Microsoft licensing Linux - what is going on?

I keep hoping for the inevitable leak. Everything leaks sooner or later, and Microsoft's NDAs can't be as bad a Masonic oaths. Even Masonic rites have leaked over time.

Once we get a couple of leaks, we can triangulate on what They Really Fear.

Linux, Free Software, the GPL (all flavors), and those who truly understand the treacherous nature of Microsoft's legal and marketing efforts. Of these, they are afraid, very, very afraid.

Witness: IIPA, Canopy Group, BSA. Those are tiny chips off a megaton iceberg.

No need for triangulation.

All we need to do is wait for MS to strike such a deal with any governmental organisation. Then we can flush out the terms using a FOIA request, just like what happened to Apple's secret and NDA'ed iPhone appstore terms.

What They Really Fear? Easy.

They are terrified that the masses discover that MS is by far not the end all, be all of x86 based computers.

What does MS put out on the market? An overpriced, dated, crufty and most of all bare OS (in various incarnations), with serious security issues. A half decent, overpriced, but essentially stagnant office suite. A playstation 3 clone. Developer tools, which tie developers to Windows. Some other cruft to lock people in to MS technology. That's it.

99% of the stuff you do on Windows, you can do on Linux or BSD; for free. Once the masses leave their comfort zone and see they have been fleeced for years, there will be an exodus. MS is floating on inertia, marketing and a smidge of pay-offs (be it ad rebates or donations). Innovation is taking place elsewhere and far better and cheaper than what innovation ever came out of MS.

MS is trying to divert revenue from the competition to their coffers by (ab)using the broken US patent system. In a sense it is the confirmation that the fighting is over and we've won. MS has seen the writing on the wall. They have become irrelevant in the technology landscape. MS, like a vampire, is sinking their teeth into FOSS and sucking out a bit of the money to try and stay in the game.

Quoting:99% of the stuff you do on Windows, you can do on Linux or BSD; for free.

And the other 1%, you don't want to do, anyway.

Is it not that Linux trademark is owned by Linus Torvalds? A deal is made between two companies. In the interest of the two, they agree to handle a press release stating one is paying the other for the use of Linux. In my view, this is not a patent thing, but they are both accountable for false declarations. The reason why nobody care about false declarations, I don't know. If Linus does the work and someone else claims publicly to be charging others and profiting from his work, is this not a crime in the USA? Then I'll be very disappointed about the justice at the, said, most rich, advanced and powerful country in the world.

Quoting:Then I'll be very disappointed about the justice at the, said, most rich, advanced and powerful country in the world.

Want justice do you? Got money? How much justice do you want? How much money do you have?

Quoting:Then we can flush out the terms using a FOIA reques

I wouldn't bet, people tried so in the UK and failed!

The UK government licesed Linux from Microsoft?

They didn't do that. However, they bought some Microsoft for educational purposes, someone tried to use FOIA requests to find out how much it cost, and the government wouldn't tell because it was 'secret', would be bad for price negotiations and such.

ed: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1023126/microsoft-g...

Actually, I was thinking that finding out exactly which of the N-thousands of patents MSFT has would be what would leak. I seem to have phrased that thought poorly.

I would hope that any NDAs would actually outline which patents, but perhaps I'm being a bit optimistic.