SCO Says They'll Sue A Linux User Tomorrow

Xenographic writes "InfoWorld is reporting that SCO intends to sue a Linux using company. Ordinarily, this would not be newsworthy, as they have not followed through on past threats. However, this time, they have given themselves a concrete deadline--tomorrow. While they claim that it will be one of the "top 1,000" companies, they apparently have yet to decide which company to actually sue. Perhaps they need more practice playing darts?" Reader Fished links to CNET's coverage.

What would John Kerry say?

[whig]

I have three words for Darl McBride: Bring It On!

Google

[TravisWatkins]

Sorry Google, your free ride is over. And in other news, the Miami Dolphins actually won a superbowl!

Re:Pick me Pick me!

[floamy]

They meant Linux-using companies.

Office Pool....

[Tsali]

I pick Starbucks, for it is the hub of Dr. Evil's empire - and Scott (aka McBride) wants to get back at his father's transgression.

Either that or RedHat.

That's it.

[Fnkmaster]

I'm not reading any more SCO stories. Really. I mean it. This is the last comment you will see from the fnkmaster in a SCO story. No more. Nada.

Aaaaaah, fuck it, who am I kidding.

It's like shoveling jelly beans into your mouth at the candy store - sure, it rots your teeth out and you end up with diabetes, but it tastes so damned good you can't help yourself.

Oh! Oh! I know who it will be ...

[pavon]

... Themselves.

Nevermind, thats a lawsuit they might actually win. Given their current record of idiocy and bad public relations, my guess is that it will be the the Pope [netcraft.com]

Oh boy, this is bad...

[Fiona Winger]

I can just see the headlines: "12 year old girl sued by SCO for using Linux!"

Off by two months

[Dalcius]

Dear Mr. McBride,

This is March, not April. Please refrain from wasting all of our good material until that time.

Thank you,
-Slashdot

You've got to ask yourself a question

[agentZ]

Did he fire six court briefs, or only five? Tell 'ya the truth, in all of this excitement I've sort of lost track myself. But given that this is Free and Open Source Software community, the most powerful group of advocates, coders, and corporate lawyers on the planet, and would blow your company's revenue clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well do 'ya, punk?

Re:A little confusing...

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they'll sue EV1Servers.net now that they have a prior business relationship? :P

Re:A little confusing...

[Daniel_Staal]

And tomorrow we find out...

They are suing IBM! The company they are already in a lawsuit with!

undisclosed amounts

[nmoog]

EV1Servers.Net has purchased site licenses from SCO for its two data centers for an undisclosed seven figure sum, according to SCO.

$0000699?

Re:Oh boy, this is bad...

[cswiii]

No worries, she'll immediately be signed by Pepsi to some fat contract to appear in the next big Super Bowl ad.

And I'll bet you 10 bucks

[Tokerat]

SCO didn't even write it but claim ownership to it.

And the winner is.....

[tktk]

I'd bet that quite a few people would love being the Linux user that gets sued. Think of it, you'd get metioned along Red Hat, IBM, and Novell.

Better start thinking of personal insults to Darl and witty comments to tell the tech media.

Me! Me! Me! Oh, pick me!

[Lisper]

I hope SCO decides to sue me. It will be so much fun, and I'll be able to retire on the proceeds for my countersuit for bringing frivolous claims.

Re:undisclosed amounts

[tktk]

You forgot the decimal.

$00006.99

Re:Oh boy, this is bad...

[LostCluster]

As Pepsi launches a new promotion... one in three bottle caps on specially marked bottles will win a free SCO license. Pepsi estimates that 90% of the wining bottlecaps will go unused because most of their market doesn't know what Linux even is...

Re:Google

[Zeinfeld]

Isn't it going to be a top 1000 company... and not an Internet related business?

Its Irving Tonks, a 16 year old high school student in North Dakota. He downloaded Linux off the net and he is currently using it to write code for a class project in perl on a PentiumPro machine his Dad gave him from work.

