businesses are searching for a more cost-effective alternative that gets the job done.

SCO Linux 4 contains all the necessary tools to set up a complete backoffice server than performs the functional equivalent to the following Microsoft Backoffice Server services . . .Adding a SCO Linux 4 server in a Microsoft network is completely transparent. . . . Providing full interoperability with other Microsoft servers allows an orderly and gradual migration from Microsoft servers to a more cost effective and a more secure Linux-based alternative. . . .

IDEAL FOR REPLICATED SITE DEVELOPMENTS

SCO Linux 4 is an ideal platform to support replicated branch sites such as retail store operations, hospitality chains, convenience food and branch banking. In these environments, operational efficiency and flexibility to respond to new customer demands are essential. SCO Linux 4 reduces the high cost of installing, configuring and maintaining the remote sites because systems can be administered from a single, central site.

[ Update: The paper was at the time located at http://www.sco.com/images/pdf/scolinux/SCO_Linux_DS3.qxd.pdf, but as so often happened to links to SCO's site from Groklaw articles, it disappeared. So I have provided a link to another site that still has it online. And I have a copy I retained from the time.]

Mighty convincing, so maybe you bought it. After all, the paper continues, the core technology is UnitedLinux, "the same core used by other leading Linux distribution companies around the globe. SCO Linux 4 is built to industry standards, including the Linux Standards Base (LSB)", and it includes JFS and "NUMA support, and many other performance enhancing capabilities." Of course, to hear SCO tell it, they had no idea they were distributing such things under the GPL. If you have it handy, please take a look.


  


Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project | 208 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Corrections Here Please
Authored by: PJ on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 09:56 AM EDT
Please put errors and corrections for them here. Thanks.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: cricketjeff on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 09:57 AM EDT
the SCOG position is that the rest of the world must abide by undertakings they
were not party to and which they had no opportunity to read. It is not the SCOG
position that SCOG must abide by undertakings they themselves entered into
freely and with full opportunity to read every character both of the agreements
and the code the agreements related to. It is furthermore their position that
the US constitution demands others do the same.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Riffs in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: linonut on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 10:10 AM EDT
Based on what snarlin' Darl said in his recent eWeek interview
with Stephen Vaughn-Nichols, and what I've been reading in
Lawrence Lessig's new book, "Free Culture", I believe that
the SCO Group, having failed utterly in claiming that Linux
contains their "intellectual property" for which they should
be paid, is now going to change strategy. They have seen that
musicians have been successful in suing other musicians for
"using their riffs". In these cases, a mere similarity seems
to be enough to support the lawsuit.

Therefore, the SCO Group now believes that this is a strategy
that they can win with. They are now claiming that Linux is
using their riffs. Essentially, the SCO Group wants to use
a tried-and-true strategy of muddying the waters and hoping
for a win.

Even if Novell proves it has the copyrights, the SCO Group
may be able to snag some kind of win by saying that the
Linux musicians have made a "fake book" using "riffs" on
code the SCO Group can claim it owns. They will have to
convince the law that the GPL has no force (which will have
some bad side-effects for the SCO Group). In any case,
they will at least get yet more delay due to the vagueness
of this issue, and the obvious parallel with the successful
musical lawsuits will help boost their stock price.

The SCO Group is taking advantage of the "tenor of the times". A sour
note to be sure.

Chris Ahlstrom


---
I use Linux. So sue me.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 10:24 AM EDT
I wish that this actually meant as much as it seems. The NEW SCO's predecessor
in interest obviously deliberately included a substantial amount of code, that
much is public record. The Linux inclusion issue seems like it *should* be a
slamdunk, although for some technical reason, it isn't. This wouldn't seem to
affect the IBM case directly, though. The crux of that is 'what did IBM add to
TLOS (the linux operating system), and did they break any agreements they had
with the NEW SCO in doing so?'.
Or maybe not, this week.

[ Reply to This | # ]

To know for sure
Authored by: rsmith on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 10:27 AM EDT
Could somebody with an OpenLinux 4 CD unpack the RPM and grep for
USL/Caldera/TSG in the patched kernel source?

