Maybe they can talk about BitKeeper, like their Linux-hating friend, Dan Lyons of Forbes, who pretends that Larry McVoy is an "Open Source Heretic", when McVoy has always been a proprietary guy.

(I hate to link to FUD, but sometimes there is no alternative. If you don't need to read it, skip it. Or look for Google cache. Lyons told me once that his editors love it when they get lots of hits and angry email, so let's use our wits and avoid making them happy. Hmm. The Register has reprinted the Lyons piece I see. So you can choose who will be your FUD server today.)

Lyons tries to use McVoy, who had a proprietary company but allowed free use of its product to Linus and the kernel, to prove that the Open Source business model doesn't work. Dude, he gave away his product and charged zero for anything. That isn't a business model. It's a favor. Maybe it's a loss leader, to get very good PR for your company, but zero money coming in implies you are not doing it as your business. McVoy was never Open Source, and he still isn't. Hint: you can't be a heretic unless you used to be something you then decide to stop being.

Lyons simply cannot get things quite right when it comes to Linux. All he does is look for any tiny detail that can be used against Linux. Bias -- zealotry, if you will -- has a way of doing that to you, but that isn't reporting, not in my eyes. It's advocacy. To give him a helping hand, here's an article on what McVoy's company did wrong. MySQL is leaving BitKeeper soon too, the article says. But notice the difference in tone, in fairness, in sticking to facts. It has a point of view too, but that doesn't cause the author to misrepresent the facts. And even advocacy should be fair, with accurate facts.

It might be hard for SCO to use the Open-Source-business-model-doesn't-work angle, considering how its own business model is doing, now that I think of it. I guess I should do an article, which I could call "Proprietary Has-Been" or something. It'd be all about how the proprietary software litigation model is a failure. Nah. I'll leave unfair journalistic tactics to the other side. It doesn't bother their conscience.

Groklaw's greyhat left a comment, "A Nice Algorithm for Measuring FUD," that made me laugh because it is right on point. Here's how he says you can figure out the FUD quotient of an article:

Count the number of times you see "if" and "would" in sentences describing unthinkable global economic failures. Add the number of times you see the word "innovate" or some conjugation of it. Add the number of times you see "sustainable" or some form of it. Add the number of times open source advocates "fail to realize" or "fail to understand" something. Add the number of times you see "What happens if..." and "What will they do when..." and then double it if it follows an economic estimate from someone with no economic credentials (like "maybe" 80-90% of open source funding is coming from non-open source companies, as if a company has to choose to be one or the other.)

Double the points if somebody actually resorts to the phrase "get what you pay for." Double them again if they "quote" the "open source people" in oversimplified ways using words like "evil" to make it easy to argue with. Throw in a few more points if the entire article is quoting a guy who has never had an open source business model trying to teach us all what's wrong with open source models.

Here's SCO's press release so you don't miss a moment of the wacky highjinks. Woah. Notice anything missing in the description of the company? Like the words Unix and Unixware? For comparison, here's how the About The SCO Group paragraphs read back in their salad days:

About The SCO Group

The SCO Group (Nasdaq: SCOX) helps millions of customers in more than 82 countries to grow their businesses with UNIX business solutions. Headquartered in Lindon, Utah, SCO has a worldwide network of more than 11,000 resellers and 4,000 developers. SCO Global Services provides reliable localized support and services to all partners and customers. For more information on SCO products and services visit http://www.sco.com.

SCO and the associated SCO logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of The SCO Group, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. UNIX and UnixWare are registered trademarks of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. All other brand or product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.

Uh oh. Maybe reality is sinking in as to who can say flat-out who owns what? This conference call is a don't miss event, I am thinking.

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

The SCO Group to Release Second Quarter Financial Results and Host Conference Call After Close of Market on June 1
Tuesday May 24, 4:25 pm ET

LINDON, Utah, May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The SCO Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOX -News) announced today it will release its financial results, for the fiscal second quarter ended on April 30, 2005, after the close of the market, on Wednesday, June 1, 2005.

In conjunction with the release, the company will also host a conference call that same day at 5:00 p.m. (EDT) or 3:00 p.m. (MDT) to discuss the Company's results.

WHAT: The SCO Group, Inc. Second Quarter 2005 Financial Results Conference Call

WHEN: Wednesday, June 1, 2005, 5:00 p.m. (EDT), or 3:00 p.m. (MDT).

HOW: If you would like to participate in the live call you may dial (800) 818-5264 or (913) 981-4910; confirmation code: 4988956

You may also join the call in listen-only mode via Web cast. The URL is listed at http://ir.sco.com/medialist.cfm.

About SCO

The SCO Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOX - News) helps millions of customers to grow their businesses everyday. Headquartered in Lindon, Utah, SCO has a worldwide network of thousands of resellers and developers. SCO Global Services provides reliable localized support and services to partners and customers. For more information on SCO products and services, visit http://www.sco.com.

SCO and the associated SCO logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of The SCO Group, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other brand or product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners. Source: The SCO Group, Inc.