Is Linux a Threat to the US?

[voodooboy]

Article posted on ComputerWorld.com:
SCO to Congress: Linux hurts the U.S.
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/linux/story/0,10801,89335,00.html?nas=AM-89335

The SCO Group Inc. this month, sent the 535 members of the U.S. Congress a letter, which can be found here http://www.osaia.org/letters/sco_hill.pdf, that called Linux and open-source software a threat to the security and economy of the U.S..
The letter is dated Jan. 8 and was published on the Internet this week by an open-source lobbying organization called the Open Source and Industry Alliance (OSAIA). It states that the commoditizing influence of open-source software such as the Linux operating system is bad for the U.S. economy and argues that open-source also skirts export controls that govern commercial products.

Critics believe that SCO is operating under the guidants of Microsoft Corp., whose Windows operating system is threatened by Linux's popularity.

So what do you think? Is Linux a threat to the US / World economy? Should Open Source be regulated? Is the GNU General Public License (GPL) a contradiction to US laws?

[paulhiles]

There's an interesting article on infoconomy.com that covers the increasing commercialisation of open source technology, in particular Linux.
http://www.infoconomy.com/pages/search/group89432.adp

I personally believe that it's Linux and other Open Source software that is more at risk of being ruined by greed and opportunistic vendors.

Paul

[Dragonsi]

I believe that as more people are getting hacked of with Microsoft and their O/S's > with their constant updates and so forth, they will start to turn to alternitives like Linux, not because it's free (or nearly) but because it seams more reliable and stable. As the intake of people using Linux, first as a second o/s and then using it as a primary o/s, the software companies will start to make versions fully compatible with Linux and thus, the economy will still be there.

I would be more than happy to purchase software that is Linux compatible as long as the same results can be achieved. With my recent experiances of installing SP4 for win2K - which is now causing all sorts of problems that need patches etc, my faith in Microsoft is nearly completely deminished.

[matauri]

I find that predictable Scott considering that SCO are sueing IBM (and IBM are sueing them) for using their stuff in Linux. First they try selling Linux operators expensive licences, then they petition congress...then...ooo suddenly there is a DOS virus aimed at them travelling the globe. But... SCO think they 'know' who is responsible.

Call me skeptical, but something sounds amiss. Sour grapes over missing the boat maybe?



Cindy

[voodooboy]

First they try selling Linux operators expensive licences, then they petition congress...then...ooo suddenly there is a DOS virus aimed at them travelling the globe. But... SCO think they 'know' who is responsible.
Call me skeptical, but something sounds amiss. Sour grapes over missing the boat maybe?

Cindy

You've got it. They have been paid millions by Microsoft for their licensing of code. Linux is out of their reach so they are going after it another way. Squash the bug that spoils the soup. If Linux takes over the market, their will be less money coming from MS. Too many greedy people in this bloody country.

[matauri]

Actually I look at it another way Scott, too many smart people for the idiots that sat around talking about it, but never actually did anything with it. If indeed SCO has the rights they claim they do to it, why did it take Linux to do it? And nothing stopped them doing it open source, except vision.

And really, hands up who is going to pay SCO a pricey licence fee for their linux? They appoached Govt here & they laughed. Whats a smaller entity going to do....laugh.

I realize that everyone has to make a buck, but, open source has basically done what it says, it has opened up IT to all kinds of applications. Start charging, and users arent going to turn to MS & the like. They'll just be p*ssed off users who will use less of their products in the future, than they do now.

If you thought the last few years have been cut throat, wait for it, it's going to get a hell of a lot worse. Your going to see more & more of this.


Cindy

[dzilz]

It is ridiculous to think that Open Source is a threat.

Companies like Sun, IBM and even Apple are going Open Source and are contributing (and taking) from the economy.

Example: the main webengine of IBM, IBM Websphere is using the Open Source Web Server Apache.

Additionally IBM is using Linux and so is Novell.

Open Source creates jobs. Open Source is to sell a service and not a product. Selling products makes only very few people rich, selling services can be done on a more lower key basis.

Microsoft supports Open Source projects (written in proprietary MS software, but still OS) - and many innovative and small medium sized business flourish on the integration of Open Source.

The NASA and the US Military heavily use Open Source technology such as Python / Plone, but also program in Java.

The whole web is Open Source: HTML, XML, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, IP - you name it: all to do with the interaction of business needs to be open source.

Many operations could not exist without the easy deployment of open source databases.

There are more thousands of businesses in the US dependent on the use of open source already.

Since I just did a Zope/Plone deployment I just want to mention one company of excellence: http://www.enfoldsystems.com

Sorry to say, but people who think that Open Source kills jobs or poses a threat, do not understand software development and component integration.