That is the only way to be sure there are no USL/Caldera/TSG copyrights in
there.

Nice how SCOG's own publications prove they were aware of JFS and NUMA, and that
they didn't see anything wrong with it. More fodder for IBM's lawyers, I guess.

---
Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • To know for sure - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 11:01 AM EDT
    • To know for sure - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 12:38 PM EDT
  • To know for sure - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, April 06 2004 @ 06:55 AM EDT
An American Court of course
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 11:48 AM EDT
What kind of upside-down Alice-in-Wonderland court would that be?

If anyone was interested in the truth of this case they certainly would have
been lead to Groklaw by now. And if after reading SCOG statements contrasted
with their own previous remarks one could easily conclude that they were up to
no good. What amazes me is that our court system, after 'improving' for so many
years, will still take another year or more to release a decision, and longer
after an appeal (should one be permitted).
It is very frustrating as a consumer and user of these goods to know I am
being publicly lied to and that my judicial system is being played by the
fiddler with the deepest pockets.
This case stinks all around and yet we are still entertaining it a year
later, and none of us know for sure which way the outcome will go. We all sound
hopeful but is that enough with our judicial system?

Another Frustrated Linux user

[ Reply to This | # ]

SCO wouldn't do that..
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 12:11 PM EDT
IIRC, it's a felony to alter the copyright notice - or to add your own if you
don't actually own the copyright..

SCO wouldn't dare add copyright notices to errno.h, becuase they know they'd be
slapped down _HARD_.

SCO knows it doesn't actually own the copyright. It's one thing to issue press
releases claiming they do, it's quite another to place copyright notices in the
files. Doing so would open Darl and co. up to serious legal consequences, up to
and including federal jail time.

Keep looking, but you're not gonna find anything - becuase Darl just isn't that
stupid.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 12:19 PM EDT
You should also have a look at patches/copyright notices
from LST ( linux support team ) which was a german linux
distributor until they were bought by Caldera and became
their german division.

[ Reply to This | # ]

I have Open Linux 2.2
Authored by: poncewattle on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 12:27 PM EDT
I have OpenLinux 2.2, original box set, manuals, original CDs, etc. I'm
currently installing it in a vmware session and will have a look around.

If anyone has any requests beyond looking at the header files, let me know.

[ Reply to This | # ]

How To Find SCO Code In Linux
Authored by: dmscvc123 on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 12:42 PM EDT
Use pattern recognition and spectral analysis. Unfortunately the MIT math
department and NASA are booked by SCO.

[ Reply to This | # ]

I have Caldera OpenLinux Lite, from 1997
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 01:04 PM EDT
It uses a 2.0.29 kernal, and shipped with the Que book Using Linux, Special
Edition (3rd ed).

Now, could someone give me the magic RPM commands to extract the source (without
messing up my exisiting installation)?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: rongage on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 01:53 PM EDT
I have OpenLinux 2.4 here. Let me know by email if you need this one looked
at.


---
Ron Gage - Linux Consultant
LPI1, MCP, A+, NET+
Pontiac, Michigan

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: rsmith on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 03:26 PM EDT
Even if there had been such copyrights, isn't the mere act of sending
patches/files to Linus for inclusion in the kernel an implicit acceptance of the
GPL?

I think the code from the Linux-ABI project (released under the GPL by Caldera,
signed with their public key) is more relevant. The SCOG cannot claim ignorance
on this.

OT: If there are any kernel developers lurking here, it might be a good idea to
make a tool that scans patches for copyright changes. Any patch containing a
line "- Copyright ..." followed by a "+ Copyright ..."
should be specially checked. It might be an attempt by unscrupulous people to
lay claim to other peoples work.