Things could be grim in the Tonks household - after Dad lost his job and mum died of cancer they have been living off Gran's social security. It is not clear that they can afford the billion dollars SCO is claiming in damages.

Re:What would John Kerry say?

[c1ay]

While they claim that it will be one of the "top 1,000" companies, they apparently have yet to decide which company to actually sue. Perhaps they need more practice playing darts?

Me thinks they're probably having trouble with their random number generator in Unixware. Why doesn't someone drop Darl [mailto] a line and suggest he try Linux. While you're at it maybe you could suggest that they sue Canopy Group [canopy.com]. You could mention that they're the parent company that owns Caldera and that they're currently anticipating a $5 billion dollar influx from IBM. Since Darl is obviously looking for a big fish maybe he'll try this one.

Re:Me, Me!

[MadWicKdWire]

I would wonder if you would need a lawyer in this case?

"Linux? What? From this nmap portscan I did just two seconds ago, it says that my system is running Windows 3.1. What are you talking about?"

Heh... I could just see that one... Judge looks dumbfounded and dismisses case. :P

choose me! choose me!

[wildcard023]

ooo.

This is so exciting! I wonder if Dick Clark will come to my house to tell me if I win!

Who ever does win this honor will be lavished with attention, job offers, pro bono lawyers and scads of cash from the counter suit.

Where do I sign up?

--
Mike

Re:Google

[_Sprocket_]

Within 12 months, Apple will give away new Macs to hundreds of schools around the US. There will be a commercial where young Irving will type on a screen "we are still going to use free Unix". SCO will release a statement claiming that we have entered a new era in operating systems.

Sue Me!

[Anonymous Coward]

Sue Me!
Sue Me!
Sue Me!
Sue Me!
Me, Daryl!
Sue Me!

me me me me me....

[EmbeddedJanitor]

C'mon SCO gimme your best shot.

Weird.

[ivern76]

Something must be wrong with my browser. I mean, it's obvious that there's words in the article but all I see is "Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!"

Re: A little confusing...

[Black Parrot]

> And SCO is suing for three billion.

Presumably Darl has a scheduled sale of SCOX shares tomorrow, and needs to drive the price back up. It has been sagging lately, though still greatly overpriced.

Maestro, please...

[LittleGuy]

They'll sue a user
Tomorrow
Bet your parity digit
That tomorrow
One'll be found!

SCO will find
Tomorrow
Someone running Linux
On their desktop
And they'll frown!

They've been stuck in a daze
Malaise
'Bout OpenSource
Now they'll file their briefs
Cry "Thiefs!'
'Til Hoarse.....
Oh!

The suit will be filed
Tomorrow
Darl will have his kilo of geek
Come tomorrow
So he'll say......
Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
He'll sue them Tomorrow!
It's always
A day
A way!

Screw whichever company they are going to sue...

[LordK3nn3th]

I'm waiting for someone to post that goddamn redundant Chewbacca defense again.

What would Howard Dean say?

[H4x0r Jim Duggan]

YeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhHHHH!!!!!!!

Pathetic

[re-Verse]

This is gettig absolutely ridiculous. SCO have become complete clowns. I mean what should we expect next?

"SCO threatens to kill cute little fuzzy kittens tomorrow"

or

SCO promises to push your grandmother down stairs tomorrow"

They are just looking more and more like weird bullies with no PR team, no common sense, and no chance of ever looking like a legitimate company again. Hopefully pretty soon the whole world will begin to see them as the joke they are making themselves.

SCO: Please Sue Me!

[rossz]

Really. I mean it. I have Linux running on two computers. I'm working a crappy low paying job so could really use the great publicity the lawsuit would bring.

Come on. I dare you.

I double dare you!

You pussies.

Re:Pathetic

[Ark]

SCO promises to push your grandmother down stairs tomorrow

Silly sco, they should really be shoving your grandmother down the stairs. Shoving will protect you from the terrible secret from linux.

