Microsoft: Pointing a Loaded Gun?
I’ve never used a gun before, but I’m told that the first rule of gun safety is to never point a loaded gun at anyone. This “safety rule” came to mind recently as I watched the fallout from Microsoft’s claim in Roger Parloff's Fortune article that they hold 235 patents that are violated by Linux and open source software.
In the aftermath of the heated and mostly negative response from the open source community, Microsoft protested that they had no intention of suing their enterprise customers over infringement of their claimed patents. Rather, Microsoft wanted to license these patents to their enterprise customers. That sounds a lot like holding a metaphorical gun to an enterprise’s metaphorical head. It’s as if Microsoft is saying “Of course I won’t shoot you, but there are 235 bullets in the gun that I’m holding to your head. And by the way, did you want to license my patents?”
I can’t imagine that Microsoft’s enterprise customers will consider that a friendly offer.
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Off topic but here are some safety rules burnt into my head
- Never point your weapon at anything you’re not willing to destroy
- Be aware of your target and what is beyond it
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target
- Always treat your weapon as if it were loaded
Of Microsoft, I agree, their announcement is clumsy and doesn’t seem to help their image. This at a time when Dell is offering Ubuntu pre-installed on some of their machines. Not good.