---
Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: mossc on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 04:10 PM EDT
I have official CDs of
"SCO Linux Server" (SCO Linux Server Release 4.0, powered by United Linux 1.0)
Not sure when they were released but It had to be somewhat recently since they are using "SCO" branding. The CDs themselves have a copyright notice
c2002 Caldera International, Inc All rights reserved.
Additionally there is small text around the outer border.
RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND: All technical data or SCO commercial computer software/documentation is subject to provisions of FAR 12.211 "Technical Data," and FAR 12.212-"Computer Software" respectively, or clauses providing SCO equivalent protection in DFARS or other agency specific regualtions. SCO is a registered trademark of Caldera International, Inc in the USA and other countries. All product names referenced herein are trademarks of their respective companies.
The say the "open source sources downloadable from ftp.SCO.com/pub/scolinux" but I bet they have a kernel source RPM provided as well. What files/information are needed? Chuck

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 04:17 PM EDT
sorry, I used to have several different caldera products around, but when
this(/these) stupid lawsuit(s) broke out, I purposely defaced all the CDs and
threw them in the trash.

[ Reply to This | # ]

OpenLinux 2.2
Authored by: danb35 on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 04:35 PM EDT
Well, I dug out my old CDs of OpenLinux 2.2, and installed them in a fresh VM.
Here's what I found. There are a few errno.h files on the system. The one in
/usr/include does have a copyright notice, but it's for the FSF. The kernel
files, as previously reported, have no copyright notice at all. Kernel version
is 2.2.5, and this is using original Caldera CDs.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: greybeard on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 04:38 PM EDT
I rooted through a dusty box of CDs from a former life and find three that may
be of interest. All were acquired in the course of working with the Santa Cruz
Operation up until SCO Forum 2000. They are:

[1]OPEN LINUX eDesktop 2.4 Binaries and installation.
The CD is screened in the original SCO Blue and Gold colors and says: GPL Source
downloadable from:
ftp.calderasystems.com/pub/eDesktop

Linux for eBusiness
copyright 2000 Caldera Systems, Inc All rights reserved.

[2]The second CD is in the blue/silver Caldera colors and says:

OPEN Linux eServer2.3

Contains 11 specialized servers including:
Apache,Samba,Mail Server, FTP, DHCP,DNS,Internet news,Mailing list, PPP Dial in,
SQID, My SQL

Source Code available at www.calderasystems.com/eServer

[3]The last is a SCO Skunkware Open Source Software CD, version7.1.1B for the
UnixWare 7 Operating System.

It claims to contain:
Enhydra, KDE/KDevelop,Apache,Bash/Tsch/Zsh,Cdrtools,XEmacs/InfoDock,
Webmin, GCC, Samba,SANE, Squid, The Gimp, Vim (and more)

I am heading out the door on a trip and don't have the time to look deeper, but
will later if they are of interest.





---
-greybeard-

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: KentWA on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 05:26 PM EDT
I know we have discussed this a bit in the past, however there is a little
detail I just noticed about the Linux ABI. If you look at the change log for
version 2.4.17 you will notice that one person, and one person only submitted
all changes from 2.4.3 to 2.4.17. So maybe this is the culprit that was so
underhanded in releasing SCO's "valued" IP into the world. Oh wait, it
came from none other than a SCO employee, our often identifed Christoph Hellwig
<hch@caldera.de>! I would think a SCO employee should reasonably be aware
of IP violations, after all is that not what SCO says about IBM and their
employees?

http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/mirrors/kernel.org/linux/kernel/people/hch/linux-abi/
v2.4/ChangeLog

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 05:37 PM EDT
I found ISOs of Caldera OpenLinux 3.1.1 server and pulled them down. It only had
the 2.4.13 kernel headers, not the full kernel source RPM or SRPM.

The kernel header package still has what appears to be the standard ABI headers
in /usr/include/asm and /usr/include/linux.

I grepped the ABI headers and only acct.h has a copyright notice:

"Copyright (C) 1995 - 1997 Marco van Wieringen - ELM Consultancy B.V."

