SCO Linux FUD returns from the dead

https://www.zdnet.com/article/sco-linux-fud-returns-from-the-dead/

by marcodiego • 5 years ago

92 65 5 years ago

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

Wikipedia page is informative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCO%E2%80%93Linux_disputes it specifically mentions the two related suicides. It very sad that the article will need new updates.

hn_throwaway_99• 5 years ago

I don't see there that the suicides have anything to do with the SCO Linux case in particular.

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

Maybe depression brought by the case.

McGlockenshire• 5 years ago

Does this mean we get Groklaw back?

nix23• 5 years ago

If it goes really well a forced Open-sourced Openserver5/6 and Unixware 7.... :)

arbitrage• 5 years ago

Groklaw wasn't the same after PJ left. She moved on to bigger and better projects, I believe.

throwaway2048• 5 years ago

She disappeared off the internet after the NSA revelations came out.

phs318u• 5 years ago

Honestly, Groklaw was one of the most awesome outcomes for good to come out of the whole SCO fiasco, and it was almost entirely down to PJ. Good on her for focusing on principles rather than personalities. She seems to have maintained her personal privacy, which is entirely fitting. For me, Groklaw was one of the last bastions of the "old" internet. The site is still there for anyone who wants a fantastic understanding of the legal issues and discussions around FOSS licensed software. She made a difference. Thanks PJ!

http://groklaw.net/

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

I think the best way out for SCO was if IBM bought them. But, if IBM did so, other companies could try the same attack in other opportunities. So, IBM took a route that could crush it to death, but we are almost two decades after it all began and the zombie has not been shot in the head. Hope the case effectively finishes this time.

It is really a shame. Caldera looked like a good distro:

https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=sco

https://virtuallyfun.com/wordpress/2013/03/27/caldera-open-l...

zeruch• 5 years ago

Caldera was a decent distro in its day. It had some potential (it was funded initially by Ray Noorda's Canopy VC which gave it a little leg up), but its fall off/acquisition by SCO was fast, hard and ugly.

garaetjjte2• 5 years ago

acquisition by SCO

It was other way around. SCO (Santa Cruz Operation) sold off its UNIX business to Caldera, and renamed itself Tarantella (it was sold to Sun some years later). After some business failures Darl McBride took over as CEO in Caldera, renamed Caldera to TSG (The SCO Group) and started these lawsuits.

cutler• 5 years ago

The SCO case is a bit like Internet Explorer 6. Just when you thought it was dead ....

tyingq2• 5 years ago

I'm not sure how long the sad shell that is now Xinuos can last. I poked around their website, and it's like a ghost town with empty employment pages, partner list pages that require a login, and the last news item prior to this lawsuit is "Xinuos Releases 2019 Year in Review".

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

Some companies have the possibility to survive because of clients which are dependent on their solutions. The OpenServer case includes big names like fujitsu, mcdonalds and kwait petroleum: https://web.archive.org/web/20040207073246/http://www.sco.co...

tyingq2• 5 years ago

I'm sure it's possible they are still using it, but that's just saying McDonald's used it in 2004.

For example, even this current page http://www.sco.com/5reasons/ has a claim that McDonald's is using it. But the quote is from John Doty, who last worked at McDonalds in 2001.

Edit: Googling around a bit, it seems like they switched to something called "New-POS", which runs on Windows. It was originally from a company called Savista, later re-named Torex. The software was purchased outright with source code and is now maintained in-house, and called "NP6". So it seems unlikely McDonald's has any real amount of SCO left. Apparently McDonald's was their largest client, so that's notable.

axiolite4• 5 years ago

last news item prior to this lawsuit is "Xinuos Releases 2019 Year in Review".

They weren't the only company to have a bit of difficulty in 2020.

xref• 5 years ago

Judging by the stock market, not tech companies...

benjamir• 5 years ago

Really, I thought the original source's posting on April 1st + "Xinuos" (Unix backwards + OS) is an obvious joke!?

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

Unfortunately not a joke.

voxadam• 5 years ago

Well, the lawsuit is absolutely a joke, just not the funny kind.

bonzini• 5 years ago

The fact that it's almost everyone's reaction says a lot about the substance behind the lawsuit.

alfiedotwtf• 5 years ago

Xinu is actually an old Unix clone from the 80s... there’s also an OS book detailing it too (it’s a good read)

gerikson• 5 years ago

This version of Easter kinda sucks.

fartcannon• 5 years ago

Microsofts underhanded behavior with the SCO Linux case is one of the primary reasons to distrust them.