[Easywebdev]

The SCO group are a joke but unfortunately the seem to be a well financed joke.

In their initial claim that the linux kernel contained proprietry code that belonged to SCO it was shown that they had years previously sold that code to Novell who in turn had released it to the Open Source community. They could not (out of six million lines of code) produce any evidence that any of it came from proprietry SCO code.

Matauri hit the nail on the head about sour grapes but this could have severe repercussions for the open source movement and computer users in general. The more SCO try and rein in the open source community then your going to see a slow down in development as people/coders are spending time getting together discussing how to combat the latest farcical claims and litigation of the SCO group.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist but Microsoft has been caught through other various subsidiary firms donating to the SCO legal warchest.

Tying up the open source communities development rate is what it is all about, they cannot match it therefore they seek to slow it down through ridiculous software patents and lengthy litigation that they can well afford but the open source community may well not.

Jealousy, greed and sour grapes. A sad tale.

[mushroom]

I see this thread was started a full year ago, and the question should now be

Can the U.S. and the World live with out Linux?
............. or ..........
Is Microsoft a Threat to the U.S. and the World?

The demand for safe/secure computing is growing and Microsoft
with all it's money and influence has not provided any thing close for the general public in its OS. Security for the most part is left up to the end user, requiring extra software and keeping it constantly updated. Sadly none of the third party software can keep up or be 100% effective so several must be used to even get close.

Viruses, trojans, worms, zombies, spyware, and more that live and operate exclucively in Microsoft software are costing the world many times the amount of money that Microsoft makes from selling there software each year.

Before the whole internet is flooded with trafic from all those comprimised Microsoft machines to the point it no longer works, a move to open source software may save it.

Open source software where anyone may look at the code and find vulnerablities ..... not just people that wrote it or the bad guys.... may save the internet.

[Deep13]

My personal view would be, it's all part of politics...
MS wants to kill GNU/Linux so they are trying different ways to achieve their so called "goal"

Deep

[Ozymandias]

Ok, I thought I would register just to say a few things here as a system administrator who's worked with SCO, Windows, AIX, Linux, and even Mac equipment.

To put it bluntly, SCO screwed the pooch on so many levels it's not even funny. I'm not going to begin to go into it here, but one thing's for sure. Time and time again, they've been asked to show the Open Source community the offending code so it can be removed and they've constantly refused or shown code they didn't even write. Extortion is what they've been after. They have a failing product, they know it, and Darl McBride made his first million by being a litigious....(if you can't say something nice....) and taking his former employer to court in a frivilous lawsuit and won. That's basically what he's trying to do now. Microsoft and Darl are well known for winning by twisting the law in court, or crushing the competition with cheaper and always substandard products. I bring up MS because the money trail of one of the biggest investors in SCO went straight back to Redmond.

Secondly, Novell has proven with multiple documents that THEY still own the rights to Sys-V and several other important aspects of Unix.

I've been following SCO very closely since all this started, and what few systems I still had out there using SCO/Unix have now been converted over to Linux. Why? Because I refuse to give a company money so they can turn around and use it to make a mockery of my chosen profession and in many ways insult me, my intelligence, and my customers.

So here's the question, since most of my peers have decided to stop using Unix products, just exactly how will SCO survive? The few that haven't migrated, might not have a choice before long because the sales for SCO have droped to below 30% of what they were before they started this lawsuit. This is what happens when you try to screw a bunch of intelligent people that KNOW your product isn't needed. I give it 5 years and SCO will no longer be a company and that's being generous.

As far as Linux being "unamerican" or insecure, I have only one thing to say *cough* BS *cough*. The idea of freedom is what built this country. How can software that's built with the idea of it's free, and you can do what you want with it be unamerican? Insecure? Thousands of the most brilliant minds throughout the world look at and write code for linux. Not only programmers, but security professionals, can you say the same for the Malware ridden Windows platform? In 9 years of using Linux, never once have I been hacked, or gotten a virus of any type. In that same time, under windows, I've had over 100 viruses get into my equipment in one way or another, not to mention the 80+ hacks.

Several Windows evangelists will tell me "that's because you have twice as many windows servers." My counter to that is always. "Actually no, I have twice as many linux boxes. Windows can only accomplish half the work their linux counterparts can with twice as much equipment. But the math still doesn't work. 200 / 2 != 0." come to think of it 200 / 200 STILL != 0

I've written a novel....I stop now heh

[RadarCat]

I am looking forward to the day when IBM crushes SCO.

[RadarCat]

I've written a novel....I stop now heh

Good novel !!