[ Reply to This | # ]

Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: The_Examiner on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 05:59 PM EDT
I have a full version of Caldera eDesktop 2.4 with all the Binaries (incl.
Books), they bundled in the softwarebox that has been sold at that time. I
bought it 3 years ago in europe. Because SCO intends to sue Linux-Users
elsewhere outside the US (later on), it might be interesting to examin this
oversea-version for copyright notices etc. I´m not familiar in doing this
things because I´m not a programmer. But I´m willing to give it into "the
right hands" for examination.

[ Reply to This | # ]

News: Programmers told to put security over creativity
Authored by: kh on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 06:23 PM EDT
CNET has an article here.

I worry that a certification process might be used to hinder open source sotware which has shown itself to be much more secure than proprietary software.
Certification for programmers, better education and even new laws are needed to improve software security, stated a report published Thursday by a coalition of corporate security experts, academic researchers and government agencies.
Seems to be a lot of statements from Microsoft.
The broad swath of initiatives is needed to help companies improve the quality of their software, said Scott Charney, chief security strategist for Microsoft and co-chairman of the Security Across the Software Development Life Cycle Task Force.
"There is no silver bullet for making software secure," he said in a statement.

Established late last year, the National Cyber Security Partnership brings together security experts from the private, academic and public sectors in attempt to improve security. The members divided the organization into five working groups to focus on specific problem areas: creating awareness in home computer users and small businesses; establishing a cybersecurity early warning system; making information security part of corporate governance; advocating technical best practices for security; and pushing security improvements into the software development process.

[ Reply to This | # ]

OT: Open Group's published specifications
Authored by: QTlurker on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 06:37 PM EDT
The Open Group, aka X/Open, among others, has been publishing UNIX ABI
specifications for a while. I am looking at "Go Solo" published with
a CD in 1995, and it includes Sys V interfaces. It defines the requirements for
ABI header files such as "errno.h", their function , and the names for
the symbolic constants they define. Actual numeric values are omitted.

The Open Group gets its rights from AT&T, Intel, USL, and Novel. It gives
certain rights to the world. INAL and therefore I am not sure how this works.

In the past, I recall reading that a work which conforms to a public spec won't
be considered as infringing another work that conforms to the same spec, because
there is no significant room for originality. Sequence and structure are
irrelevant in these cases. Is there case law about ABI's or am I halucinating?

Why is SCO saber rattling over these files? Even if there were line by line
copying, How can there be damages when there is absolutely no value of one
version over another?

Harry


[ Reply to This | # ]

Caldera Satements
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 06:56 PM EDT
I was reading through an old copy of O'Reilly's Running Linux 2nd edition and
found this interesting section:

Caldera has aggressively pursued development of the linux OS
and has not been shy about buying technology when it seems
appropriate. ....[skipping some stuff] and licensed
Lasermoon's POSIX-Compliant technology, with the announced intention of offering
a genuine UNIX, Which will be called Caldera Open UNIX. (Basically, X/Open-Posix
standards plus a UNIX License equals UNIX.) Caldera UNIX Will be, therefore,The
first UNIX Built without any AT&T source code, and Linux
rises to full commercial recognition...

the license it refers to comes from erlier in the book where
they mention that Caldera is getting a license for Unix from Novell.

The Book is "Running Linux" by Matt welsh and Lar Kaufman 1996, Any
errors are mine.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Availability of source code from TSCOG
Authored by: Tomas on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 07:52 PM EDT
Just a simple question: Shouldn't folks who were at one time users of TSCOG
provided Linux releases of any sort, of any vintage, be able to simply ask TSCOG
for a copy of the source for that version and be guaranteed (by the GPL it was
distributed under) a copy?

Did I miss something here?

Will TSCOG refuse to provide the source for it's previously released, GPL'd
software?

If TSCOG does refuse to release the source, have they broken the GPL?

Could they get in trouble for that?

Just simple questions ...

---
Tom
Engineer (ret.)
"Friends don't let friends use Microsoft."

