Another Microsoft Patent Covenant – This Time It’s Xandros

I just found out about this story and I’m fuming, really fuming over it. Yet another so called Open Source vendor has jumped into bed with the devil.

“Would you like a reach around with that Mr Balmer? A little more tongue perhaps?” God dammit!!!

Xandros has followed in the footsteps of Novell and signed a patent covenant agreement with MS. This means Microsoft will not sue Xandros customers for supposed copyright infringements in Linux but all it really does is add credibility to Microsoft’s bullshit patent claims. They don’t have anything, all they do is keep shouting “you’d better be scared, we have all this stuff we’re going to use against you” and when it comes to producing the stuff or even clarifying what it relates to, they fall strangely silent. It seems obvious to me what they’re doing here, yet more FUD from the FUD masters. The legal department over in Redmond seem to work with one principal in mind “throw enough mud and some of it will stick”. Unfortunately it’s true, you get enough newspaper headlines with the words “Linux” “copyright” and “Illegal” in them and most people will take it as gospel.

Example – “Elvis works in our chippy you know? Yeah of course it’s true some bloke in the pub told me”.

CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY HERE

We need to stop this now, can’t somebody sue Microsoft for slander and make them produce whatever patent infringements they have? I don’t know much about legal matters but something has to be done. I’m sure Eben Moglen is on the case though and I have total faith in him. There must be lots of great people working for Microsoft who do care about others and don’t want to crush everything in sight, it’s just they seem to get pushed aside by the megalomaniacs.

Maybe I’m overreacting I don’t know, what do you guys think about all this?

Now I’m off to find some beta blockers before I explode…. I’m thinking happy thoughts… I’m thinking happy thoughts 😉

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