Bonum Certa Men Certa

Breaking Down 'Patent Fronts' Against Linux

A shallow glance in the news yesterday brought up a set of interesting articles. They very well show that the patent-fueled fight against Linux comes not from a single front, but from several. In order to understand the threat better, here is an explanation about 3 such fronts (among more), accompanies by short fragments of text from the news.

OOXML/Mono (Document Exchange, Programming)



Yesterday we mentioned Mono again. We raised some concerns about GNOME's stance on OOXML and we continue to be worried about the direction taken with Mono, which we were told is not as tightly-integrated with GNOME as we had feared. An open letter that addressed GNOME's policies reached the front page of Slashdot and stimulated the following new article.

What is Miguel de Icaza's latest game? His obsession with tailgating everything that Microsoft develops - and trying to impress the company by producing Linux equivalents - now seems to be spreading to others as well.


"There is another way and we have covered the alternative routes many times before."The article takes somewhat of an ad hominem approach, but the fact remains that one person's vision will guide the project's direction as long as there is no vocal and practical resistance. There are two issues to consider here.

First, putting aside the impracticality of incorporating OOXML support into GNOME and forgetting about the GNOME Foundation's controversial stance on OOXML, there is a serious patent issue that is being ignored. A territory of software patents is being approached and since GNOME has become a de facto desktop in Novell's products, there are reasons to pause and think.

Secondly, Mono, among other pieces of the stack that mimic Microsoft's technology, bring great patent issues to mind. There is another way and we have covered the alternative routes many times before.

Europe/Samba (Communication Protocols)



In Europe, an agreement made with Microsoft contained some Samba/GPL 'poison'. This is likely to have been no coincidence or an accident. The main conflict lies within the fact that software patents are part of the agreement (yes, software patents... in Europe!). This puts in jeopardy the role of Linux in the server room.

European businesses that have thus far shied away from Linux might not be more inclined to go open source as a result of the restrictions imposed by the commission.


"Out Portfolio is Bigger Than Your Portfolio"



Another development worth mentioning is the news about Microsoft buying assets from a Thai company.

Microsoft, the Redmond, Wash., software giant, said it agreed to acquire software, intellectual property and other assets from Global Care Solutions, a closely held Bangkok developer of health-information systems.


Mind the bits about intellectual property and by all means remember that Microsoft likes to boast its large collection of patents. Rarely does it list specific infringement though. Patents are merely a tool to gain awe and then terrorise using the power scale, not the power of an actual bite.

Microsoft is likely to continue to praise "intellectual property" and mock everyone which it claims does not honour it. It's a fight which is based on perceived moral grounds.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Comparing U.E.F.I. to B.I.O.S. (Bloat and Insecurity to K.I.S.S.)
By Sami Tikkanen
New 'Slides' From Stallman Support (stallmansupport.org) Site
"In celebration of RMS's birthday, we've been playing a bit. We extracted some quotes from the various articles, comments, letters, writings, etc. and put them in the form of a slideshow in the home page."
Thailand: GNU/Linux Up to 6% of Desktops/Laptops, According to statCounter
Desktop Operating System Market Share Thailand
António Campinos is Still 'The Fucking President' (in His Own Words) After a Fake 'Election' in 2022 (He Bribed All the Voters to Keep His Seat)
António Campinos and the Administrative Council, whose delegates he clearly bribed with EPO budget in exchange for votes
Adrian von Bidder, homeworking & Debian unexplained deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
 
Sainsbury's: It Takes Us Up to Two Days to Respond to Customers Upon Escalation (and Sometimes Even More Than Two Days)
It not only does groceries but also many other things, even banking
People Don't Just Kill Themselves (Same for Other Animals)
And recent reports about Boeing whistleblower John Barnett
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 18, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 18, 2024
Suicide Cluster Cover-up tactics & Debian exposed
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 19/03/2024: A Society That Lost Focus and Abandoning Social Control Media
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE: Plagiarism & Child labour in YH4F
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Linux Foundation Boasting About Being Connected to Bill Gates
Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
Sainsbury's to Techrights: Yes, Our Web Site Broke Down, But We Cannot Say Which Part or Why
Windows TCO?
Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 18/03/2024: Putin Cements Power
Links for the day
Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Sainsbury’s Epic Downtime Seems to be Microsoft's Fault and Might Even Constitute a Data Breach (Legal Liability)
one of Britain's largest groceries (and beyond) chains
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
'Clown Computing' Businesses Are Waning and the Same Will Happen to 'G.A.I.' Businesses (the 'Hey Hi' Fame)
decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
Free Software Needs Watchdogs, Too
Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE analogous to identity fraud
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 18/03/2024: LLM Inference and Can We Survive Technology?
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 17, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, March 17, 2024
Links 17/03/2024: Microsoft Windows Shoves Ads Into Third-Party Software, More Countries Explore TikTok Ban
Links for the day
Molly Russell suicide & Debian Frans Pop, Lucy Wayland, social media deaths
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Our Plans for Spring
Later this year we turn 18 and a few months from now our IRC community turns 16
Open Invention Network (OIN) Fails to Explain If Linux is Safe From Microsoft's Software Patent Royalties (Charges)
Keith Bergelt has not replied to queries on this very important matter
RedHat.com, Brought to You by Microsoft Staff
This is totally normal, right?
USPTO Corruption: People Who Don't Use Microsoft Will Be Penalised ~$400 for Each Patent Filing
Not joking!
The Hobbyists of Mozilla, Where the CEO is a Bigger Liability Than All Liabilities Combined
the hobbyist in chief earns much more than colleagues, to say the least; the number quadrupled in a matter of years
Jim Zemlin Says Linux Foundation Should Combat Fraud Together With the Gates Foundation. Maybe They Should Start With Jim's Wife.
There's a class action lawsuit for securities fraud
Not About Linux at All!
nobody bothers with the site anymore; it's marketing, and now even Linux
Links 17/03/2024: Abuses Against Human Rights, Tesla Settlement (and Crash)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 16, 2024
IRC logs for Saturday, March 16, 2024
Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
Suffice to say, we're not meaning to imply Taliban is "good"
Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
Links for the day