[ Reply to This | # ]

What, exactly, does Darl know?
Authored by: PSaltyDS on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 09:38 PM EDT
There seems to be a pattern here. Darl is not a lawyer, but makes absurd pronouncements on law: "The GPL is unconstitutional." Darl is not a programmer, but makes absurd pronouncements on programming: "Millions of lines of code." Darl is not a musician, but makes absurd pronouncements on music: "A riff is like a program." Darl is a CEO. A business manager. Aren't CEO's evaluated on how well they find and use good advice on things they don't know, like law, programming, and music?

So, no skills as a lawyer, programmer, musician, or CEO. What exactly are his qualifications for leadership of (what used to be) a technology company? I don't mean that question entirely sarcasticly. Before the IBM suit, what skillset and prior performance made him the choice as SCO CEO?

---

"Any technology distinguishable from magic is insuficiently advanced." - Geek's Corrolary to Clarke's Law

[ Reply to This | # ]

Need info...
Authored by: Night Flyer on Sunday, April 04 2004 @ 11:04 PM EDT
I have OpenLinux eDesktop 2.4 (Caldera 2000) "7CDKO1E02401", OpenLinux
Lite Ver 1.2 (Caldera 1998) "7-OLLO1EO120-1" and Caldera OpenLinux
2.3, Dec. 1999 in my possession.

Of interest, I did a search for text looking for "caldera" in the 1.2
Lite and got back 1030 files with a hit. It looks like Caldera got its name in
virtually every file. I opened a couple to confirm, and it was there.

If any of these are not covered elsewhere, let me know.

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • Need info... - Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, April 05 2004 @ 01:11 AM EDT
    • Need info... - Authored by: PJ on Monday, April 05 2004 @ 01:23 AM EDT
Missing Copyright Notices in OpenLinux Project
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, April 05 2004 @ 02:36 AM EDT
SCO is dead. IBM will finish then. Time to forget about SCO. Darel and his gang
of software ganisters are finished. They really have no hope of winning anything
here. Ask any lawler.

Microsoft controled zombies. Microsoft can read the writting on the wall and
will cut them off...

SCO will die and the end of the only profitable IP UNIX company left. There
product runed and worthless to any future purchasers.

You see SCO was the only real (IP) UNIX OS that, with a little work and smarts,
could have competed with Microsoft. Microsoft talked SCO into killing itself,
and intended to slow down linux in the process. That part did not work but the
price tag of removing the only IP UNIX company left on the Intel platform cost
Microsoft less that 100M if they even supplied the money themself. What a
deal.... and to boot they got to see where the other vendors and open source
stand. A look at there ememy tatics before Microsft fires the first real shot.

SCO can't win and only Darrel is still stupid enough to still think he has a
chance. Matter fact I am sure he still believes he has a chance. He attorney and
Micosoft told him so. After all. And we know how trustworthy they are after
all.

Laugh...... Darrel is a looser and always has been. Micosoft wins again...
<sigh>

This is Mocrosoft's game and not SCO's......

[ Reply to This | # ]

IMPORTANT for PJ:
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, April 05 2004 @ 09:25 AM EDT
this comes from the Yahoo SCOX board....

IMPORTANT for PJ:
by: korbomite
04/05/04 01:25 am
Msg: 120104 of 120152

PJ is asking for old ABI header files at GROKLAW...here is a rather interesting link for SVR4 ABI header files, clearly showing that much of the ABI suite for UNIX^TM AND Linux was contributed by Caldera, via Christoph, during his work for Caldera Gmbh on the kernel:
http://healconsulting.com/SCO/cmp/linux-abi/

of course, much of this was simultaneously being done, under the auspices of the Open Group (or, as it was known in the past, "X/Open") to achieve UNIX^TM interoperability and to realize the dream of a single UNIX^TM standard, that would interoperate with the Linux Standards Base^TM.

