Microsoft to License Unix Code.

[red_oddity]

Yeah, but they say it's for the interoperability of Windows with Unix systems...

I doubt they'll throw the current Window or Longhorn architecture out of the window (no pun intended) to follow that fruit company.

[playmesumch00ns]

oh please god if they did it would be the best decision they'd ever made. More likely it's to find ways to butt-**** apple and linux but hey-ho

[JMulder]

It's probably because they found some SCO copyrighted code in Windows and need to play by the rules (or appear to).

-Jim

[flipnap]

I doubt they'll throw the current Window or Longhorn architecture out of the window (no pun intended) to follow that fruit company.

why not, they do it with everything else? seriously, no flame intended.

flip

[Thalaxis]

Unlike Apple which is losing market share to both Linux and Windows, Linux is stealing market from Windows.

Linux is also proving to be quite the obstacle for MS' entry into the 32+ processor markets.

Since MS wants in to that market, and isn't making any headway largely due to Linux, I'd wager that their intent is to use this to put the brakes on Linux, in order to give themselves a bit of an edge.

I hope it doesn't work out. I'd rather they were forced to take Linux down by producing a truly superior product, rather than quashing it with superior marketing combined with legal mumbo-jumbo.

At least then they'd deserve a bit of respect... or at least, the development team responsible for said (hypothetical) quality product would.

[KayosIII]

The whole thing started with SCO alleging that there was code from Unix SysV that had found its way directly into the linux kernel. It has been pointing fingures at various companies including RedHat and IBM.... Then proceeded to threaten sueing companies using Linux.

So far no evidence has been brought forwards of which code has been stolen. However the inverse has been proven with SCO using GPL code in the proprietory Unix product.

Microsofts purchase makes the whole thing very interesting - I can only assume that Microsoft wants to use it as ammunition in a FUD war....

You might want to check this link....

http://www.opensource.org/sco-vs-ibm.html

[raz-0]

well... SCO has sucked for a while. Seldom do you get paid for sucking.

Microsoft gets to do two things by paying for licensing. They avoid a costly lawsuit in the arena of IP theft, which they have had a bad track record with of late. But they also give SCO who has been struggling financially an infusion of cash to pursue their lawsuit against IBM. A M$ rival in both the server OS market, and the software consulting market. Both arenas M$ seeks growth and eventual dominance in.

[dark_lotus]

Thalaxis: Actually Apple's market share is growing.

From what I gather Microsoft is most likely going to buy out SCO, if their claims are substaniated, which means that Microsoft would own Unix, which would therefore implicate not only Linux, but Mac OS X as well.

Giving Microsoft Intellectual Property over almost every single computer system on the planet.

The other probablity is that either Microsoft will make their own dist of linux, or Longhorn will be unix based - the latter being a widely known rumor.

[Mechaman]

Not directly. OSX is a *BSD port, which the SCO lawsuit has no direct power over.

Personally, I'm agreeing with raz--it kills two birds with one stone, and they get some extra FUD to fire at the corps who are thinking about dumping MS's new licensing terms.

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