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

We should not forgive the 'new' microsoft because their recent stance regarding floss. Their bad behavior in that era has echoes to this day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCO%E2%80%93Linux_disputes#Mic...

chrisseaton2• 5 years ago

Is your complaint 'Microsoft paid SCO $6M (USD) in May 2003 for a license to "Unix and Unix-related patents"'?

If so, this seems like very reasonable 'leave us alone' money that absolutely shouldn't be required but I can completely understand why they paid that to make the problem go away as a business decision in the world we currently live in. I'd probably have done the same myself.

Why criticise them for protecting themselves?

Do you think this funded SCO's legal activities further? $6M seems like a very very small amount for this kind of legal action and I can't imagine it funded anything except the paperwork required to get them to pay it. How many corporate lawyers does $6M pay for? Not many.

29athrowaway3• 5 years ago

Microsoft collects a sizable amount of patent money from Android phone manufacturers to this day.

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

Something funny happened during the windows phone era. Eventually, microsoft made more money from android patents then from windows phone sales: https://www.onmsft.com/news/microsoft-makes-more-money-its-a...

de6u99er• 5 years ago

I wouldn't be surprised at all, if Microsoft was involved in the background.

ai_ja_nai• 5 years ago

Isn't this an April's Fool?

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

No: https://www.xinuos.com/xinuos-sues-ibm-and-red-hat/

axiolite4• 5 years ago

The original SCO case dragged on because the law firm screwed-up and foolishly offered their services for free, indefinitely. This time around, I can't imagine Xinuos will stumble upon such an amazing deal and instead will have to bleed money to fund an obviously hopeless lawsuit.

marcodiego11• 5 years ago

Sources?

axiolite4• 5 years ago

You're asking for details from ages ago. Not many sources still online and not easy to find.

"[SCO] has cut a deal with the law firm Boise Schiller and Flexner to cap its legal fees at a maximum of $31 million in return for the legal lads getting a bigger cut of the spoils should they win." https://www.networkworld.com/article/2325008/sco-s-case-does...

"In return for agreeing to cap its legal fees, Boise, Schiller & Flexner is now entitled to a larger percentage of any legal settlement that may be reached in SCO's lawsuit over IBM's contributions to the Linux operating system. The law firm will now be paid between 20% and 30% of any settlement, depending on the amount awarded, McBride said." https://www.computerworld.com/article/2566954/sco-caps-legal...

Klwohu• 5 years ago

This is actually kind of great. Now that Linux is a hyper-corporate big name OS with everybody from Huawei to MS being Platinum Level Foundation Members, I'm ready for an excellent legal fight.

michaelmrose3• 5 years ago

Should we roll a dice to see which side of the criminal activity MS is on this time?

unsungNovelty• 5 years ago

I don't know why I pictured the original Jumanji movie scene where Robin Williams is rolling the dice and drum roll is in the background! :D

Maybe instead of the monkeys and other stuff, MS logo appears from the middle of the Jumanji game board?! :D

yk• 5 years ago

Yay, party like it's 2003 or so.

When the SCO lawsuit unfolded I was always looking forward for the Friday afternoon threads on heise about the latest news about that suitcase.

dvfjsdhgfv4• 5 years ago

The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is my first thought - that it's a karmic punishment for IBM/RH for stopping donations for the FSF and joining the anti-Stallman mob.

TheRealDunkirk2• 5 years ago

Facepalm. I don't know what b-school geniuses think it's a good idea to revive this, but the execs at what-became-a-holding-company of SCO made millions throughout the trial, so I guess it makes sense to someone, somewhere, in a twisted, patent-troll like way. Maybe it's just that the claims are so grand, that, if they can get a fraction of the damages they claim, they'll get a return on the litigation investment.

As someone who was trying to evangelize Linux in my Fortune 250 at the time, I was dismayed by this whole saga, because it had its intended effect. One particular manager (who simply didn't like me) used news of the trial to cast FUD on my efforts to promote that we should be doing more with Linux, and less with Windows.

I've read every bit of news on this. I digested Groklaw daily at the time. I've bitched about it time and time again on this forum, and many others. In all of this reporting and commenting, I've never seen any reference to WHO was behind helping SCO, inside of Microsoft. I want to know who the people were that made these decisions, and greenlit the transfer of money. I want f*king names. I mean, I'm sure Bill and Steve had to sign off on the amount of money involved, but who engineered it, and brought it to them? I want to know what else they've done in their career. Were they professional hatchet men? Or were they otherwise successful product people?

dvfjsdhgfv4• 5 years ago

You will never know. There is simply no reason for anyone to disclose this kind of embarrassing information.

SCO Linux FUD returns from the dead

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