Finally, it should be noted, that Linus himself started contributing the first of the ABI headers, those were superceded by the iBCS/iBCS2 Project of Mike Jagdis, as noted by PJ in her original research.

and here's a document about what the iBCS2 was, from 1994, when Mike started the Project:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=2809
Note that all of this was done in the 'ancient' days of Linux/UNIX^TM, when oldSCO, Novell and all the other UNIX^TM and Linux distributors and marketers co-operated and ran their businesses under the 'co-opetition' model against the REAL Enemy, Micro$oft.

Loren Heal, besides having old ABI source, also has an EXCELLENTLY well-researched site on SCUMX vs. Linux.

Here is HIS answer to the ABI quandry, wherein he uses one of SCUMX's own attorneys' extortion letters (these guys should be, at a MINIMUM, disbarred for felonious use of the mails to support an ongoing criminal enterprise--can we get lawyers with the RICO statutes?), from Ryan E. Tibbets, Esq. one of the chief SCUMX extortionists:
http://healconsulting.com/SCO/sco-letter.html
and Loren's SCO pages:
http://healconsulting.com/SCO/
Another EXCELLENT and successful effort by our community to show the stupidity, clulessness, and outright criminal nature of these SCUMX bedbugs and the criminal, ambulance-chasing, clueless-idiot, PHB/MBA, bloodsucking shysters they have hired to represent them.

k

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries.
Linux Standards Base is a trademark of the Free Standards Group in the USA and other countries.



Enjoy! ;)

[ Reply to This | # ]

OT: SCOX scheduled to close above $10.50 today
Authored by: crs17 on Monday, April 05 2004 @ 10:02 AM EDT

The crazy upswing in SCOX stock price is right on schedule. The offering for the A-1 Preferred Stock says that SCO, at its option, can redeem the Preferred shares:

(b) If the Closing Sales Price of the Common Stock is less than $10.50 (as adjusted to reflect any stock dividends, distributions, combinations, reclassifications and other similar transactions effected by the Corporation in respect to its Common Stock) for at least twenty (20) consecutive trading days, the Corporation shall have the right to redeem any shares of Series A-1 Preferred Stock then outstanding at price per share of Series A-1 Preferred Stock equal to the Face Amount plus all accrued and unpaid Dividends thereon through the closing date of such redemption.

On 3/8/04 SCOX last closed above $10.50 (actually at $11.28). By my count today would be the twentieth day of closing below $10.50 if it did close that low. Right now, at 10am, SCOX is at $10.15. Watch for the final push to $10.50 just before the close.

I'm a bit confused as to who would be doing this manipulation. Since the conversion is at the company's option, it wouldn't be SCOX insiders. Rather, either Baystar or RBC are the likely culprits and they (for some reason that I don't understand) don't want conversion to happen.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Search for Caldera/USL/SCO in OpenLinux 2.2
Authored by: prhodes on Monday, April 05 2004 @ 11:22 PM EDT
I unpacked the kernel source and searched for Caldera and the single words SCO
and USL (searching for the 3-letter sequences SCO and USL turns up a lot of
extraneous stuff). Here are the results of searching for Caldera via