Re:A little confusing...

[Lendrick]

• ...and if you don't write a damn thing and you have nothing to lose, the end user is whoever you can suck the most money out of.

Re:Sue Me Please

[Supp0rtLinux]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, when the MyDoom virus came out, I refused to update the anti-virus software of the more than 500 systems I am responsible for. On some, I even disabled the anti-virus software all together. Why? Because I didn't want to stop them from DDoS'ing SCO.com.

Again, I am guilty. I use Linux. I use Open Source. Please sue me.

Re:Google

[Theatetus]

cat sco_notice.pdf >> /dev/null

Why the hell are you appending to /dev/null?

One > will be quite sufficient, thank you.

Re:You've got to ask yourself a question

[dj245]

And the Lord spake, and he said that the number of the court briefs shall be three. Four shall the number of court briefs not be, neither shall the number of the court briefs be two, without directly proceeding to three forthwith. Five is right out. And when the number three, being the third number of court briefs being filed, be reached, I shall reach out with my most holiest of minor court officials and give unto you a card entitling thee to 1 free copy at the courthouse copy machine, whenever 10 copies have been made immediately preceeding it, 9 shall the number of copies not be.....

Re:Google

[Semi-Psychic Nathan]

It's to avoid overwriting the stuff already stored in WOM, of course.

Bets anyone?

[vwjeff]

What will happen first? A lawsuit from SCO or a DDos against SCO?

Thoughts anyone?

The moment we've all been waiting for!

[shadowmatter]

Tomorrow is the day! Oh boy!!! I expect that they'll flaunt this in a way to maximize earnings off the event: Most likely in a Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes Superbowl Surprise fashion. You know, after ending a 3 hour Tech TV special on SCO's immense contributions to Linux, it'll start with a live shot from a helicopter following the official SCO van, driving to the residence of our lucky geek. Then, as Darl gets out of the van, it cuts to a ground shot. "Shhhhhh..." Darl says, holding his mic while walking up the sidewalk to the front door. Yes Darl, we're quiet - I'm even holding my breath I'm so excited! After they knock, the geek's mother opens the door. She's so excited, she can hardly speak - or maybe that's because the police have already knocked her out with a stun gun for her complicity? We don't pause long here though - the main event awaits. They proceed into the basement, where our humble geek is caught like a Dorrito-eating, Mountain Dew-drinking deer in headlights! Surprise! After this technologically capable man puts on some pants and washes his hands, Darl shakes the man's hand as he passes to the geek the giant check. Next, Darl gives him the giant pen, which our winner uses to write SCO a check of $699. After a quick photo-op it's over - the credits roll, the sheer abruptness with which the event has come to pass leaving you breathless.

Nerds rejoice! Tomorrow all our questions shall be answered!!!

-sm

Re:Perhaps

[cgenman]

they plan on suing a company that is neither Internet Service Providers nor technology companies

Ah, so going after their own are they?

AWESOME! 1 in 280,000,000 chance of AWESOMENESS!

[Eric_Cartman_South_P]

SCO will sue a user. There are 280,000,000 people in the US.

That means... drum-roll please... we have a chance (1/280,000,000) it's the same plump 12 year old chick who got busted by the RIAA!

Imagine seeing her next superbowl? "Hi, I'm totally fucked over and never touching a computer again. Choose Franklin Covey(R), the best choice in paper organizers."

Re:OSDN

[stwrtpj]

I'd like to see OSDN being sued for using Linux. Nice thread on Slashdot!

If that happens, you can be sure CmdrTaco will post it here on Slashdot for all of us to read and comment on.

And then again on Thursday.

And once more next month.

</ObDupejoke>

Don't take a tip from the RIAA

[ConceptJunkie]

I hope they don't take a tip from the RIAA. They could end up suing a 78-year-old grandmother who owns a Mac.

Re:Google

[toddmori]

It's to avoid overwriting the stuff already stored in WOM, of course.

shouldn't that be WORN (Write Once, Read Never) Storage???

