Microsoft funds SCO 1

[chiph]

Business Week is reporting that Microsoft has helped fund SCO's legal attacks on Linux users by funneling $50 million USD through the Baystar Capital hedge fund.

Was this an ethical move on Microsoft's part? Or is it a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"?

Chip H.


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[sleipnir214]

<facetious>
CajunCenturion:
gbaughma:

I think one or the other of you should go for it. After all, the U.S. Patent Office issued in 2002 a patent for swinging from side-to-side on a children's swing
</facetious>


Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[gbaughma]

And yet, by the same token :-( is now copyright of Despair.com

--Greg

 

[strongm]

> What would happen if all of the sudden, I copyrighted the code "FOR i = 1 to 10", and stated that it be removed from every program that uses it?

About 23 years ago, in the days of Ohio Superboards and other such oddities, with system RAM of a massive 4-8k and BASIC on a 4K ROM, someone tried to copyright every single 8-bit program of 64k or less in size that could ever be written on any 8-bit 64k computer. The basis for this was that they had written a program that would generate all the possible byte permutations that would fit in 64k of RAM...

 

[SemperFiDownUnda]

The basis for this was that they had written a program that would generate all the possible byte permutations that would fit in 64k of RAM...

Ummm not to question but....ok I'm questioning that.
This would be impossible as there are
2.0035299304068464649790723515603e+19728
Do you know what a number with 19,728 zeroes after it would be?
Oh wait just reread your post. They didn't actually produce the output. Same reason you cann't copywrite every book by a similar program.

Another problem with the theory is they can't copywrite that which is already copywrited thus a good lawer agianst their claim would have made them adjust their program not to produce any program that already exsists.







Hope I've been helpful,
Wayne Francis

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first

 

[strongm]

>They didn't actually produce the output

Quite

And, as you correctly conjecture, they failed in their aim...