find . -type f | xargs grep \<Caldera\>

./linux/CREDITS:S: Caldera, Inc.
./linux/CREDITS:S: Caldera, Inc.
./linux/CREDITS:S: Caldera (Deutschland) GmbH
./linux/net/ipx/af_ipx.c: * Portions Copyright (c) 1995 Caldera, Inc.
<greg@caldera.com>
./linux/net/ipx/af_ipx.c: * Neither Greg Page nor Caldera, Inc. admit
liability nor provide
./linux/net/ipx/af_ipx.c: printk(KERN_INFO "IPX Portions Copyright
(c) 1995 Caldera, Inc.n");
./linux/drivers/net/tlan.c: * (C) 1997-1998 Caldera, Inc.
./linux/drivers/net/tlan.c: printk( "TLAN driver, v%d.%d, (C) 1997-8
Caldera, Inc.n",
./linux/drivers/net/tlan.h: * (C) 1997-1998 Caldera, Inc.
./linux/drivers/scsi/advansys.c: AdvanSys driver in the Caldera releases.
./linux/arch/i386/kernel/smp.c: * Supported by Caldera
http://www.caldera.com.
./linux/Documentation/smp.tex:The author wishes to thank Caldera Inc. (
http://www.caldera.com )
Binary file ./linux-2.2.4.tar matches
./linux-ipx-COL.patch: printk(KERN_INFO "IPX Portions Copyright (c) 1995
Caldera, Inc.n");
./linux.spec:# various sound and debug patches from Caldera
./linux.spec:# IPX patches from Caldera
./linux.spec:# streams patches from Caldera
./linux.spec:# switch console to VGA mode and display Caldera Systems OpenLinux
LOGO
./linux.spec:# IPX patches from Caldera
./linux.spec:# streams patches from Caldera
./linux.spec:##echo "trying to apply Caldera streams patches"
./linux.spec:# switch console to VGA mode and display Caldera Systems OpenLinux
LOGO
./linux-streams-COL.patch:+ * and works well enough to support atomic lseek/read
for Caldera applications
./linux-vgaplan4-COL.patch:+ * Copyright (C) 1999 Caldera, Inc.

Searching for SCO and USL using

find -type f | xargs grep \<SCO\>
find -type f | xargs grep \<USL\>

turned up no matches.

I will happily send the sources to someone else for further study if desired. I
also have OpenLinux 2.4 - I'll take a look at that one tomorrow. It may not
have the sources included, as it's not direct from Caldera, it's a cheap dup
from Penguin Power.

-Phil

[ Reply to This | # ]

OpenLinux server3.1.1
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, April 06 2004 @ 07:42 AM EDT
Here's what I found from CD included with Developer disks delivered with SCO
openserver 5.0.6

grep opyright usr/src/linux-2.4.2/*/*/*/*/* > c5
did it for [grep opyright usr/src/linux-2.4.2/* > c1..5]

[dranem@rh8 386src]$ grep ELM c?
c2:usr/src/linux-2.4.2/kernel/acct.c: * (C) Copyright 1995 - 1997 Marco van
Wieringen - ELM Consultancy B.V.
c3:usr/src/linux-2.4.2/include/linux/acct.h: * Copyright (C) 1995 - 1997 Marco
van Wieringen - ELM Consultancy B.V.
[dranem@rh8 386src]$ grep USL c?
[dranem@rh8 386src]$ grep usl c?
[dranem@rh8 386src]$ grep aldera c?
c3:usr/src/linux-2.4.2/drivers/video/fbcon-vgaplan4.c: * Copyright (C) 1999
Caldera, Inc.
c3:usr/src/linux-2.4.2/net/ipx/af_ipx.c: * Portions Copyright (c) 1995
Caldera, Inc. <greg@caldera.com>
c3:usr/src/linux-2.4.2/net/ipx/af_ipx.c: KERN_INFO "IPX Portions
Copyright (c) 1995 Caldera, Inc.n"
[dranem@rh8 386src]$ grep SCO c?
c4:usr/src/linux-2.4.2/drivers/net/wan/syncppp.c: * as well as a
CISCO HDLC implementation. See the copyright
[dranem@rh8 386src]$ ls -alrt
total 366
drwxrwxr-x 4 dranem dranem 1024 Apr 6 07:20 ..
drwxrwxr-x 3 dranem dranem 1024 Apr 6 07:21 usr
-rw-rw-r-- 1 dranem dranem 1598 Apr 6 08:24 c1
-rw-rw-r-- 1 dranem dranem 7966 Apr 6 08:24 c2
-rw-rw-r-- 1 dranem dranem 203643 Apr 6 08:25 c3
-rw-rw-r-- 1 dranem dranem 138045 Apr 6 08:26 c4
-rw-rw-r-- 1 dranem dranem 15865 Apr 6 08:27 c5
-rw-rw-r-- 1 dranem dranem 0 Apr 6 08:30 c6
drwxrwxr-x 3 dranem dranem 1024 Apr 6 08:30 .
[dranem@rh8 386src]$

[ Reply to This | # ]

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