Please, please sue a company owned by the mob

[iamacat]

A casino using Linux for video poker machines or something. McBride could really use a friendly talk with Richardo just about now/.

Re:Google

[Bradee-oh!]

I think you're about 22 years too late (SuperBowl VI - 1972).

What, did you do your calculation on a Unixware box, or what?

I'll tell you what he would say...

[Art Tatum]

<monotone>Well, first I just want to say that I do, uhhhhhhh, believe that businesses have a right to protect their investments...</monotone>

Interviewer begins to droop.

<monotone>...and of course, President Bush has not shown the, uhhhhhhhhh, leadership that we expect from a Commander-In-Chief on this issue...</monotone>

Interviewer nods off.

<monotone>...and, uhhhhhhhh, obviously, SCO has not shown that they have a case and I think they're clearly wrong... </monotone>

Audience nods off.

<monotone>...but SCO has clearly shown the leadership to...</monotone>

Both audience and interviewer have dangerously weak heartbeats.

<monotone>...my record is clear in that I believe in the SCO case and, uhhhhhhh...</monotone>

Most members of the audience are clinically dead. The interviewer is sprawled on the floor.

<monotone>...those who would question my patriotism by implying that my position has changed on this matter...</monotone>

Temperature reaches absolute zero as all atomic motion stops.

<monotone>...which is, uhhhhhhh, why I think I will be your next President. My Vietnam war heroism makes it clear that, uhhhhhh...</monotone>

Re:A little confusing...

[jtharpla]

Darl? Is that really you? Aw, don't be shy...

tomorrow, eh?

[martin-boundary]

Let's see, Darl said this on Monday. Does that mean SCO is going to sue a
Linux user on February 31, then?

I bet ...

[Sonic McTails]

That in two weeks we will read the headline "SCO (Finnally) Sues Linux User" and under it "was-the-first-one-lost-in-the-mail dept."

Ordinarily? What means this word?

[phiwum]

InfoWorld is reporting that SCO intends to sue a Linux using company. Ordinarily, this would not be newsworthy...

Every single time that SCO has threatened a customer (with or without a deadline), it's been reported here in Slashdot. Since "ordinarily" it would not be reported, we must conclude that these announcements have coincidentally been exceptional. The odds are so low that every such announcement has been exceptional that I must conclude that God is on SCO's side and therefore Linux is doomed (not even the devil will help, since he's likely partial to BSD).

I hope that Slashdot editors understand that with great power comes great responsibility. Now I must question my faith since it appears that, while there is an all-powerful diety, he's one of the bad guys, fighting on the side of proprietary software, frivolous lawsuits and the monopolies that fund them.

I'd hate to think that this bleak metaphysical outlook is due only to haphazard diction on the part of the editor.

Re:Google

[Ryan Amos]

Nah, Google would just route all queries for SCO to scat porn. Which makes sense cause the lawsuit would be a load of shit.

Re:Office Pool....

[tedDancin]

I pick Starbucks, for it is the hub of Dr. Evil's empire

Quick - somebody get that stool sample down to the lab!

Re:That's it.

[Monkelectric]

I have no idea WTF your jelly belly thread has to do with SCO -- but i to HATE those jellybeans (and got damn do I like jellybeans). A girl I was seeing used to joke about how terrible they were, so one day we went to the candy shop and got a couple pounds of them (very expensive!) and set them out in a nice big jelly belly candy jar in the entryway :) Friends and family would come over and go "OHHH!!!! JELLYBEANS!" and eat them -- invariably we'd have the pleasure of watching them squint and squirm and choke as they tried to swallow those little toxic beans. It became a joke with my friends and whenever they came over with someone new, they'd all grab a handful, and pretend to eat them in an attempt to make a non-verbal suggestion to the new person. Eventually my mother who had impared tastebuds due to a medical condition ate them all.

