One of my favourite computer news and info sites is theregister.
I read there every day on things. One thing that has been scaring me to death for a while now, outside of Vista, is the moves Microsoft is making. In the specific, the deal between them and Novell/SUSE.
I am taking a quote from this article (
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/20/microsoft_claims_linux_code/) to show the thing that really has me worried:
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said that every user of the open source Linux system could owe his company money for using its intellectual property. The statement will confirm the worst fears of the open source community.
Microsoft recently signed a deal for SUSE Linux, a Novell-owned distribution of the Linux operating system. The two companies pledged that they would improve the interoperability of their products. Open source advocates were amazed at the deal, but Ballmer's comments could vindicate the suspicions of some.
Ballmer said in a question and answer session at a technology conference that Microsoft signed the deal because Linux "uses our intellectual property" and it wanted to "get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation".
Those claims to rights in Linux will set alarm bells ringing in the open source community. Some had argued that the deal was a sophisticated way of claiming rights over the software.
In a nutshell you can see what is going on. I am not sure the impact this would have on anyone running AmigaOS4.0 and the older versions. But you can see where this would affect the rest of users on Linux, MorphOS and some of the other fringe OSes out there.
There has to be a way to band together on this. I do not want to live to see the planet taken over by Microsoft. It would be a nightmare, with people being hunted like witches for doing anything without the official stamp of Microsoft approval.
This is a very simple view on it I know. I suggest everyone look about and do some research on the matter. All thoughts welcome, and yes I look forward to being called insane, paranoid and/or delusional.:-)