Re:Google

[unitron]

My faith in SCO's wisdom and perception is so great that I'm sure the first company they sue will be EV1Servers.net :-)

Re:I'll tell you what he would say...

[Anonymous Coward]

Kerry would have mentioned Viet Nam several more times in a speech of that length. Band-aid Purple Heart winner. And he applied for two of them himself! Unheard of in wartime!!

Re:Screw whichever company they are going to sue..

[Exatron]

The Chewbacca defense is perfectly logical compared to SCO's legal strategy.

Re:extortion

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't extortion illegal in United States of America?

Not if you have a business degree and Intellectual Property to defend.

Re:Suing oneself

[Anonymous Coward]

the shrewdest move would be to sue a company holding the "information wants to be free" line religiously. It is often easy to win the court's favor when your opponent is holding an absurd ideal with religiour fervor.

Are you talking about OSDN?

The worst thing would be to sue a well respected company with shrewd leadership

Oh, you're obviously not talking about OSDN.

Re:Seven Figure Bullshit

[Arker]

You've got it backwards, that's how much TSG payed them.

The Choice is Obvious

[El]

The only Linux using company that is not like to kick their ass in court is... SCO. I predict that tomorrow, in a brilliant PR move, SCO will SUE THEMSELVES for using Linux! A case in which they will almost certainly prevail!

Re:My biggest fear..

[Capsaicin]

Where are they going to find impartial jurors?

*Everyone* with enough technical background to fully understand the issue ...

... would of course be immediately disqualified from the jury.

I just saw the weather report

[highwindarea]

Here : Fine Over There : Cloudy Hell : Six inches of snow And what's that flying past the fifth story window. A pig

Slashdot poll

[glassesmonkey]

I keep waiting for the poll to change to:

Which Linux user is SCO going to sue next?

Google

Yahoo

WalMart

EV1Servers.net

Microsoft (oh the irony)

State of California

U.S. Government

A 12 yr old girl

Cowboyneal

Re:Suing oneself

[trezor]

• The first target will be a company that has a Unix license from SCO already

So... We're down to 15 companies then? Find one of SCOs 15 customers within the "top 1000"-company-list and you know the suit!

Re:A little confusing...

[SnowZero]

You forgot to put your pinky to your mouth, pause for a moment, say "five beeelion dollars", and end it with an evil laugh.

Zehn kleine UNIX Zeilen

[Make]

(sorry, it's German - we Germans laugh best about SCO :p)

Zehn kleine UNIX Zeilen
Reicht man ein zur Klage.
Die eine die auf griechisch war,
War leider viel zu vage.

Neun kleine UNIX Zeilen
Sollten es begrunden.
Die eine war trotz groBter Muh'
In LINUX nicht zu finden.

Acht kleine UNIX Zeilen
Dienten zum Beweise.
Die eine war aus BSD,
Pech fur Anwalt Heise.

Sieben kleine UNIX Zeilen,
Kamen vor Gericht.
Die eine war 'ne Fehlernummer,
Die taugte dazu nicht.

Sechs kleine UNIX Zeilen,
Sollten es belegen.
Doch eine kam zur GPL
Durch SCO Kollegen.

Funf kleine UNIX Zeilen
Waren noch dabei.
Die eine kam von einem Band
Mit Aufschrift System Drei.

Vier kleine UNIX Zeilen,
Doch eine, sonderbar,
Gehorte nicht zum dem Programm,
Sie war ein Kommentar.

Drei Kleine UNIX Zeilen,
Waren das Problem.
Eine war zwar System Five,
Doch kam von IBM.

Zwei kleine UNIX Zeilen,
Waren noch geblieben.
Die eine war schon reichlich alt
Und kam von System Sieben.

Eine kleine UNIX Zeile
Wurde angefuhrt.
Die hatte Linus Torvalds selbst
Am Anfang programmiert.

Ohne eine UNIX Zeile
Kann SCO nichts machen.
Doch eines muss man zugestehn:
Wir hatten was zu lachen.

Schlussbemerkung:
Hier zeigt sehr schon ein Kinderlied,
Warum McBride die Wahrheit mied.

stolen from Heise forum [heise.de]

(now some foo to exploit the lameness filter - damn you slashcode!) # Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. # Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. # Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. # Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. # Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page)Your comment has too few characters per line (currently 14.1).

7 figures, easy

[Nicolas MONNET]

10,000.01

Re:Bets anyone?

[Temporal Outcast]

Should not be a question in the first place - the lawsuit ofcourse :)

Remember kids, the DDoS would not happen until they bring it upon themselves ;-) And blame the outside world for it.

i know who they are suing

[dvdiva]

they are suing the riaa for getting linux off kazaa of course

What you should be asking yourself is...

[Walkiry]

What Would Brian Boitano Do?

What would Brian Boitano do
If he was here right now?
He'd make a plan, and he'd follow through,
That's what Brian Boitano'd do!

When Brian Boitano came
and knocked at SCO's door
he kicked Darl's stupid ass
and with it he wiped the floor.

Hi de lo de hi de lay!
Brian Boitano's here!
So round up all your lasses,
And tell them to have no fear!

Annie

[mlush]

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
They'll sue me Tomorrow!
its only a dayyyyy-aaaaa----way!

Re:I'll tell you what he would say...

[kisak]

While the eminent thinker, leader, and not least orator Bush would have explained why SCO would only be able to fool him (at least) once:

"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again." --George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

Liste to the actual Bush quote here [mac.com].

Re:Bets anyone?

[taernim]

<hopeful>
Can't it be both?
</hopeful>

Re:What would John Kerry say?

[Guppy06]

Yes, but would he be saying it to SCO or the Linux user?

Probably both...

I'm Spartacus

[Lagrange5]

Dear Mr. McBride:

I am a Linux user.

Re:Bets anyone?

[mhesseltine]

by Ben Hutchings (4651) on Tue Mar 02, '04 07:15 AM (#8439394)

Do you really want to know what the error message in your sig means, or are you just commenting on the non-obviousness of the message?

The PC stands for paper carrier, so it means "load letter paper into the paper carrier".

How do you have a 4 digit /. ID and not recognize a quote from Office Space [imdb.com]?

New Musical Debuting Tomorrow...

[avgjoe62]

Starring Darl McBride as Annie, with Bill Gates as Daddy Warbucks...

The suit'll come out Tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar That tomorrow

They will pay!

Just thinkin' about Tomorrow

Makes the Linux Zealots,

Fill with sorrow

'Casue they'll pay!

When I'm stuck with a day

That's gray,

And lonely,

I just stick out my chin

And Grin, And Say,

Sue!

The law'll be changed Tomorrow

So SCOs gotta hang on 'til tomorrow

That's when they'll pay

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

I'll sue ya Tomorrow!

You're always A day Away!

Re:What would John Kerry say?

[John F-ing Kerry]

Btw, did I mention I served in Vietnam? Oh, you mean on SCO? Well, I served in Vietnam, and I think that when I was killing innocents, raping and pillaging Darl McBride was in diapers. I've fought women an children that would pose more of a fight than Darl. I say we fight Charlie^WSCO in the field of battle, with the army, not with some foolish National Gaurdsmen either, unless we have a Republican president at the time. Then I think we should be pacifists.

2 Years From Now On Late Night TV

[sdcharle]

Do you have an invention but don't know how to protect it? For a minimal fee, we can help you patent your invention and ensure you don't end up like these people:

(old guy sitting in a lay-zee-boy chair):
You know 'The Clapper'? I had that idea years before it came out, but I didn't make a dime from it.

(Darl McBride, in orange jumpsuit):
You know UNIX? Linux? That was mine! They took it from me! They gave it away and I didn't make all the money that I deserved! It was mine, mine, MINE!

(Starts cursing, is injected w/ sedative by a guy in a white coat.)

Narrator: Don't let this happen to you!

(Phone number appears, and fade).